MONTH IN REVIEW
MONTH IN REVIEW
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HOTEL REFURBISHMENTS
Dalmahoy Hotel
undergoes
‘major’ £2m
refurbishment
The Dalmahoy Hotel & Country Club,
on the outskirts of Edinburgh, is
undergoing a £1.6m refurbishment of
its bedrooms that will be completed in
spring 2019.
The three-month modernisation
project, led by Scottish design firm
10 Design, is part of a two-year £2m
upgrade of the resort, which the
hotel said comes with “minimal guest
disruption”.
With a history dating back to the
13th century, the former home of the
Douglas family, one of Scotland’s most
influential families, is now a four-star,
independently-run hotel with 215
bedrooms including seven suites.
The latest upgrade, which includes
all 208 of the bedrooms in the newer
part of the hotel, marks the latest in a
series of major investments that have
been made since the hotel became an
independent property in August 2016.
The seven manor house rooms and
suites were recently refurbished.
Alistair Kinchin, GM of Dalmahoy
said: “This is a very exciting time for
Dalmahoy. In the two years since we
began operating as an independent
resort we have increased our turnover
and substantially increased our profits.
“We have also created seven new
jobs across reservations, marketing and
sales for the wider Edinburgh hospitality
market. By putting a major investment
into our resort, this will ensure we
continue to grow in Edinburgh’s highly
competitive four-star market.”
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PEOPLE MOVES
Jonathan Slater
to step down
from Oddfellows
Hotels
Jonathan Slater, owner of the Oddfellows
Management company has announced
his decision to step down from his role.
Slater has announced he will pass
the mantle to hotel management
company Bespoke to take over the
running of Oddfellows Chester and
Oddfellows On The Park.
The investors behind the boutique
hotel collection will continue to own
the hotels which Bespoke will operate
under a management contract. This
new arrangement follows Jonathan
Slater’s decision to move away from
working full-time.
Slater has operated the boutique
hotel brand for over four-years
following his retirement from his
role as managing director at The
Chester Grosvenor. He was behind
the transformation of Oddfellows
Chester from a 4-roomed restaurant
with rooms in a Georgian townhouse
to an 18-bedroomed boutique
hotel with apartments. In 2017 he
launched Oddfellows On The Park, a
22-bedroomed hotel restaurant, bar
and salon in a Victorian hall on a public
park in Greater Manchester.
Slater said: ‘Oddfellows are boutique
hotels with a distinct personality and it has
been a hugely rewarding creative process
creating such a unique and interesting
brand. I was honoured earlier this year
with the Outstanding Achievement Award
at the Hotel Cateys and it seems a fitting
time to make this decision.
”The hospitality industry has been a
huge part of my life and I will no doubt
enjoy an involvement in it at some
level in the future. I will cherish the
opportunity to spend more time with
my wife, my daughters - one is based in
California, my grandchildren and pursue
some more rigorous sailing challenges.”
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ADMINISTRATIONS
Samlesbury
Hotel saved from
administration
KRO Hospitality has bought
Samlesbury Hotel out of administration
in a multi-million pound deal that has
saved 50 local jobs.
The Preston hotel will now undergo
a £1.5m revamp and will be rebranded
and relaunched in April 2019 as
Mercure Preston Samlesbury Hotel.
KRO has chosen Mercure, part of the
Accor brand family, as a franchise
partner, and will also operate the hotel.
The 80-room hotel, which was voted
the best in Lancashire last year, is
complete with restaurant, bar and eight
meetings and events spaces including
the Canberra Suite, which can hold up
to 160 guests and is fully licenced for
weddings and other events.
KRO said “great effort” has gone into
researching the aircraft manufacturing
heritage of Samlesbury and part of the
refurbishment plan will be to “tell this
story through art”.
Owner of KRO Hospitality, Kim
Eivind Krohn, said: “We are delighted
to welcome the Mercure Preston
Samlesbury Hotel to our portfolio. It is a
fantastic hotel with enormous potential
and is situated in an ideal location to
attract business travellers and leisure
guests alike.
“The hotel is of huge importance to the
region. It was recently shortlisted in the
Hotel of the Year category for the 2018
Lancashire Business Awards, a title it
won in 2017 and we are very pleased that
we can help ensure the hotel remains an
important part of the community. We can
also confirm there will be no disruption to
day to day operation.”
March 2019