Laura Ashley Hotel The Iliffe, Coventry, formerly known as Corus The Chace Hotel, opened its doors on Monday 29th July 2019, revealing its Laura Ashley transformation.
The new boutique Laura Ashley Hotel, which is only the second Laura Ashley branded hotel, had a thorough refurbishment to bring it in line with Laura Ashley brand standards. The elegant new interiors showcase the Laura Ashley Home range and its exquisite, high-quality inherently British fabrics and furnishings throughout.
Laura Ashley Hotel The Iliffeis, Coventry is a stunning example of Victorian architecture surrounded by three acres of attractive landscaped gardens. The new design takes inspiration from the grand sweeping staircase, leading upstairs to the new beautifully designed Laura Ashley bedrooms, which evokes the splendour of the past in what would have been a grand country house.
The land, which the property is located on, boasts a colourful history dating back to 1257 and was once owned by King Henry VIII. Laura Ashley Hotel The Iliffe, Coventry is named after the family the property was constructed for in the late 1890s, Dr Charles Webb Iliffe, a well-respected figure in the local medical community, and his wife, a young debutante, Mary Ann Soden.
Every part of the hotel has been redesigned drawing inspiration from the hotel’s Victorian heritage, with carefully selected rich colours which complement each other and luxurious furnishings to create an elegant space to entice comfort and relaxation.
Speaking on the hotel’s redesign, Kay Cullen, Commercial Designer for Laura Ashley, said: “I was charmed by the beautiful building which once a grand manor house of late Victorian origin. The beautiful sweeping staircase takes you on a journey through the owner’s past with a portrait of the glamorous lady Mary Ann Soden as a debutante in the mid eighteen hundreds. To pay homage to the decadence this image portrays, I decided to bring back a sense of the past and to embrace the beautiful detail within this magnificent old building.”
The boutique hotel’s 17 superior and deluxe Laura Ashley bedrooms have been designed to infuse a sense of tranquillity with an effortless style. Classic Laura Ashley design adorns every surface, from plush cushions, to Laura Ashley Glenmore chairs in marine velvet, floor-to-ceiling drapes to statement lighting and stylish Laura Ashley Constellation Champagne and Gold Constance Mirrors.
Classic leather Hudson button back sofas add a touch of luxury and are a nod to the gentleman’s library that would have been cherished in a grand house by the Iliffe family. While a bespoke bookshelf separates the bar from the lounge space, with a secret pocket door which opens to connect both spaces when required. In the main restaurant there is a hand painted mural to reflect the surrounding grounds and to add a little country manor house romance to the space.
The Laura Ashley Hotels portfolio, which also includes The Belsfield Hotel, Windermere, and is soon to include Burnham Beeches Hotel in Buckinghamshire, aims to offer guests an authentic home from home experience against the backdrop of the Laura Ashley Home range in characterful properties in the UK.
The hotel is also home to a Laura Ashley The Tea Room which opened in October 2018.
