Bruntwood Hall will be converted into a hotel known as Oddfellows On The Park. It will have 23 bedrooms, a restaurant, a bar, treatment rooms, and a ‘dramatic’ event space. Architect Tim Groom is in charge of the building’s conversion.
The building is situated in Bruntwood Park in over 100 acres of land which features ponds, waterways and woodlands. This will be the first time that the building has been used as a hotel, though it has previously been used as a town hall and a racehorse stud farm.
Oddfellows, Chester reported that it had been seeking a new site for the past year, but wanted to find a property it could put its ‘signature spin’ on.
“It had to be a property with character,” explained Oddfellows’ Sarah Dougherty. “Oddfellows, Chester is well known for its quirky design spin on a beautiful period property, and we wanted our second property to do the same.
“We love adding vibrancy to a period property that has lost its lustre, but still retains all of its charm. This beautiful mansion had everything we were looking for.”
Individual hotels
The group intends for Oddfellows On The Park to be ‘very different’ from its other city centre hotel in Chester, which opened in 2012.
“We didn’t want to just imitate the success we have had with Oddfellows, Chester,” said Jonathan Slater, managing director of Oddfellows. “It is important to us that Oddfellows grows and develops as a brand, not as a cookie-cutter business model. Both sites must retain their own personalities and characters with relevance to their location and history.
“Oddfellows On The Park will offer something completely different to our Chester site. We’ll be based in affluent south Manchester close to the airport, with the most stunning grounds and outlook we could ask for. This will make us not only a weekend destination, but also a beautiful wedding venue. It is an exciting step forward for us.”