Dorset cliff-top boarding house undergoes major revamp
The owners are hoping to open by the end of this year and the new boarding house will offer eight guestrooms as well as a large restaurant and separate bar. The boarding house has also been granted planning permission to construct a further eight bedrooms, though work on these won’t be started until after it has opened.
The building has been closed since November last year as to undergo construction work to turn it from a 19-bedroom motel into a traditional-style seaside boarding house.
“We’ve stripped the whole building out and we’ve gone right back down to basics,” managing director of the Seaside Boarding House Mary-Lou Sturridge told BigHospitality.
“We’ve put in new drains, new electrics and new windows. When there were 19 bedrooms some of them were the size of broom cupboards, but we’ve turned it into a large restaurant and bar with eight, nice-sized bedrooms overlooking the sea.”
Old fashioned feel
Sturridge plans for the boarding house interiors to have an ‘old fashioned’ feel. The bedrooms will have high beds so guests are able to take advantage of the ocean view, while the bar will have old fashioned club chairs rather than sofas.
The Seaside Boarding House will also have a restaurant with 50 covers which will serve a modern English menu. The restaurant will open onto an outdoor terrace available for customers to use when the weather is fine.
“At lunch time the restaurant is going to be cheerful, so people walking on the beach can pop in for sandwiches or fish and chips,” explained Sturridge. “But it will have more of a grown-up feel in the evenings.”
The boarding house will also have a large events space with a wooden dance floor and mirror-ball, where Sturridge intends to host weddings and local events.
“We’ll be able to have a bit of fun with it,” added Sturridge. “It’s a gorgeous setting and it’s a World Heritage site. The boarding house is perched on the cliff so there’s a lot of natural beauty and we have our own set of steps down to the beach.”
The Seaside Boarding House is currently recruiting a head chef. Find out more on BigHospitalityJobs.
