Luxury hotel operator Dorchester Collection is set to open a new country house hotel and eco-luxury spa, Coworth Park near Ascot, in September 2010.
Set in 240 acres of Berkshire parkland, the 70-bedroom Coworth Park hotel is a restored Georgian Manor House and will be marketed as one of the UK’s most environmentally-friendly hotels.
Facilities include two restaurants, a fine-dining restaurant in the main house and a more informal restaurant in the converted barn, with its own outdoor terrace for al fresco dining.
Also part of the food and beverage operation will be the hotel’s four private function rooms and marquee that can host events for up to 300 guests.
The hotel’s head chef will be John Campbell, the winner of the ‘Chef of the Year’ award at the Catey awards in 2008. He was awarded his second Michelin star in 2007.
Built over two floors, the spa will be partly submerged into the landscape.
The upper floor will have eight treatment rooms (including two doubles), a manicure/pedicure salon and relaxation rooms.
There will also be a restaurant serving snacks, light meals, cocktails and champagne.
The lower ground level is dominated by the indoor pool and also offers a large health, a fitness suite equipped by Technogym and a sun terrace.
The roof will be adorned with a garden of thyme, lavender, chamomile and other fragrant herbs that are cultivated for the spa’s natural treatments, while a range of luxury brand treatments will also be made available.
The spa has been designed to be eco-friendly and has been built predominantly out of timber structures with lime hemp walls to create a green and sustainable building.
The green design principles continue through into the interior design of the hotel itself, with rooms flooded with natural light and contemporary architecture, art and sculpture throughout. All the materials used are natural and organic.
The Dorchester Collection, launched in 2006, is the successor to the Dorchester Group, originally established in 1996 to manage a portfolio of some of the world’s foremost luxury hotels in Europe and the USA.
As part of the group’s new strategy, chief executive, Christopher Cowdray has set out the company’s goal to have between 15-20 hotels by 2015.
The company currently operates five hotels – the Dorchester in London; The Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills; Le Meurice in Paris; Hotel Plaza Athénée in Paris; and Hotel Principe di Savoia in Milan.