NOW WE
RECEIVE HOTEL
RESERVATIONS OF
MORE THAN 4 DAYS
STAY ON A MORE
REGULAR BASIS”Lodore Falls is situated in
Keswick, Lake District.multimillion pound project, which would
include the first Pan Asian restaurant in
the northern Lake District plus 18 new
spa suites. The family's Danish heritage
dominates the design throughout and
will ensure that the new spa and spa
suites will stay relevant for years to come.
You have invested £10m into the
hotel over the past two years -
what challenges have you faced?
The biggest challenge was to create a
beautiful building and gardens that
would blend in to the surrounding Lake
District scenery and accommodate a
spa, a new concept Pan Asian restaurant
and 18 very large spa suites, some up
to 82m2 in size, with balconies. Much
to our delight it was well received and
approved by the strict Lake District
Planning Board.
How has the project been
funded?
Entirely by the company's savings and
no outside investment.
The hotel is run as part of Lake
District Hotels Group. How does
this work?
We have the benefit of a head office,
which is located at the Lodore and
includes centralised reservation,
sales and marketing, accounts and an
executive chef all supporting each of
the six properties within the group.How is the business split between
bedrooms, dining and now spa?
Food and beverage represents almost
45% of turnover, accommodation
approximately 45% and spa 10%.What are your average
occupancy levels?
In the summer approximately 85% and
in the winter, 65%. With the new spa
we anticipate a significant increase in
occupancy during the winter months.How successful has the new Pan-
Asian restaurant been?
Under the watchful eye of new Sri
Lankan head chef Kasun Jayasooriyaand his team of four other chefs, menus
were prepared and tested over several
months and finally approved by the
directors and the group's executive
chef prior to opening. Once the doors
opened to Mizu it was a pleasant
surprise to see how enthusiastic local
people and visitors to the Lake District
took to this new dining concept not
seen anywhere in the area before. The
hotel's residents and spa day visitors
are also frequent users and on busy
days the restaurant's 70 seats inside
and 30 seats outside fill up.Have the new additions of the
spa and restaurant helped to
up your appeal as a long stay
destination?
Now we receive hotel reservations of
more than four days stay on a more
regular basis and it just proves that
today's guests are looking for a mixture
of experiences.What's the future plans?
We’re just finishing of the spa gardens
and a woodland space near The Lodore
Falls for outdoor entertaining or
activities such as yoga, plus an ongoing
bedroom refurbishment plan. After
that it’s time to focus on the other
hotels in the group with full ground
floor refurbishments planned for
January 2020 at the Inn on the Lake
on Ullswater and the Skiddaw Hotel in
Keswick, Lake District.Dani Hope with
her parents Kit and
Charles Graves.August 2019 | BOUTIQUE HOTELIER 35LODORE FALLS TALK