Sarnia Hotel Group invests £1m in Moores hotel bar relaunch
The Guernsey-based Sarnia Hotel Group has invested £1m in the relaunch of its Best Western Moores hotel bar.
The family-owned group relaunched its Library bar at the three-AA-starred, 49-bedroom property as JB Parker's Bar & Cellar on 26 June.
It has also spent £1.5m on the kitchen and function room at its three-AA-starred, 51-bedroom Les Rocquettes hotel over the last two years, and the Copenhagen restaurant at its three-AA-star, 34-bedroom Hotel de Havelet.
The six-month project at Moores included refurbishing the traditional brick cellar underneath the hotel to create a wine bar with a card-operated, self-service wine dispenser and an area for private tastings.
The main bar now has an open kitchen with a charcoal flame grill and a chef's counter. The mosaic flooring is built from individual tiles and the wooden floor has been aged by local craftsmen.
The bar has had a number of names over the years, including the Almanac and the Pollet bar. It has been renamed JB Parker's Bar and Cellar as a tribute to Jack Buller Parker, who first leased Moores from drinks wholesaler Bucktrouts in 1956, the first step in the founding of the group now operated by his granddaughter Karel Harris.
Harris said: "I do have confidence in the hospitality sector, although it's a very challenging period, but you can't just stand still. You have to keep re-inventing yourself and you have to appeal to the local market as well as the visitor market. It was the Library Bar for 27 years, with a couple of facelifts along the way, and it was time to see something new.
The Sarnia Hotel Group operates three hotels in Guernsey's capital, St Peter Port, including Hotel de Havelet, which it acquired in 1971. Les Rocquettes was added to its portfolio in 1996.
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