HOME + GARDEN
The Vines OF ROCHESTER CONT .
How did you choose the property ?
The Vines is a real passion project . Living close by , I used to walk past the property and had a vision in my mind ’ s eye about what it could become . We have gone through a five-year journey from finally looking at the property to reaching a point where we were ready to open and are proud to say , it ’ s even better than the original vision .
What was your property development objective ?
The overriding vision was to bring a high standard of hotel accommodation to the Historic City of
Rochester . We were originally looking at ways to maximise the space , while being sympathetic to the area and property itself . The building is over 350 years old .
How did you begin the redevelopment process for the property ?
After the purchase , the first thing we did was look for a feasible business proposition . How were we going to generate revenue out of the business ? The property was in such a dilapidated state that we quickly realised it was going to need a lot of investment . We needed to make sure it was directed in the right way to make a return on the investment we were putting in .
We realised , for the number of bedrooms we could fit into the space , it would be difficult to repay what we were putting in , so the idea of a restaurant and beverage side to complement the hotel were formed .
When we had a rough idea of what we needed the property to deliver , we paneled a host of architects before choosing Andrew Petty Architects who looked at the business proposal and helped us determine how we could maximise the spaces in the property . From here , it was about working very closely with the conservation team at Medway Council – because it ’ s a Property of Historic Interest and Grade II Listed – to make sure they were happy with how we wanted to develop the building .
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