North West Premier Hospitality

Cumbria Grand Hotel

Grand
Written by Roma Publications

The Cumbria Grand Hotel

Grand

One of the largest hotels in the South Lakes, the 124 bedroom Cumbria Grand, is a sprawling Victorian building steeped in history and heritage. In previous years it has operated as a Hydro therapy spa and a training area for the RAF during World War Two but now serves up to 40,000 guests per year from all over the globe.

For the last 25 years the Grand has been part of the seven hotel Strathmore Hotels, a family run company with a passion for traditional hospitality, customer service and constant investment in redecoration and refurbishment.

As such, the latest stage of works at the Grand was a full makeover of the Victorian Ballroom ladies toilet as well as a new style of corridor decor. The revamp was carried out by the Grand’s in house maintenance team. General manager Mark Ridley talked to Premier Hospitality about his role in the project:

“New high quality carpeting by Newhey Carpets was recently fitted in many of the public areas and Chris Rickard, our managing director, was keen to create clean, freshly plastered walls with a subtle but warming finish.

“After much scanning of the colour charts I chose from the Dulux Heritage range of satin finish coverings. ‘Biscuit Beige’ was the selection and this was complimented by Brilliant White Satinwood woodwork.”

The area is lit with brushed chrome LED lighting and finished with ornate mirrors and traditional Chesterfield sofa’s from Andy Thornton Furniture.

Mark added:

“The ladies toilet was all about the same quality finish but again in a traditional look. One thing we wanted to keep was the vanity area. Many locals have memories of the Grand tea dances and events of the 1950s and 1960s when they would use the mirrors to touch up make up and adjust their hair so we had to keep it. It has already proved popular as our wedding guests love it!”

Grand

“The majority of the fittings and furniture was sourced locally through the excellent Builders Supply Chain and their specialist Bathroom Showroom. We used good quality brands such as Grohe cisterns, Burlington Victorian sanitary ware and Belgravia brushed chrome taps. The sink unit was bespoke made, with a bespoke finish that not only looks fantastic but is also practical for hygiene and cleaning.

“Woodwork was all designed, machined and fitted by our in house maintenance team and a light multi coat stain created the effect we wanted. The Italian Pietra Pienza light grey floor tiles open the space up and finish the whole room.”

Lighting-downlights with LED ‘cool’ bulbs create an ambience while the wall lights are brushed Fisherman’s Lantern style. Again, all were sourced locally along with the ventilation system from YESSS Electrical.

Strathmore Hotel’s refurbishment is constantly rolling and is managed by the groups building manager Gerry Hamill throughout the seven hotels and hundreds of bedrooms. Future expansion plans comprise an extensive re-carpeting as well as upgrading bedrooms and bathrooms including an increase in the number of large walk in showers in the new style brick tiled bathrooms.

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Roma Publications