Grove conversion gets ready

18 December 2002 by
Grove conversion gets ready

The company behind London's Athenaeum hotel is set to open its conversion of a former manor house into a luxury hotel in Hertfordshire next July.

Ralph Trustees, which also owns the Runnymede Hotel and Spa in Egham, Surrey, is aiming for five-star accreditation at the Grove in Rickmansworth.

However, the three-year project to renovate the Elizabethan house has not been without its complications. A host of historians and wildlife experts have been working on the site because of its history and the wildlife living in the 300 acres of parkland.

"We've had a whole range of major issues," said managing director Michael O'Dwyer.

These have included the unearthing of two Roman-period skeletons and a number of bronze artefacts. The grounds were also home to a number of endangered animal species including badgers, bats and snakes, which had to be moved by experts to make way for an 18-hole golf course.

"It has been the most fascinating three years of my career and so different to anything I've done before," added O'Dwyer, who is in the process of recruiting about 250 staff.

The hotel will have 227 bedrooms, three restaurants, and conference and banqueting facilities for as many as 500 people.

Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 19 - 25 December 2002

The Caterer Breakfast Briefing Email

Start the working day with The Caterer’s free breakfast briefing email

Sign Up and manage your preferences below

Check mark icon
Thank you

You have successfully signed up for the Caterer Breakfast Briefing Email and will hear from us soon!

Jacobs Media is honoured to be the recipient of the 2020 Queen's Award for Enterprise.

The highest official awards for UK businesses since being established by royal warrant in 1965. Read more.

close

Ad Blocker detected

We have noticed you are using an adblocker and – although we support freedom of choice – we would like to ask you to enable ads on our site. They are an important revenue source which supports free access of our website's content, especially during the COVID-19 crisis.

trade tracker pixel tracking