Five star hotel set to shine in N Yorks (From York Press)

Five star hotel set to shine in N Yorks

12:09pm Thursday 24th April 2008 in News By Ron Godfrey

HUNDREDS of jobs are set to be created by a York company which plans to build a £100 million five star hotel in North Yorkshire.

It will aim to be the last word in opulence where guests can whirl in on one of four helipads and its top room rates will be about £800 per night.

Plans to build the luxury hotel - the biggest in the North of England and the first five star hotel in North Yorkshire - have been unveiled by developers The Skelwith Group, which is based in York Business Park, Poppleton.

The Flaxby Country Club between Knaresborough and York will include 303 rooms, three restaurants, a luxury spa complex, bars and boutiques, set around a 27 hole golf course - and nestling in nearly 300 acres of North Yorkshire countryside.

Work will start later this year on the hotel which, when completed in 2011, will generate 500 jobs on the site just off the A1 opposite RR Donnelley, the printing firm in Flaxby.

The Skelwith Group has followed up planning consent granted to Alan Armstrong, the previous owner of the Flaxby golf course which forms the centrepiece of the development.

It will also be an investment opportunity, because while the project has backing from a major bank, the rooms will be sold individually, offering guaranteed returns of 7.5 per cent for eight years.

Prices for a standard hotel room will start at about £90,000, or investors can pay £250,000 for each of five presidential-style suites, complete with individual cinema and private dining areas. Paul Ellis, managing director of The Skelwith Group - which is also undertaking a £5 million project to transform a derelict building in Bootham, York into a supermarket with offices and luxury apartments above - said: "This hotel and spa will be the North of England's premier destination for business, leisure and all special occasions.

"It will boost the local and regional economy and be the last word in luxury travel experience.

"It will offer the facilities, opulence and service of a Park lane hotel, but be set in beautiful Yorkshire Countryside. Our investment concept will offer a one off opportunity to invest in five star luxury and be part of something unique and groundbreaking, while also financially being an exceptional deal. It is strategically located, just off the A1 and only 30 minutes' drive from Leeds."

The complex will also feature conference facilities, nature trails throughout the grounds and a 24-hour driving range.

Joanna Royle, Yorkshire Tourist Board's marketing director, said she strongly supported the proposal.

She said: "This kind of quality development is just what we need to ensure the tourist economy continues to thrive and we compete globally in the industry.

"We are very excited by the project and expect it to attract both business travellers and tourists from the UK and abroad."

Andy Tordoff, head of rural renaissance and tourism for Yorkshire Forward also welcomed the Flaxby development.

He said: "Competing in an international business arena means we also need to step up to the plate with the highest international standards in our growing leisure and service industries to support this."

Growing demand

THE Flaxby Country Club is likely to beat York to the draw when it comes to the area's first five star hotel.

The Skelwith Group is stealing a march on plans by Acropolis Hotels to convert the former GNER offices in Station Rise into a top hotel. The scheme is still with York planners.

But it comes at a time of massive investment in hotels in York to meet a growing demand.

The £9 million four star Hotel du Vin recently opened at The Mount; there has been a £4 million refurbishment of all 200 rooms at the Park Inn in North Street as well as a £2 million revamp of The Ibis in the Mount and a £1.5 million new look at the Hilton.

The Barbican Centre is due to reopen this year with a hotel and conference facilities; and Grantside is redeveloping part of the former Terrys chocolate factory headquarters into a four star-plus hotel.

Gillian Cruddas, chief executive for Visit York, nonetheless welcomes as "good news" the new five star venture. "If York can also secure a five star we will be in a position to market the city and surroundings to a wider, affluent market, attracting more top quality and high spending conference and leisure visits."

The York-based Skelwith Group has more than £115 million of development under construction, including at least 1,000 homes. It builds, sells and lets developments on behalf of investors.

It is in the process of building and selling three flagship developments in York city centre.