Rockcliffe Hall
Creating the ‘WOW’ factor
Utopia Projects is working countrywide on some of UK’s leading five star hotels, from Rockliffe Hall in the north to The Dorchester Hotel & Doyle Collection in the south.
Rockliffe Hall is a stunning hotel with 61-bedrooms, a 50,000 sq ft spa and fitness facility, and a 7,800 yard golf course. Utopia Projects worked closely with RTR Design Associates to transform this previous Grade II Ancestral home into a highly-desirable destination and deliver the true meaning of five star luxury…
Key Objectives
Rockliffe Hall’s mission was to create one of the most outstanding destination hotels in the UK and the best five star in the North of England. Chairman, Warwick Brindle, intended to set new standards for bathrooms in this type of property in order to truly pamper guests, and this has been achieved through working closely with RTR Design and Doncaster and London based luxury bathroom consultants Utopia Projects.The Concept
RTR Design Associates Ltd was appointed to create a “beautiful, timeless and elegant experience for guests.” Sam Terry, Director of RTR elaborates: “The bathrooms needed to be the height of luxury and opulence in keeping with the exquisite design of the bedrooms throughout the building”.
Materials and Manufacturers
More than £500,000 was spent on fitting out the luxury guest bathrooms with the very latest high-class bathroom equipment…
Marble and Granite Utopia Stoneworks
Brassware Dornbracht, Kludi
Sanitary Ware Villeroy and Boch
Fittings and Accessories Viega, Hüppe and Kaldewei
Lighting Contractor KLS Lighting
M&E Contractor Shepherd Engineering Services
Main Contractor Shepherd Construction
Utopia Projects put together the specification for the entire project - room by room - including public areas, apartels and the golf club. The specification included the sanitary ware, brassware, accessories, enclosures, disabled, baths, trays, urinals, pre-wall frames, and the highly-technical supply and fit of the marble and granite vanity tops by Utopia’s sister company Utopia Stoneworks, throughout the 10 old-style rooms and 36 new rooms.
The Golf, Leisure and Spa Facilities
Rockliffe Hall has created the wow factor with a championship golf course and one of the largest spas in the country, set in 375 acres of stunning countryside. Utopia produced the specification for these truly outstanding facilities:
- Utopia Stoneworks marble vanity units
- Kludi Esprit basin mixers and Hansgrohe electronic thermostatic shower valves
- Keuco Plan grab bars, drop arms and shower seats to enhance the DDA specification
- Villeroy & Boch extended wall hung WC's and compact basins.
Exclusive finishing touches included golf flags on the urinals, instead of the usual ‘X’ marks the spot.
Challenges
The project was subject to a number of delays not least the presence of bats in and around the property which caused the commencement of the construction phase to be put back by several months. There were a few technical challenges along the way, due to the high level of the equipment and many changes had to be made during the project due to construction constraints and footprint changes, which were quickly overcome without any disasters or compromise to design. Utopia Project’s task was simply to deliver a five star project through value engineering the right products and pricing, and ensure the high standards of expectation where achieved. From the time of specification three years previously, more than 95% of the original spec was installed.
Outcome
With beautiful bathroom furnishings by Villeroy and Boch, Viega, Hüppe and Kaldewei, platinum-plated brassware by Dornbracht, and mood lighting by KLS Lighting, the attention to detail resulted in superbly-appointed bathrooms with everything a guest could want…
Utopia Projects proudly commented: “Virtually everything we originally specified and priced was delivered on-site as per the scheduled programme. For the M&E contractor, Shepherd Engineering Services, this was an education from start to finish of five star products for a five star complex and SES truly excelled.”
Sam Terry said of the project, “Rockliffe Hall has been a challenging but ultimately fantastic project to work on. The building and the setting are perfect for a hotel and the collaboration between RTR Design and Utopia has produced results which are gaining universal approval from the client and visitors daily.”
Nick Holmes, Managing Director of Rockliffe Hall said: “We wanted every single element of Rockliffe Hall to make our guests say ‘wow’. Utopia Projects understood this completely by providing the solution to our demands and making Rockliffe’s bathrooms the very best possible - I can safely say Rockliffe Hall has some of the swankiest toilet roll holders in the North of England!”
Rockliffe Hall, since opening, has received acknowledgements from customers as being the ‘best bathroom for DDA requirements’.
The project was completed on time, on budget.
