Bath hoteliers Ian and Christa Taylor have hit the acquisition trail again – snapping up Homewood Park Hotel & Spa at Freshford for their fast-growing Kaleidoscope Collection.
They bought the four-silver-AA-star, 21-bedroom hotel, pictured, from Longleat Group Hotels to take Kaleidoscope’s portfolio to three with the 40-bedroom boutique No.15 Great Pulteney, which opened in December 2016, and the four-star 22-bedroom County Hotel on Pulteney Rd, which they acquired in March.
The Taylors have spent the past year shuffling the Kaleidoscope portfolio, selling the 21-bedroom Villa Magdala to the Indian-owned Roseate Hotels & Resorts last summer and then their flagship 62-bedroom Abbey Hotel in February to KE Hotels.
They said they plan to transform Homewood into “a laid-back country hideaway”, with gardens and shepherds’ huts in the woodlands, as well as onsite artisans producing ceramics and homeware available to buy. Homewood general manager Ian Griebenow will stay on to oversee the property.
The bedrooms, public spaces, restaurant and spa will be refreshed, and as Kaleidoscope’s other properties, statement artwork will be at the heart of the transformation. Work is expected to take two years to complete.
Overseeing the Homewood kitchen team will be Kaleidoscope’s recently appointed executive chef Marc Hardiman, who worked at the hotel under a previous owner.
Prior to joining Kaleidoscope he was executive chef at Great Fosters Hotel in Egham – where he led its team to win three AA rosettes and a Michelin star for its Tudor Room restaurant – and has also worked at Charlton House in Shepton Mallet and Nunsmere Hall in Cheshire.
The Bath College-trained chef will launch a new restaurant concept at Homewood focused on local and home-grown produce and a nature-inspired afternoon tea menu.
Ian Taylor said: “We’re delighted that Homewood continues the next phase of growth for the Kaleidoscope Collection. Adding a relaxed country house hotel to the group has been part of our long-term plan for some time now.”
Longleat Group Hotels – part of Longleat Enterprises, owner of the stately home theme park near Warminster – bought Homewood in 2011 from the administrators of previous owners Von Essen hotel chain, along with Bishopstrow House in Warminster. Longleat Group Hotels recently sold Bishopstrow to Hampshire firm Versant Developers.
The two disposals leave the group with just the 16-bedroom Bath Arms on the Longleat Estate, described as a “quintessentially British B&B with a quirky, country twist”.
Funding for Kaleidoscope’s Homewood acquisition came from Barclays with Bath law firm Mogers Drewett and accountants Moore Stephens advising on the deal.
Mogers Drewett partner in the company commercial team Tom Webb said: “We have a long and trusted relationship with Ian and Christa and, as such, have a deep understanding of their business. We were delighted to have the opportunity to act for them again on this special acquisition.”
