‘WE are becoming part of the community’ — that’s the message from the man behind the spectacular revamp of Easthampstead Park Conference Centre as its transformation into a hotel and a place for everyone to enjoy nears completion.
Active Hospitality bought the mansion house from Bracknell Forest Council in 2018 in a £4.3 million deal which included a promise to regenerate the iconic site.
Two years later, the hoteliers have done just that by converting a crumbling and out-dated space into a modern and elegant new hotel in a £10 million revamp.
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The improvements at Easthampstead Park are aplenty — in a tour of the reimagined hotel, the News got an exciting first-look at the upgrades.
These include 65 plush new rooms (with another eleven potentially being added in the near future) coming in standard, deluxe and suite sizes.
New rooms come with stunning views of the grounds, sparkling new bathrooms and hanging chairs in the suite rooms.
The conference rooms (of which there are eleven) have had a big revamp too, having been upgraded with new technology, air conditioning and exciting new National Trust colour schemes.
Downstairs, the ballroom has been transformed fit for weddings, linking to its own bar and orangery and out into the grounds where guests can enjoy the far-ranging views.
Easthampstead Park now comes with two new exciting restaurants.
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The ‘Terrace’ restaurant is open already and features a standard menu for guests and visitors.
‘Grill 1864’ is a fine dining establishment serving a modern grill menu and offering a quirky wine list and is opening soon.
Perhaps the largest overhaul at Easthampstead Park is the conversion of a building formerly used by students.
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It sits across the courtyard from the main building and inside is East Park Gym, a space to work out complete with an accompanying group fitness studio, changing rooms and soon, a paddle tennis court.
Around 500 people have already signed up for a membership at the fitness centre, which features handpicked modern and functional equipment from “the best fitness brands in the world.”
The gym’s mantra is: “We want to change the way gyms operate – with your journey front and centre.
“To us #EveryWorkoutMatters.”
Next door to the gym is Hepburn Hall (named after the Hollywood legend) which features 26 smaller rooms for corporate clients making use of the site’s conference rooms and other professional facilities.
These rooms will also be made available to non-corporate guests at weekends, too.
These upgrades are the main enhancements carried out at Easthampstead Park, but other improvements are noticeable throughout the building, such as the lavish new reception area and the ritzy new lounge area where guests can enjoy afternoon tea.
A ‘soft opening’ of the site is now underway, with the Terrace restaurant, the gym and the majority of rooms ready for guests.
But a full opening will not be ready until February 2021, when it is hoped the last of the bedrooms will be complete.
Looking ahead, Easthampstead Park’s management hopes to hold festivals at the site’s grounds, with talks underway to hold literary and food events next year.
But Active Hospitality chiefs have not forgotten the mansion house's rich history, with original plans from 1861 displayed on the walls, conference rooms being named after famous people from the area and old pictures of the building dotted around the hotel.
Bruce Cave, Director of Active Hospitality, told the News he was very happy with his firm’s investment.
He said: “We’re really pleased with the two proper restaurants, two proper bars and the health and fitness area.
“What we are doing is becoming part of the community. It’s really old-fashioned hoteliering.
“What we wanted to do was really change its spots and have something where whether you are corporate or a leisure transient, it appeals equally to you.
“Or whether or not you’re an inbound guest or a local Bracknell or Wokingham person, you come here and say ‘wow — it’s on my doorstep, I can use this.’
“The idea is local people will come here on a Sunday and go for a walk, sit and have a coffee, or they can have a brunch or a Sunday roast.
“This place is now open for you to use properly. We’ve put in the facilities that allow proper community use.”
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