Heckfield Place loses general manager prior to opening

Heckfield Place, a new country house hotel which has been beset by delays, has suffered another blow with the loss of its general manger prior to opening.

Charles Oak, who joined the property two years ago from his role as general manager at the May Fair hotel in London, has left for what the hotel has described as "private reasons".

A statement from the 60-bedroom hotel, which is owned by private investment company Morningside, said: "Charles Oak is no longer general manager at Heckfield Place. We have started the process of finding a new general manager and we are looking forward to Heckfield Place's much anticipated opening next spring."

Oak has become the second key member of staff to leave the hotel following the departure earlier this year of head chef and director of food and beverage Chris Staines, who is now heading up the kitchen and food and beverage operation at the Abbey hotel in Bath.

In June it was announced that Skye Gyngell, the former head chef at the Petersham Nurseries Café, had been appointed the culinary director of Heckfield Place, overseeing three restaurants - the Beckwith, the Restaurant and the Stables. She is also to head up a new restaurant in London, also owned by Morningside.

What we are proposing is very different from anything else that currently exists in the UK," said Oak. "It will be somewhere you will be able to come for one or two weeks and keep yourself occupied. We expect it will be widely used by the music, fashion and media industries for somewhere to relax as well as do some work, without being hassled by the press."

Heckfield Place is now due to open at the end of spring 2013.

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