Trust in Ickworth
When Nicholas Dickinson and Nigel Chapman bought Fowey Hall in Cornwall four years ago, it was to be the final property in the Luxury Family Hotels portfolio. "After Fowey, we said ‘never again'," recalls Dickinson, managing director of LHM, the parent company of Luxury Family Hotels.
But then came one of those opportunities that just couldn't be turned down: the chance to transform a wing of a National Trust-owned property on the 2,000-acre estate of Ickworth in Suffolk into a Luxury Family Hotel. It was just too good to miss, and last week saw the completion of the three-year-long project when Ickworth opened as a 28-bedroom hotel aimed at high-income individuals whose travels might have been curtailed by the arrival of children, but who still have money to spend.
The Ickworth Hotel and Restaurant is not the first hotel on National Trust land - Cliveden in Berkshire claims that honour. But unlike Cliveden, where the house is open to hotel residents but not usually to members of the public, Ickworth will still welcome outside visitors to the main house next to the converted wing. It will also be less formal than Cliveden.
The story of the partnership began in 1999 when the National Trust, then losing £100,000 a year on the Ickworth estate, invited bids through an advertisement in Caterer to render it commercially more viable. There were 180 initial applications covering a multitude of uses, from which the National Trust selected a shortlist of four. These were from LHM; Hintlesham Hall in Ipswich, Suffolk; Hand Picked Hotels; and Hill Goodridge, the company behind Small Luxury Hotels. LHM won, but only after National Trust representatives had visited the other Luxury Family properties in the portfolio, both openly and incognito.
"In the end, it came down to a marriage of minds," recalls Dickinson. "We had to get on their wavelength." And that's the way it was to be throughout the conversion, a process that had its share of frustrations.
"The National Trust is not the most commercial of organisations," says Dickinson, "so we had to review the way in which we did things." As an example, Dickinson cites the National Trust building handbook, a weighty tome covering all aspects of building and renovations regarding old properties.
In the handbook, in the section covering paint, it is clearly stated that all walls need to be brush- and not roller-finished. To comply with this would have substantially increased the budget in terms of labour costs. A debate ensued. "We offered to roller the top floors and brush the downstairs," recalls Dickinson, "but they were intransigent and insisted that everything should be brushed. Eventually, we roller-finished one wall and brushed another and invited officials to come and inspect our handiwork. We said that if they could tell the difference then we would brush the entire hotel. They couldn't, and eventually agreed that we could roller the upstairs and brush the downstairs."
On the financial front, LHM pays the National Trust a turnover-related rent, capped at 10%. LHM acquired the property on a 99-year lease and the turnover deal is fixed for the life of the lease. Dickinson anticipates that turnover could reach £3m within two years.
The majority of leisure guests are likely to be London-based weekenders, but Dickinson anticipates healthy corporate use mid-week, as the hotel has leisure facilities as well as rooms that can be used as private dining rooms.
In addition to the 28 bedrooms in the main hotel, work is also in progress to build 10 two-bedroom self-catering apartments about half-a-mile from the main hotel. The apartments are scheduled to open in October. This is a new departure for Luxury Family Hotels, but one that Dickinson sees as entirely logical. "Not everyone wants a full-service hotel any more," he says, "so we're giving people the option of benefiting from the hotel if they want to, but also being able to do their own thing."
Now that Ickworth is open, would Dickinson and Chapman consider another property in the Luxury Family Hotels line-up? "No, this is definitely the end," says Dickinson. "But, then again, I suppose I should never say never."
See next week's issue when we revisit another property in the Luxury Family Hotels' portfolio, former Adopted Business Fowey Hall in Cornwall
What is LHM?
LHM is the parent company of Luxury Family Hotels and Alias Hotels. Luxury Family Hotels owns Woolley Grange in Bradford-on-Avon, near Bath; Fowey Hall in Fowey, Cornwall; and Moonfleet Manor in Fleet, Dorset.
LHM was set up by Nicholas Dickinson, a former general manager of Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons, and accountant Nigel Chapman, who is responsible for the design in all the hotels. Until last year, the company also owned the Old Bell in Malmesbury, Wiltshire, but sold it because its town-centre location did not sit comfortably with the rest of the portfolio.
Luxury Family Hotels caters for families, while Alias Hotels focuses on city-centre properties designed to give style at an affordable price. It has three properties, in Exeter, London and Cheltenham, and plans to open a fourth in Manchester in October.
The history of Ickworth
Ickworth is the original family seat of the Hervey family, and it was only three years ago that the seventh Marquess of Bristol, John Hervey, leased the east wing of the house to the National Trust, giving its officials permission to convert it into a hotel.
Cliveden, near Taplow, Buckinghamshire, is the only other National Trust property that has been developed as a hotel.
Ickworth interiors
An early decision was taken not to attempt to re-create the interior of Ickworth as the Hervey family had arranged it. Apart from the virtual impossibility and high cost of reacquiring the original furniture and art, it had to be a hotel that would be suitable for young children.
The finished item has four long galleries, each with its own character. The ground floor has a vaulted stone corridor, dominated by a single portrait of a lady in a ball gown. The first floor is a promenade with a collection of Regency lantern lights. The top floor houses a complete collection of commissioned works from Judy Willoughby, capturing some of the lighter and darker sides of Ickworth.
Below ground, the original cellars remain, and are home to the Mediterranean-style light-dining Café Inferno, the Four Bears Den (a staffed nursery for toddlers) and Club Blu, a retreat for older children.
Ickworth
Near Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk IP29 5QE
Tel: 01284 735350
General manager: Peter Lord
Investment: £4m
Rooms: 28, plus 10 two-bedroom self-catering apartments
Private dining rooms: three
Restaurants: one fine-dining, evening only; lunchtime café-style operation
Rates: £150-plus per room, double occupancy B&B (children stay free in parents' rooms)
Anticipated turnover: £3m after two years
Anticipated average achieved room rate: £120-£140 net of VAT
