Bristol’s iconic Avon Gorge Hotel is to re-open later this month after a multi-million pound refurbishment by owners the Hotel du Vin group.
All 78 bedrooms and suites have been transformed along with a new restaurant and meeting rooms at the venue, which has been renamed the Avon Gorge by Hotel du Vin.
The refurbishment has also revealed some previously hidden architectural features at the Victorian hotel, including a grand marble staircase, stained glass windows and the original Turkish baths, now home to an extensive wine cellar.
Sitting atop the spectacular Avon Gorge and with a panoramic view of the Clifton Suspension Bridge, the hotel is widely regarded as having one of the best settings in the UK.
It will officially open its doors on Friday, August 24 – with its owners claiming it will “regain its status as the premier place to stay, dine, celebrate and entertain in Bristol”.
It became part of the 19-strong Hotel du Vin group two-and-a-half years ago as part of a package of four properties acquired by Frasers Hospitality, owner of the Hotel du Vin brand and sister group Malmaison, from Swire Properties Hotels Holdings in a £36.1m deal.
Dating back to 1898 and originally known as the Grand Clifton Spa and Hydropathic Institution, it attracted aristocrats and gentry from across the country. But changes in the hotel and holiday markets and a lack of investment meant it lost some of its glamour.
The refurbishment has included a new meeting, event and private dining suite in the former spa pump rooms and aimed at conferences, weddings and celebrations.
The space retains many of the unique, historic features uncovered during the renovation, including the steam pumps for the former spa, the original Turkish bath doorways, marble staircase, tiled flooring and Victorian plaster work.
A new restaurant concept has been developed by Hotel du Vin specifically for the Avon Gorge. Called Goram & Vincent after the two giants who, according to folklore, created the Avon Gorge, it is a “gritty, earthy smokehouse with an open kitchen, coal-fired grills, a smoker and bespoke clay ovens, and floor-to-ceiling glass walls that maximise the spectacular views over the gorge”.
The revamped bedrooms have been given “a contemporary yet classic feel” reflecting a “quirky British humour” – artwork adorning their walls which at first glance appear to be beautiful classical paintings reveal irreverent modern elements on closer inspection such as a man dressed for a formal occasion holding an iPod and a well-dressed lady wearing a heavy gold chain adorned with a dollar sign instead of diamonds.
Malmaison Hotel du Vin Group chief operating officer Scott Harper said; “We’re thrilled that Hotel du Vin has become part of this much-loved hotel’s incredible history.
“It’s been a special journey for us, and we’re looking forward to showcasing the Avon Gorge by Hotel du Vin in all its glory.”
Josie Simcox was appointed last December as general manager having spent a number of years as general manager at Malmaison, most recently in London.
The Avon Gorge by Hotel du Vin is the group’s second hotel in Bristol. Now known as the Hotel du Vin Bristol City Centre, its first hotel in the city was the fourth developed by the fledgling boutique chain in the 1990s following its original venues in Winchester, Brighton and Tunbridge Wells.
Opened with 40 bedrooms and a showpiece bistro in a converted 18th century sugar house in Lewins Mead, it was the first of a new generation of boutique hotels in Bristol.
The city still lags behind cities such as Manchester, Glasgow and Brighton in the amount of boutique-style visitor accommodation it offers, although more is due to open, including a 200-plus bedroom Moxy Hotel on Newfoundland Street close to Cabot Circus and a 36-bedroom Artists Residence Hotel in a refurbished Grade I listed 19th century building in Portland Square.
