Georgian House Hotel invests £35k in creation of wizard-themed rooms
Serena von der Heyde, who is also general manager of the 60-bedroom Belgravia hotel, turned two of her existing bedrooms into 'Wizard Chambers' in 2013. Demand for the Harry Potter-style rooms was so great she saw a return on her investment in four months.
“The popularity of our Wizard Chambers has been incredible and we now have guests coming from all over the world to experience them. Following the launch of the first two bedrooms we have found that the revenue generated from each of the Wizard Chambers is almost three times more than that of one of our other boutique bedrooms," she said.
"We have also seen the hotel’s occupancy rate rise to 91 per cent and the average room rate throughout the hotel has risen by 120 per cent since the Wizard Chambers’ launch."
New rooms
The two new wizard-themed rooms have been designed by Diana Holmes, who transformed the original two. All Wizard Chambers are accessed through a passageway hidden behind a bookcase and feature four-poster beds draped with velvet curtains, stained glass windows, wood burners, cauldrons and spell books, although the two new rooms have been given a more 'sophisticated feel' for couples, not just families.
"With such high demand we wanted to extend our offering even further and have created two new rooms that will retain the same magical charm whilst providing a sophisticated twist for a slightly more mature audience," said von der Heyde.
Although guests travel from across the globe to stay in the themed rooms, von der Heyde, who is the great, great grandaughter of the hotel's builder, said she didn't want the hotel to be known as a themed one.
“We still want The Georgian House to be recognised for its exceptional standards, boutique style and home-from-home atmosphere found throughout the hotel," she said. "We are currently renovating six of our beautiful Belgravia Rooms and will continue to invest over the next few months, adding new features such as a freestanding beaten aluminium bath tub.”
Themed rooms within boutique hotels are increasing in popularity with Glazebrook House in Devon opening last July with Alice in Wonderland-themed bedrooms and Signature Living opening its Titanic-themed hotel 30 St James, in Liverpool.
