Behind the scenes of our brand new Splendid Rooms
After making a great start on our expansion back in June 2021, the new spa and bedrooms have since been a labour of love at The Swan to launch an incredibly exciting new offering in the world of spa, never-before seen in the Lake District.
Working alongside Fiona Parke of Parke Johnston Interiors, we have created 26 new bedrooms and 2 Splendid spa suites to accompany Holte Spa, boasting a focus on sustainability, relaxation and bringing the outside elements in, for our guests to relish and enjoy.
Keep reading to find out more about our muses, our vision and even some of the extra special features you can expect when you stay in a Splendid room or Splendid suite!
Meet our designer: Fiona Parke
Fiona Parke established Johnston Parke Interiors, a Hampshire based luxury interior design business, back in 2009. Fiona studied at Chelsea School of Art and Design before joining leading interior designers at Todhunter Earle Interiors where she worked for 10 years.
An expert in her field, you’ll often see Fiona’s name and work popping up in the likes of House & Garden, Country Living magazine and Ideal Home, think countryside chic with vibrant pops (exactly what we’re all about here at The Swan!)
Her vision is for inspiring interiors and blurring the line between classic and contemporary, with bold colours and daring prints, aligned with our own Swan mantra, and thus, our Splendid rooms were born!
The spaces we have created together are a series of relaxing rooms and a superb, one-of-a-kind spa to help guests relax, unwind and recharge from the strains of a busy life. We just know you are going to love them.
Our vision: Bringing the outside in
Surrounded by endless greenery, the beautiful, babbling River Leven right on our doorstep and of course the fells and falls the Lake District is so famously known for, it’s not surprising our brand-new rooms pay homage to the very scene they’re planted in.
Our new spa rooms are designed to be relaxing, calming and serene, aiming to create coherence with natures colour palette, with that special touch of boldness that we here at The Swan like to sprinkle. Just as the spa garden allows guests to immerse themselves into our natural surroundings, so do our bedrooms.
“In those rooms that face the ‘hillside’ we created a scheme of soft greens and for the ‘riverside rooms we went with warm blues.
As The Swan is known for its colourful fun interiors each room also has pops of colour for contrast, although the rooms are more tonal than those in the existing hotel to create calm, restful spaces for the spa guests.”- Fiona Parke
In our garden view Splendid rooms, you’ll find muted neutrals accompanied by pops of green, a colour symbolic of refreshment and peace, rest and security. In our river view rooms, you can look forward to soulful blue, a hue known to evoke emotions of inspiration, depth, and sincerity, contrasted with playful pops of pink, in keeping with the Swan magic our guests know and love!
Relaxing spaces, from spa to rooms
A main goal of ours when building our rooms was to keep a consistent colour palette throughout the spa and bedrooms to ensure an alignment and preserve those feelings of relaxation and rest after our guests have visited the spa.
From the moment you step into our new designated spa wing, whether it be the communal areas, poolside or the bedrooms, you’ll find consistency around every corner to guide you on your journey. For example, the bathrooms have wooden flooring as does most of the spa, and many of the colours in the Spa are cleverly used again within the bedrooms.
While the spa itself is more rustic in tone with natural wood and oak finishes, industrial lighting, slate flooring and walls, we have added soft green grass paper walls to tie in with relaxation and the palette used in our river view rooms.
It’s all in the detail
Those of you who have visited The Swan frequently will agree that we are all about adding that extra sparkle, whether it be the cheeky artwork on the walls or the patterns and prints galore you’ll find in every corner.
Just like our current rooms, lofts and suites, the headboards in our Splendid rooms are oversized and dramatic, a perfect statement piece. You can also expect bold patterned wallpaper, repeated across our soft furnishings and on our lampshades, in typical Swan fashion!
We’ve also added mini bars stocked with specially curated treats, plus Nespresso machines and biodegradable pods for an extra indulgence while keeping things green.
The en-suite bathrooms incorporate beautiful and intricate herringbone tiling in the showers, while the Splendid suites are far more spacious, featuring sofas, large bathrooms with gorgeous walk-in showers and double sink units, plus their very own walk-in wardrobes and dressing table area which are new elements to the Swan’s bedrooms – and not forgetting an incredible copper bath tub!
Sustainable suppliers and supporting locals
From luxury Bath House toiletries in the bathrooms to sourcing carpets from local Cumbrian manufacturers Newhey Carpets, we have truly taken every step to ensure our brand new bedrooms celebrate the very best that the Lakes has to offer.
In addition, we have incorporated an essence of sustainability throughout the spa and our bedrooms, as part of our pledge to go green, not just in our rooms, but in business too.
The artwork used throughout is by Olivia Axson, The Swan’s Arist in Residence for many years, whose art you can see dotted throughout the hotel already.
For the wallpapers and fabrics, we partnered with Thibaut and Anna French. For soft furnishings, curtains, and upholstery, we used Romo and Clayton Upholstery. Scrumble Goosie and Coachhouse for furniture, and Pooky for lamps and shades to tie in with the wallpaper.
Now open from Tuesday 1st March 2022!
We are oh so excited for you to see our Splendid rooms and suites for yourself, and are so excited to have officially opened the doors to our brand new wing and spa.
When staying in a Splendid room or suite, you can also enjoy complimentary access to Holte Spa giving you use of the incredible thermal suite including the Finnish sauna, indoor/outdoor pool and the hot tub.
So book your Splendid spa escape today!