Two tenacious businesswomen are behind the rebrand of a historic hotel in their home county.
Annaliese Hughes and Louise Martin have just opened Orange Grove Hotel and Gardens, a former Victorian manor house set in nine acres in Sarisbury Green.
The venue opened as The Mansion at Coldeast three years ago and, when the opportunity to invest and reinvent it arose earlier this year, Annaliese and Louise jumped at the chance.
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READ MORE:"We’ve worked together on many occasions, helping to make other people’s businesses successful,” said Annaliese. "We saw this as a unique chance to put everything we’ve learned, particularly from the London landscape, into action for ourselves, so we seized it.”
Work began in May and is ongoing.
“We have so many plans for this beautiful house and its stunning grounds,” said Louise. “What visitors see now is just the beginning of a very exciting journey.”
The inspiration for the new name came from the estate’s former use as a fruit farm.
Louise explained: “The brand reflects the sense of place we want to evoke in everything we do here. You feel it as soon as you walk into our grand reception with its stunning seasonal floristry using foliage from our grounds, and the gentle scent of incense, and it extends throughout the venue.”
There are plans to create a herb garden to supply the restaurant, as well as creating a cutting garden to enhance the focus on seasonal floristry and the gardens as a space to connect with nature.
The venue is a popular wedding and events choice, winning the coveted Muddy Stilettos Best Events Venue in Hampshire & IOW 2024, and the partners have plans to grow the reputation of Orange Grove Hotel and Gardens as a tourist and leisure destination, including possible wellness facilities, workshops and retreats.
As hospitality consultants with many years’ combined experience in the sector, they also continue to look for new projects that would benefit from their expertise.
Orange Grove has just launched its festive events programme. Details and a downloadable brochure can be found at orangegrovehotel.co.uk
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