A major North Lakes hotel which went out of business during coronavirus lockdown in May is reopening today after being taken over by a new operator.
The Derwentwater Hotel at Portinscale is under new management and bosses have been busy recruiting staff and taking bookings from guests since completing the deal.
Bespoke Hotels has finalised a five-year hotel management agreement for the 48-bedroom premises and attached apartments which overlook Derwentwater.
The three-star hotel is one of the biggest and best-known in the North Lakes and also has a restaurant and bar with residents’ lounge and conservatory.
Thomas Greenall, Bespoke Hotels’ chief executive, says the company is delighted with the number of bookings coming through since the hotel’s reopening was announced.
“This news is particularly welcome in these trying times for our industry,” said Mr Greenall. “The new arrangement ensures that we can create jobs at a challenging time for employees in the sector.”
Bespoke Hotels represents more than 70 properties worldwide and is the UK’s largest independent hotel group.
Founded in 2000, the company now manages more than 5,000 hotel rooms and has 6,000 employees.
The Derwentwater Hotel was one of 11 operated by the Coast & Country Hotels chain, owned by Specialist Leisure Group Limited, which went into administration along with its subsidiaries during lockdown.
These included Shearings Holidays, which used the Derwentwater Hotel as a base for coachloads of tourists.
The hotel had been closed since March because of lockdown.
Two months later, it was announced that the hotel was not going to reopen due to the impact of COVID-19, making it the North Lakes’ first major tourism casualty of the coronavirus lockdown.
