IN BRIEF

MADEIRA LAUNCH

CLIFF Bay Resort Hotel, the first new-build five-star hotel to open in Madeira in 17 years is set for an August launch, offering a truly cosmopolitan mix of materials and detailing.

British designers De Brant Joyce & Partners have created the interiors in the 201-bedroom and suite, nine-storey hotel, built on a promontory that gives all but 12 bedrooms an ocean or harbour view.

Portuguese marble and oak is used throughout the property, but the fabrics are from Boussac, in France, and the UK company Skopos, with additional upholstery from Spain and Italy.

Restaurant chairs have been custom-made in Milan. Antiques and original artwork give public areas an Old World feel that contrasts with the bland modernism of Madeira's package holiday hotels.

DRY DOCK LIFTS IN LEEDS

DISABLED students can now enjoy Leeds' hottest student drinking spot, the Dry Dock pub owned by Bass, following the installation of twoGimson spiralift platform stairlifts.

One lift gives access to the external "deck" of the 89ft steel barge conversion, lifted from the Leeds canal onto a landscaped area outside the Metropolitan University, the other links the two levels inside.

LEWES£1m REFIT TO OPEN AGAIN

SHELLEYS Hotel in Lewes has reopened following a £1m refurbishment. The 19-bedroom hotel based outside Glyndebourne now joins the other country house hotels in the Mount Charlotte Thistle portfolio. Interior design was by Peter Inston.