Leading hospitality management company Focus Hotels Management has expanded its ownership of hotel properties with the acquisition of the freehold of the Mercure Hatfield Oak Hotel in Hatfield, Hertfordshire from Aviva Investors. Focus has for the last seven years operated the hotel under a lease.
The company has immediately started a major programme of refurbishment at this modern three-star hotel covering all guest areas, creating additional capacity and upgrading its rating to four star.
Peter Cashman, Chief Executive for Focus Hotels Management, says: “We are delighted to have completed the acquisition of the Mercure Hatfield Oak Hotel, which complements our existing UK portfolio.
“The Mercure Hatfield Oak is already a well-regarded establishment with high occupancy rates, and our refurbishment programme will build on this existing success to enhance the business the hotel delivers.”
Located in Roehyde Way, the Mercure Hatfield Oak Hotel is popular with business and leisure travellers alike, thanks to its close proximity to three motorways – the A1(M), M1 and M25 – and easy access to central London, which is just 25 minutes away by train. Luton, Stansted and Heathrow airports are also all within easy reach.
The hotel currently offers 76 fully-equipped en-suite bedrooms, with family and accessible rooms available, complimentary wi-fi and free parking.
The £1.5 million refurbishment programme, which commenced in early January and will complete its first phase by mid-March, will see the conversion of several offices, unutilised back-of-house areas and a number of small meeting rooms into nine stunning new executive bedrooms, taking the hotel’s total capacity to 85 rooms.
The hotel’s Gallery Restaurant and lobby is being transformed to provide a fully open plan flexible ground floor area to meet the various meeting, relaxation and dining requirements of today’s guests. At the same time, two new meeting/board rooms for up to 20 people are being formed from what was an underutilised upper section of the old restaurant, both fully fitted to meet all the technical needs of today’s meeting space.
The Orchard Suite, the largest of the hotel’s conference and banqueting rooms, is also being fully refurbished and will be available to use as one large room or two separate rooms, to suit the customer’s requirements.
Following the completion of these works, full refurbishment will commence of all the existing bedrooms, including the addition of Air-Conditioning.
Focus Hotels Management is a leading independent hospitality management company with a UK portfolio of 16 hotels, with more than 1,500 bedrooms.
As well as operating independent hotels including Sketchley Grange Hotel and Spa and Oxford Witney Hotel, the company also operates hotels under franchise agreements with Hilton, Accor and IHG.