destination that extended beyond its
golf offering.
In 2010, Pam and Ian Hayton gave
son Marc the title of managing director,
and he still oversees the resort today.
Now Foxhills is embarking on its
biggest development project yet as it
looks to lock-in its longevity for years to
come. The Surrey resort, home to two
golf courses and the par-three Manor
course, 70 bedrooms, three restaurants,
11 tennis courts, three squash courts,
four swimming pools, a spa, conference
and meeting facilities, a youth club and
a weekly cycling club, will invest in its
facilities to futureproof the business
and build on its reputation.
In June, the first project came to
fruition, with the launch of the new Fox
dining room in the main 19th century
manor house. The new restaurant is
a tribute to the life of Charles James
Fox, a local resident and charismatic
politician of the late 18th century, from
whom the club takes its name.
Alex Michaelis – an award-winning
interior designer, known for his
work at members’ clubs including,
The Groucho and Soho House – was
behind the refurbishment, with a new
menu also introduced by head chef
David Village.
With redevelopment momentum in
full swing, we caught up with general
manager Tej Walia to find out just what
expansion plans are on the agenda and
how each project will be designed to
maximise occupancy and drive revenue.How has business in general for
Foxhills over the past 12 months?
Fortunately because of the mix of the
business all of our eggs are not in one
basket, so our financial year is April
to March. However our 'year' starts
on March 1 because that’s when our
membership renewal comes into play.
That then sets the tone for which
direction it's going to go because
members renew. We have over 3,000
members on the books – a combination
of various memberships from golf, spa,
corporate – and the whole idea about
investing is to actually improve the
facilities and attract more members,
specifically the family members.
One of the things we are
concentrating on as well is attracting
more younger members.We have seven conference facilities
too and we do weddings as well. We are
also planning to invest in that and our
manor house.What are some of the development
plans in the pipeline?
In the current market where the 'B'
word is very unsettling and floating
about a lot, it is a family-run business
and they are investing heavily, which
is encouraging to be part of. Yes it is a
business so the whole idea is to get the
return on the investment, but one of
the reasons why I joined is that it would
be a challenge from my own personal
development point of view.
We have 11 tennis courts and we’ve
just been granted planning permission
to create a cover for three of them with a
dome so we can use it all season. We are
consulting with the members as it is a
£500k investment and want to make sureThe new Fox dining
room.Biggest costs?
"Maintenance and staffing;
all the hospitality sector is
going through a period of
uncertainty from the staffing
point of view."
Occupancy levels?
"Late 70s, early 80s, so it’s
quite healthy. We changed our
PMS system last September
which was a good investment
for the whole resort."Investment is
planned for the
majority of facilities.August 2019 | BOUTIQUE HOTELIER 21FOXHILLS TALK