Malmaison to take over from De Vere at The Belfry

Boutique hotel brand Malmaison and Hotel du Vin will take over the operating contract of The Belfry resort in the West Midlands from De Vere Hotels at the end of this month.

The hotel company, which operates 13 sites in the UK under the Malmaison brand and 15 under the Hotel Du Vin brand, will take over at The Belfry following a £26million, 18-month refurbishment project that included a £1m investment in the spa.

The Belfry is owned by private equity firm KSL Capital Partners, who bought the property two years ago. KSL appointed the De Vere Group to manage the hotel and leisure resort on a two-year contract, which comes to an end this month. Last year, KSL Capital Partners also acquired the Malmaison and Hotel Du Vin group.

Alex Messham, head of spa and leisure at The Belfry, said it’s unlikley that the switch will have much impact on clients as changes will be more in operations and systems. “We won’t become a Malmaison in look. To all intents and purposes people probably won’t see a lot of change,” she said.

“I think it’s really good for the future, because there are lots of touches of Malmaison that we will see that will just enhance what’s already happened. But it will more back of house things where we’ll see the changes.”