DESIGN FOCUS
The Busby Hotel, bought last year by the Manorview Leisure Group, re-opened at the end of October. Susan Young reports.
The Busby Hotel, situated on the banks of the River Cart in Clarkston, is hardly recognisable. The hotel that was in a pretty run down state when Steve Graham of Manorview Leisure bought it last year has been transformed. To date, the investment by Manorview has been in the region of £2.5m and as Steve tells me “It has been a complete refurbishment – from top to bottom.” He continues, ‘It’s the first time we have gone in and completely re-done everything. Usually we have done a phased refurbishment, but not at The Busby. It is our most ambitious project to date. This is the first time we’ve completely renovated the entire property at the same time. It has been a huge task undertaken over the past ten months to get the project in on time and budget, but we are thrilled with the results.”
Designers Space ID were tasked with the project. Space ID’s director, Michael Simmons explains, “We first visited The Busby and The Redhurst in Spring 2013 not long after their acquisition and provided a quick scheme to freshen up both venues including re-decoration and new carpets. Trade picked up but it was decided that The Busby would close its doors on New Year’s day 2014 to allow a full major refurbishment to commence. Manorview demanded as always a top class establishment and were also keen for us to come up with a design concept they had not seen before.
Says Steve, “The brief was to make The Busby look unlike any of our other premises. And I think Space ID have achieved this. I’ve worked with them for seven years now, and they understand where I am coming from. I decide the general layout, but the whole point of having designers on board is that they bring their expertise to the party and help make the venue appealing to a wide range of clientele.”
Michael comments, “The first problem was to increase the trading areas of the function suite on the First floor and the ground floor bar lounge.”
Not only has the hotel been transformed in terms of interior design, a light and airy extension running the length of the old bar has been added, and upstairs there is a new and substantial roof terrace which is a suntrap, and also has an excellent outlook overlooking the River Cart.
Michael explains “We extended into previous back of house areas on the ground floor and extended out the front to provide an orangery type of structure that also provided an external veranda to the function rooms above with views over the river. From an engineering point of view this was very complex as the venue is split level and achieving adequate headroom heights was quite an achievement.”
There are two entrances, one which takes you into the hotel, and one which takes you into the bar and restaurant. The bar entrance has a small seated area immediately to the right as you enter, and to the left there is a statement wall made of what looks like old wine crates with some quirky memorabilia.
The 140 cover bar and restaurant ‘Carters’, serves up a relaxed and informal dining experience, offering a menu of freshly prepared dishes using the best local produce. It is a bright and airy space. The new extension boasts large round tables and comfortable seating, and large windows, but the coup d’état is the bar. This large rectangle island bar has a marble top, oak panelling and a large brass beer dispense unit which is the largest that I have seen to date.
Michael adds, “Due to the shape and depth of the bar lounge it was decided that a central bar feature would be more appropriate operationally and would provide an amazing feature when you walk through the doors, this was embellished with an Italian marble counter top and a 3500mm long brass and copper beer font boasting 16 beer taps.”
There is also a large brass coffee machine (which looks a bit like an old-fashioned diving suit, but in brass) which sits prominently in a special curved area at the foot of the bar. Says Michael, “It is a Belle Époque style, although some people think it looks like a copper plated R2D2 type of machine. Most coffee machines only look good from the front, but this needed to look good from 360 degrees, and it does. It also makes amazing coffee.”
Beyond the bar are some booths and an area that can be used for entertainment. Steve comments, “The facility is there, and there is also a DJ box, but we will wait and see whether we can utilise it. It will all depend on what the customer wants”.
To the right of the bar there are a few steps which take you up to a carpeted dining area and the open kitchen. Providing great day and night time food was also top priority so the venue also had to be conducive to dining so we designed an open kitchen pass alongside booth seating and other furniture that although very comfortable for drinks was also perfect for dining.
Leather booths and quirky small lampshades hang in a bunch above the tables. Says Steve, ‘I think people will eat in this area and in the extension area. While around the bar there is plenty of space to stand with a drink.”
The bar and restaurant is warm and cosy but also light and airy. This has been achieved with a variety of different wall effects from exposed stone to slate and some expensive looking wall coverings. It’s not just the fittings and fabrics that look expensive. The sound system is Bose and the sanitary ware in all the toilets is Porcelanosa, while the flooring is a mix of oak and Spanish looking tiles.
The hotel entrance, which has an elegant chandelier takes you up to the function suites and 29 bedrooms. The first function suite has a 80-capacity and boasts its own dance floor, bar and views over the river with French doors leading to the outside terrace. This suite is immediately adjacent to the main function suite which takes 180. It has a larger bar and a larger dance floor, and boasts some large ornate mirrors and some classy looking chandeliers. Says Steve, “I think this is my favourite room.”
While Michael says, “Manorview specialise in providing that amazing wedding experience so the first floor function rooms and guestrooms had to tick every box. The bespoke furniture in the executive rooms and Suites provide that extra bit of luxury with Spanish porcelain tiles and sanitary ware providing that extra bit of quality.”
The hotel has 29 bedrooms and three suites all of which are decorated to the same high standard and in a similar style. The predominant colour is chocolate, the carpets are all Wilton, while the bathrooms have Porcelanosa tiles and quality fittings.
It’s not just the rooms that have had attention to detail. The hall areas feature artwork of Glasgow and bespoke Wilton carpets with an over-scale floral design.
But it is the Honeymoon Suite which gets everyone talking. It boasts a luxury bathroom and its very own rooftop hot tub with love seat. It is totally secluded (fortunately), and gives the room an extra wow factor.
There is also a special pathway which takes you from the function suite to the special gazebo where bridal parties can get their photographs taken. It seems they have thought of everything.
Michael concludes, “All in all it’s been a pleasure to have worked on and is totally different from all of the other Manorview venues we have worked on, I would like people to walk in and see something they’ve never seen before. Ultimately they should walk away and feel they’ve been part of something special. As a designer, that’s always important.”
It certainly is special.