Hotel design: Country Living Hotels
Earlier this year, Specialist Leisure Group and publishing company Hearst announced a unique partnership: to launch a collection of hotels inspired by lifestyle magazine Country Living.
The launch of Country Living Hotels has seen two properties undergo multimillion-pound refurbishments and rebranding to match the magazine. The partnership, a UK first, was born following a licensing agreement between Hearst, the publisher of Country Living magazine, and hotel owner and operator Specialist Leisure Group (SLG, formerly known as Shearings). In March it was announced that two of SLG's Coast & Country-branded hotels, the Lansdown Grove in Bath and St George in Harrogate, would be the first to adopt the Country Living Hotels name.
The Country Living brand has already expanded beyond its print publication to a furniture range with home store DFS and events such as the Country Living Fairs. However, the entry into hospitality was a very different beast with which the magazine team had to become acquainted.
The design
Seasonal, escapism and timelessness are all words editor in chief and group editorial director Susy Smith uses to describe the Country Living brand. The priority for the hotels was to ensure that the properties reflected the brand and that guests felt like they were walking through the pages of the magazine.
The Country Living team - Smith, brand development consultant Catherine Gee and Sharon Douglas, chief brand officer of lifestyle and homes - chose the SLG properties that were most relevant to the brand's readership. The south-west is a "heartland" area for the magazine's readers, while one of the Country Living fairs takes place in Harrogate.
"When we first started talking about this potential collaboration, we went on the SLG website and saw beautiful listed buildings and fabulous locations that just fit perfectly with the Country Living audience, so it wasn't difficult to imagine the coming together of both sides," says Smith.
However, there was one major issue: although Bath and Harrogate are within easy reach of the countryside, the properties themselves are in the town centre - and Country Living is all about celebrating the country lifestyle.
Contact and detailsCountry Living Lansdown GroveLansdown Road, Bath BA1 5EHRelaunched 25 May 2018 Bedrooms 55 General manager Emily Rogers Staff 30 Country Living St George1 Ripon Road, Harrogate, North Yorkshire HG1 2SYRelaunched 6 July 2018 Bedrooms 90 Staff 50 Owner Specialist Leisure Group Starting room rate £109 www.countrylivinghotels.com
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