North East & Yorkshire Premier Hospitality

Weetwood Hall

Weetwood Hall
Written by Roma Publications

Weetwood Hall

Weetwood Hall

Weetwood Hall celebrated its 25th anniversary at the end of December and 2017 promises to be a significant year as it prepares to launch its brand new stunning £2m restaurant and bar, Convive in February. The Weetwood estate is owned by the University of Leeds.

Convive is a 120 seat Mediterranean restaurant and bar where guests are be able to enjoy a full dining experience including a unique alfresco area under a retractable roof within the themed gardens and surroundings.

As part of the £2m spend, significant investment has gone into the kitchens with a brand new build and kit installation totalling over £450k. The development will create 25 jobs at launch with a chef and kitchen team of 12. Many ingredients used in the kitchens will be sourced from local Yorkshire farmers.

The internal decoration, fittings and finishes have been specifically chosen to reflect the modern user friendly atmosphere of the restaurant with cosy booth seating in teals and reds and copper finishing touches of salt and pepper pots and wine buckets.

The central bar, wrapped in copper and led lighting makes a statement as you walk into the restaurant, overhead are hung, on trend filament bulbs.

Convive is the brainchild of Martin Hicks, Managing Director of Weetwood Hall who has been responsible for establishing and maintaining Weetwood Hall as one of the leading conference venues in the region.

Said Martin: “I’ve been planning Convive for several years and 2017 is the year that will see it become a reality. Not only is it a great way to build on 25 years of success at Weetwood Hall but it will be a great addition to the flourishing restaurant and bar scene in Leeds. To have such a high quality establishment but out of the city centre will provide welcome additional choice for diners looking for something different.”

Convive is just the latest project on the Weetwood Estate, with a further half a million pound planned to be in invested over the next two years in the bedrooms, conference centre and public areas.

Martin continues “Weetwood Hall is like the Forth Road Bridge in that there will always be a part of it requiring upgrades and refurbishments. Since Weetwood’s inception in 1993, all aspects of the business whether they are front of house or back of house have received timely attention the direction of upgrades and refurbishments have always been dictated by Weetwood’s investment in gathering customer feedback on its current provisions and customer future requirements.

“Profits from the Weetwood estate and now Convive are gift-aided to the University of Leeds. This is highly unusual in the hospitality world and of great benefit to the city of Leeds as the money is used to fund important research and development projects undertaken by students at the University.  A multiple of millions has been donated over the past 25 years purely from profits generated by Weetwood Hall.  The additional income generated by Convive will now help provide an even greater boost to the University and Leeds as a whole.”

For more information about Convive visit www.conviveleeds.co.uk

RDF Building

RDF Building is a family-run construction company, offering a wealth of services from complete construction, new builds and refurbishments to renovation works. In addition, RDF Building has extensive experience working on listed buildings and schemes within the conservation sector.

RDF Building was formed during the early 1990s and since this time has successfully completed hotel, university, school, Listed buildings and museum projects, as well as completing new build supermarkets, warehouses and homes. Most recently, RDF Building was appointed as the Design & Build main contractor on Weetwood Hall.

RDF Building, Managing Director, Michael Brearey FCIOB CMgr FCMI, said:

“The project was one that we wanted to be involved in from the conceptual stage right through to the opening of the new restaurant. The refurbishment of key areas of the hotel, as well as new external areas will only add to the success of the business. The design is amazing and with the support of the operations team we are sure that it will go from strength to strength.”

Michael added:

“We believe in delivering a quality project in a safe manner which continues to be recognised through our ISO 9001 and RoSPA accreditations.”

About the author

Roma Publications