Hoar Cross Hall: A return to indulgence

Barons Eden director Edward Law talks about the £14 million refurbishment of Hoar Cross Hall and how the team is preparing for a post-pandemic surge

INTERVIEW BY MARK SMITH

The 150-year-old Hoar Cross Hall in Staffordshire welcomed 75,000 day spa and hotel guests in 2018/2019. Following a difficult year for all businesses in 2020, this popular spa hotel – part of luxury hotel and spa group Barons Eden – has now unveiled a host of upgrades following a £14m (c16m), two-year project.

Work on the spa has included a complete refurbishment of its Hair Parlour and Spa Boutique, the addition of a new entrance and the shaping of a more open-plan feel throughout. The team has also added a new treatment lounge to provide a calm waiting area for guests to relax in before and after their treatments.

The property’s 97 bedrooms and its communal areas also received significant upgrades that were intended to bring the hotel and spa interiors more in line with its luxury offering.

The spa’s stunning indoor poolscape

With the business closed due to the pandemic for much of 2020, the team used the time to pause, reflect and adjust the spa’s offering, developing a new guest journey and streamlining its treatment menu.

We talk to Edward Law, director of Barons Eden, about the investment project, the improved spa and an anticipated surge in demand this year.

Above from previous page: Calming natural materials comprise a relaxation room; the 150-year-old Hoar Cross Hall; The spa’s indoor swimming pool by Unique Pool

Why did you decide to invest £14m in Hoar Cross Hall and what has been upgraded?

This has been an ongoing project for a few years and is a significant investment for the Barons Eden group. We wanted to ensure Hoar Cross Hall, as one of the biggest spa resorts in Europe, both met and exceeded our guests’ expectations.

A stimulating aspen wood sauna by DaleSauna

Within the spa offering this has been a continual process, but now we have new waiting areas for guests to use before they enter the treatment rooms. We’ve rethought the whole spa journey starting at guest collection and continuing along their journey to the treatment rooms and other facilities. This includes the rooms themselves and we have updated many of the soft furnishings.

Following the spa’s renovation, we also refurbished the hotel bedrooms and communal areas, including the Long Gallery Bar and the outdoor terrace.

What have you learned from lockdown that will inform your business for the future?

It has been a fascinating, emotional roller-coaster ride. I don’t think we have ever been used to shutting down then relaunching our business but we have now been through that cycle three times and each time our offering has had to change.

If we take anything away from that, it’s all about keeping your offering clear, simple and easy to understand, while also being true and authentic. Clearly a business has to be flexible and reactive in this situation, but for a big business, this can be challenging.

Edward Law Director, Hoar Cross Hall

“One positive that has come out of the pandemic is the greater focus people now have on health and wellness. Traditionally we would have a six-week booking window, but right now we have bookings through to the autumn”

We’ve learnt about really investing in training our team to ensure they can deliver the guest experience we want to see. Training people while on furlough has been a great way to keep in touch and also to continue developing our team.

I don’t think anyone would choose to go through the 12 months we’ve had, but it’s not very often you get to press ‘pause’ on your business, and we were able to really assess what we can do and where we can take it. One benefit of not having anyone in the hotel was that we were able to accelerate that learning process.

What booking trends do you see for 2021?

One positive that has come out of this is the greater focus people now have on health and wellness, and for the whole industry that is really wonderful. Traditionally we would have a six-week booking window, but right now we have bookings through to the autumn. People are really wanting things to look forward to and we have seen great pick-up within the hotel part of the business, reflecting the trend for staycations.

We know our guests are looking to treat themselves to an indulgent experience closer to home while continuing to focus on their health and wellbeing. We are also seeing bookings for multi-night wellness experiences. In the spa, full-body massage treatments are in high demand. We use Shared beauty Secrets Lava Shell massage and it’s been really popular.

How are you planning to deal with this surge in demand over the summer?

Strategically for the business it’s so important to be able to deliver the experience that your customers deserve. Many of our team members have been out of the business for three to six months, so we are continually training and making sure we implement our cultural objectives around team work and the guest experience. We are also actively recruiting for more team members.

Tennis in the grounds of Hoar Cross Hall

We plan to use the first month, when spa volumes are likely to be reduced, as a settling-in period for the business. Guests will be able to have a lovely day at a certain price point but they won’t necessarily have the same access as they would if the spa was fully open.

Have you adapted the treatment menu?

We have rethought the spa treatment menu and to some extent simplified it, focusing on the treatments we see most demand for and those that are most well received by guests. These include our most popular massage therapies. Previously, we maybe had a tendency to offer too many choices, which can make it complex when people are looking for full experiences. So this is one way that we have changed things for the better.

The spa partners with Elemis, Gerrard International, Jennifer Young and Shared Beauty Secrets

Why are touch therapies so popular now?

There’s a lot talked about the senses, but touch is one of the most overlooked ones and it’s so important. As humans beings we are quite tactile and can really benefit from a massage, especially after a period of enforced separation as we have all recently been through. At Barons Eden we recognise that and we will offer guests exactly what they need. We can’t wait to welcome everyone back.

Fact File: Hoar Cross Hall

Owners: Barons Eden Ltd Managing director: Adrian Pearson General manger: Andy Rathbone Director of spa and leisure: Phil Murphy Total investment: £14 million Bedroom design and interiors: Hip Creative and TC Builders Spa team: 85 Spa size: 8,000sqm Treatment rooms: 41 Fitness equipment: Technogym Sauna: Anapos and DaleSauna Swimming pool: Unique Pool Product partners: Elemis, Gerrard International, Jennifer Young, Shared Beauty Secrets. Tel: +44 (0) 1283 477900 www.baronseden.com/hoar-cross-hall