DH Building the future at East Lodge

March 25, 2011 - PRLog -- When one of the finest award winning country house hotels in the country embarked on a £¼ million kitchen refurbishment and needed a flawless job matched by an equally fast turnaround on the building works, they turned to Chesterfield-based DH Builders.

Situated in the heart of the Peak District and 10 acres of its own grounds, superior hotel and restaurant East Lodge has always enjoyed a reputation for looking good; and when the decision was taken to revolutionise the kitchen, complete with a chef’s table, it was quickly realised the building work required to accommodate the new features and equipment would require an extraordinary team of builders with the vision and skills to undertake such a challenging task.

“DH Builders have done a fantastic job for us and I would recommend them to anyone without hesitation,” said East Lodge managing director, Iain Hardman. “This was no ordinary kitchen facelift but a complete redesign, including removing several load bearing 3ft thick original walls, so to complete ahead of schedule surprised and pleased us enormously.”

The first jack hammer went through the wall on 10 January and the chefs were back in the kitchen cooking on 30 Jan – less than three weeks later, which is an astonishing achievement in circumstances where disruption had to be kept to a minimum.

“Nothing was ever too much trouble for Dean Hollis and his team,” added Iain. “I have never experienced such friendly and efficient service from a builder, even when we really challenged them to complete on time. The kitchen is the heart of our business and once we had taken the decision to invest in the improvements, we needed a swift completion and Dean and his team delivered when it mattered. In fact, we were so impressed with the “no problem” response to everything, that Dean and his team are now cracking on with a new project at the hotel.

“I am sure the building trade is very similar to the hospitality industry in that reputation is everything and business is built in the main by word of mouth – Dean will be mentioned to everyone we talk to and any future projects people are considering we will point them in the direction of DH Builders.

“East Lodge has acquired a reputation for delivering some of the finest cuisine the country has to offer; hence the decision was taken to invest in making the kitchen at East Lodge not just ok or good, but also the best the region has to offer.                                                                  

“The chef’s table will be a real highlight, where people can dine in style while watching the new kitchen at work,” said East Lodge Head Chef Simon Bradley. “The new space and layout means this is one of the best kitchens I have ever seen and we now have space for all the very latest equipment, including a walk-in fridge and specialist cooking tools like a plancha.”

“We were delighted to work on such a prestigious project like East Lodge,” said D H Builders’ owner Dean Hollis. “Challenges like this one are bread and butter for us, but the added factor in this case was the need for an extremely fast completion. The clock was running from the moment the first hammer went in but good pre-project planning and negotiations with the client meant we were able to deliver the job ahead of schedule, leaving Iain and his team to get on with what they do best - being a superb hotel and restaurant.”

Thanks to the help from DH Builders, East Lodge is back delivering the finest food, functions and facilities to be found anywhere in the region. Owned by the Hardman family, this multi-award winning venue has remained at the top by constantly improving its service and living by the motto that good enough just isn’t good enough; a drive for excellence that has led this Hotel of the Year to be one of only 48 hotels in the country to be awarded a Visit England Gold Award and to be once again attending the national finals of the Enjoy England Excellence Awards in 2011 for Outstanding Customer Service. This latest refurbishment and capital investment ensures the hotel is building an equally bright future for its guests and staff.

ENDS                                                                                                                                      

Photograph and caption:

Iain Hardman, Managing Director at the multi award-winning East Lodge hotel and restaurant in Rowsley.

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