THE MAKING OF NO . 15
How long have you been in the hotel trade ? 34 years
What do you love most about the industry ? I love looking after guests and the staff . I love the people , the creative side , Bath as a destination and particularly creating places in our hotels that people really want to come to .
What made you invest in Bath ? The location . If you look outside of London , it ’ s one of those cities – like Oxford , Cambridge , York and Edinburgh – that has really good business during the week as well as on the weekend . Bath is a great university city with a really diverse mix of businesses .
What was your vision for No . 15 ? We always wanted to make No . 15 the most frequented and talked about boutique hotel in Bath , and to be known as a great independent , with a great cocktail bar , neighbourhood cafe and spa . We came across the tagline ‘ Luxury for the curious ’ and we developed that in everything we did , so that guests can walk around and see things that they weren ’ t expecting to see .
Who have been your key partners in getting the project off the ground ? We teamed up with Kennick Builders headed up by Nick Mizen and Matt Greevy from Imperial Preservation , who ’ ve provided all the building work . On the interior design side , it ’ s been a collaborative effort of our own vision and that of Martin Hulbert Design and we ’ ve also asked local interior designers Woodhouse & Law and Rossiters to help us design some of the rooms . Moss of Bath have provided our AV , we ’ ve worked closely with Mytton Williams and Ignition on branding , Systemagic for our IT and technical support and local wine expert Angela Mount has helped us craft a wine list we ’ re really proud of . We ’ ve used Ed Bulmer ’ s heritage paints throughout ; commissioned renowned glass artist Adam Aaronson to create a few different pieces and Paul Freddy Payne to make unique porcelain lights , as well as working closely with local and up-andcoming artists .
What ’ s been the biggest challenge ? Keeping control over expenditure . Although that said , we did give ourselves a fairly unrealistic budget to do it . As we ’ ve lived with the building and got to know it more , we had a window of opportunity to change things to make them as we would really want them ; such as moving the lift and making the ladies much more spacious than first intended … Working with a Grade-I listed building and ensuring all the works are done to the specifications required and managing noise in a project of that scale in a local neighbourhood , has also been challenging at times .
Have you worked with local suppliers and if so , who ’ s been involved ? As well as those already mentioned , IronArt of Bath did all the repair work to the iron and made the afternoon tea stands . Hawker Joinery . Decorator Kevin Austin . Beaufort Joinery , based just outside of Bath . We ’ ve also been working closely with artists from Bath Spa University as well as local schools ... the list is quite long !
Where does your passion for art come from ? I ’ ve always loved interesting art , so it ’ s a combination of my experience in hotels and visiting exhibitions growing up . In the corporate world , art in hotels is ( usually ) incredibly boring and yet it ’ s the one thing in the room that can make a big difference .
I really enjoy finding pieces which are interesting ; pieces that stand out and get people talking . We ’ re very lucky to have lots of up-and-coming artists with Bath Spa University on the doorstep .
What are your personal favourites in the hotel ? The kaleidoscopes ; Adam Aaronson ’ s ‘ Reed Series ’ of hand-blown glass lights and screens ; the pot collections , dotted in the Pulteney Room , ladies ’ powder room and some of the bedrooms . All the different chandeliers and the scales of chandeliers .
How ’ s business been so far ? Very encouraging . We ’ ve been delighted with the support from the residents of Great Pulteney Street and the locals , and the excellent reviews to date .
What can you offer the local business community ? No . 15 is very central and a really quirky and different venue for meetings , private dinners and it has a great neighbourhood restaurant
open during the day . Bar 15 is great for winding down in too .
What ’ s next for the hotel and the Kaleidoscope brand ? To get the additional 17 bedrooms finished . We expect to have eight of those finished by the end of February . The final phase will be the spa which will have five treatment rooms , a sauna , hot tub area and a relaxation room which will have a bar , so you ’ ll be able to indulge with a glass of champagne or a G & T .
As for the Kaleidoscope brand , we certainly wouldn ’ t rule out another hotel opportunity , either in Bath or in the South West .
Memorable meeting space in the heart of Bath
An art hotel with creativity at its core , No . 15 ’ s event spaces lend themselves perfectly to networking over fizz and canapés , decadent dinners and coming up with big ideas . The Pulteney Room , with its views over Great Pulteney Street , is ideally suited to groups of up to 18 , while larger delegations of up to 40 seated , and up to 60 for drinks , can take up residence in The Dispensary .
No . 15 Great Pulteney
www . no15greatpulteney . co . uk
THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2017 23