Thursday, 01 June 2017 00:00

Heaven in Harrogate with new £9.5m spa project

    When one of Harrogate’s most iconic hotels and resorts embarked on a new £9.5m spa project, it turned to Yorkshire companies Enjoy Design, Horsley and Feather and tile specialist Ceramique Internationale to deliver a sophisticated facility, which reflects the spa town’s heritage.

    Located in the beautiful Yorkshire countryside, Rudding Park is a Grade I Listed Regency-style country house turned luxury hotel, with 90 bedrooms, two restaurants and a kitchen garden, private cinema, two golf courses and conference and events space. Set across 300 acres of landscaped gardens and woodland, the resort has won a number of prestigious industry awards, including Trivago’s ‘Best Hotel Room’ in 2017, as well as being recognised as the only UK hotel in TripAdvisor’s ‘Hall of Fame for Hotels.’

    Now, after more than a decade of planning and development, the new state-of-the-art spa has opened its doors, adding to the already sizeable list of luxurious amenities offered by Rudding Park and reflecting the beauty of its natural surroundings. Closely overseen by owners Simon and Judi Mackaness, the spa incorporates an indoor swimming pool, which utilises natural filtered spring waters from Rudding Park’s 300-acre grounds, a juniper log sauna, a rasul, extensive mind and sense zones, beauty facilities as well as an awe-inspiring rooftop spa.

    This is the home to a hydrotherapy infinity pool and a panoramic sauna, which both overlook Rudding Park’s landscaped gardens. The rooftop spa also includes two steam rooms, an ice fountain, a snail shower experience and a first-of-a-kind rooftop spa garden.

    Designed by award-winning Gardener and TV Presenter, Matthew Wilson, the rooftop spa garden provides a haven of peace, offering new heights of rejuvenation and relaxation to guests, who can enjoy the garden sauna cabin, sun deck and spa bath amongst the trees, shrubs and plants.

    The spa is also the new location to one of Harrogate’s leading modern restaurants – Horto. Under Head Chef and Masterchef runner-up, Murray Wilson, the restaurant has built-up an award-winning reputation as a pop-up at Rudding Park, and expands on the resort’s lavish offerings.

    To create the spa’s look, the Yorkshire hotel enlisted the help of Leeds-based architect practice Enjoy Design and interior design firm Horseley and Feather from Bradford, along with long-time collaborator and tile specialist, Ceramique Internationale.

    With more than 40 years’ experience and knowledge in luxury tiles, Ceramique Internationale has worked with Rudding Park over a 10-year period, previously supplying tiles for the resort’s bedrooms, bathrooms and holiday lodges, and has also worked with Enjoy Design on a number of projects throughout Yorkshire.

    With a design brief in place, Ceramique Internationale set to work liaising with its contacts of Europe’s finest tile manufacturers and put forward a selection of samples. Ultimately it was an Italian manufacturer, with an esteemed history, which piqued the interest of both Enjoy Design and Rudding Park.

    Casalgrande Padana has been manufacturing luxury ceramics in the heart of Italy since 1960. Specialising in swimming pools and spa designs and employing more than 1000 people throughout its six factories, all of which are located in the world’s most important ceramic district; the tile manufacturer is constantly innovating and experimenting.

    Ceramique Internationale supplied Casalgrande’s stunning Amazzonia tile in Dragon Grey, positioned to provide a striking edge detail. The Amazzonia was specially chosen to blend with the bespoke drainage system, with some of the pieces being made in the UK to provide a bespoke and aesthetically-pleasing finish.

    For the resort’s changing and treatment areas, Casalgrande Padana’s Marte range was used extensively on the walls and floors. Using tones of beige and grey to create the tranquil spa effect, the Marte Grigio Egeo and Botticino tiles were used on the walls, with Grigio Maggia and Grigio Egeo on the floors, with these tiles also featuring the manufacturer’s Bocciardato surface for greater anti-slip properties.

    Ceramique Internationale also called upon tile manufacturer, Ragno, to provide its ‘Landscape’ tile in a beautiful ‘Sabbia’ colour for the hydrotherapy infinity pool and the relaxing indoor pool. The Landscape tiles used on the pool surround feature a Bocciardato anti-slip surface to enhance the safety of guests, while those used within the pool tanks had a natural surface to create an overall seamless finish.

    Cameron Fraser, Director of Ceramique Internationale, said: “The Rudding Park Spa is destined to be one of the finest in the country and recaptures Harrogate’s spa heritage, so we are more than delighted to have been able to play a part in its creation.

    “We work hard to build relationships with Europe’s finest tile manufacturers, and this enables us to offer the best products on the market and meet design briefs for exciting projects such as this one. We do believe that being able to put forward our personal recommendations and draw on our expertise, in terms of the right sort of tiles for swimming pools and spas, brings huge benefits to our clients.”

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