A £1 million revamp of bedrooms of two leading Lake District hotels has been completed.
Interior designers worked alongside an in-house team on bespoke schemes for The Lodore Falls Hotel & Spa and the Borrowdale Hotel.
The work was part of parent company Lake District Hotels’ ongoing investment into its six venues across Cumbria.
Director of the family-owned business, Dani Hope, said: “We’re absolutely delighted with the new rooms. They are modern, comfortable and reflective of the unique personalities of the two hotels.
“We worked closely with two interior design companies to ensure the characteristics of each hotel were woven into the redesigned rooms.
“The continuous development of, and investment in our venues, is extremely important to us.
“With six hotels across the group, the job is never done, and we are now looking ahead to our next major projects, which include further bedroom developments and refurbishments across all six of our hotels and ground floor refurbishments in January 2023 at the Borrowdale Hotel and Kings Arms.”
At the Lodore Falls Hotel and Spa, 17 of the 87 bedrooms were redesigned with the support of Unwin Jones Partners.
The project was led by Sarah Crawford, with bedrooms designed to exude a sense of tranquil luxury with a hint of Scandi cosiness for the colder and more dramatic months experienced in the Lake District.
Special care was taken to highlight the stunning scenery enjoyed by the hotel, with cosy window seats affording guests the opportunity to enjoy Lakeland vistas.
Sarah said: “It is important for any design scheme to be inspired by and respond to its locality, and at Lodore Fall Hotel, we had inspiration in abundance!
“The sweeping views of Derwentwater and the fells beyond, the serenity of the Falls Spa and its stunning landscaped gardens and the heritage of this family-owned business all influenced our design choices and helped inspire our final schemes.
“Each room is unique, which means we truly maximised potential, and every opportunity for space and light was explored. This allowed for a few surprises in various rooms; from snug window seats to a stunning mural.”
At the Borrowdale Hotel, which lies in the Borrowdale Valley, it was the venue’s unique cosiness and closeness to water that inspired designers from the Frank Whittle Partnership.
Nine of the historic hotel’s 40 rooms were redesigned as part of the process, with senior interior designer, Kate Simmons, leading the process.
She said: “There was a real uniqueness to this project, because it started with a single desk chair covered in a bold and colourful fabric and a question about how we would incorporate it into the design. From that we got our initial inspiration for two of three of the schemes.
“The overarching theme for the rooms is modern and relaxed. Every project we design is full of new ideas; we don’t like to use fabrics or furniture again if we can help it, to ensure we keep the designs fresh and modern. The schemes are aesthetically fresh with both luxurious and enduringly comfortable plush fabrics, perfect for the cosy feel to the Borrowdale Hotel.
“There are so many elements of the designs for the Borrowdale I am extremely pleased with, from the the bespoke headboards to the stunning Feather lounge chairs and the indulgent fabrics to the new 3D wall panelling which will be illuminated with bespoke lighting.”
Special attention was paid to sustainability and the eco-credentials of partner companies, the group said.
Furniture was upcycled where possible and when new furniture was bought, outgoing pieces were either used in staff accommodation or donated to the community.
The investment in the two hotels comes hot on the heels of a major programme of improvements at the popular Skiddaw Hotel in Keswick town centre.
As part of that scheme, £500,000 was spent upgrading corridor areas and bedrooms.
Dani said: “We are a family-owned business and take huge pride in our hotels. We put our heart and soul into everything we do and the ongoing investment in all of our venues is a part of our commitment to creating modern, comfortable, luxurious and inspirational settings from which guests can relax and enjoy the wonderful setting of the Lake District National Park.”
