The Grosvenor Shaftesbury hotel to re-open as The Grosvenor Arms
The Georgian Grade II property, which has been a coaching inn since the 19th Century, was acquired by two new owners earlier this year who aspire to turn the 16-bedroom boutique hotel into a restaurant with rooms.
General manager Brett Hardy said the owners, who both own local farms, wanted to make the property work better for the local community as well as for guests, so work was centering on changing the focus of the 120-cover restaurant and conference and banqueting suites to widen its appeal.
"We see the Grosvenor Arms as more of a destination restaurant with rooms than a boutique hotel," he said. "The hotel only has 16 bedrooms, but it looks like a very big property because the ground floor has a 120-cover restaurant, bar and conference and banqueting rooms.
"Most of the bedrooms were refurbished four years ago so the feel of the bedrooms will be quite similar, but the main thing is the property offers a lot of facilities and we would like to see them used more by the local community. We want it to be the kind of place they can pop in and pick up a coffee on their way to work, or visit for a spot of lunch."
Relaxed restaurant
The re-designed restaurant, The Greenhouse, will open daily from breakfast for guests and non-guests. Chef Neil Duffet, formerly of Lime Wood, has been appointed head chef and has been tasked with creating a space and menu that makes the most of local produce and will appeal to locals and guests.
"The restaurant had a very contemporary feel before, but we've made it more rustic and better tailored to its rural environment now," said Hardy.
"It's going to be really simple food with ingredients sourced locally as much as possible. We have bought a wood fired pizza oven and we're planning to serve steak, two or three seafood dishes, a burger and a few pasta dishes. It will be simple, but done really well."
The new hotel and restaurant, said to have been the inspiration for The Duke's Arms in Thomas Hardy's novel Jude the Obscure, has joined Bespoke's collection of hotels. Its re-opening on 16 September will create up to 20 new jobs.
