Something Old, Something New ....... At Rookery Hall Hotel

When searching for the ‘perfect’ wedding venue, one may dream of a historic country house, a place of magic and romance, combined with spacious and stylish banqueting facilities to accommodate a sumptuous wedding breakfast and evening celebration. It can be a tall order.

Hand Picked Hotels’ has the answer in their luxury four-star Cheshire country house property, Rookery Hall Hotel, near Nantwich.

A £10m development is underway to transform the hotel’s existing wedding and banqueting facilities. From July 2007, there will be a banqueting suite to accommodate up to 200 guests with its own private bar and reception area. The banqueting suite will be light and airy, decorated in a classic contemporary style with luxurious design touches such as rich rosewood timber, linen, suede and velvet fabrics. Outside there is a south-facing terrace area, perfect for a Champagne reception, overlooking the rolling meadows of the stunning Cheshire countryside beyond. Additionally there will be stylish new interior-designed bedrooms with luxurious touches including LCD TV’s at the foot of your bath and all-over body showers. A luxurious Health Club & Spa will add to the allure of this stunning venue, ensuring that brides can be relaxed and glowing on the big day.

The style of the new facilities blends harmoniously with the original Georgian mansion, with its French chateau appearance, itself the result of a nineteenth century alteration by the Baron von Schroder, previous owner of this unique House. The historic elegance of the house and grounds can be used as a backdrop for your wedding photography, combining the best of the old with the new.

Julia Hands, Chief Executive of Hand Picked Hotels, comments, “This latest investment follows the £40 million we have already spent across the group over the last couple of years bringing Hand Picked Hotels’ collection of country houses back to their former glory. Weddings are a very important area of business at Rookery Hall Hotel and we are very popular as a venue already, due to our exclusivity and personal service. However one area of frustration was Brides with large guest lists, as we simply couldn’t accommodate them. With more extensive banqueting facilities we shall be firmly positioned as one of the most prestigious venues in the Cheshire area for both large and small weddings.”

Hand Picked Hotels is a unique collection of 14 luxury country house hotels across the UK and Jersey, marrying stunning architecture and locations with modern conveniences, fine wine and dining.

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For further information, to arrange a site visit or request images, please contact Sarah Proctor at Rookery Hall (T) 01270 610016 (E) sproctor@handpicked.co.uk

Notes to editors:

Created by former City lawyer Julia Hands, the exclusive Hand Picked Hotels collection are 14 architecturally splendid former country houses, renowned for stunning interiors, exquisite food, fine wines and excellent service in a relaxing atmosphere. The hotels are conveniently located across the UK, from Surrey, Kent and East Sussex, to the New Forest, Jersey and Edinburgh.

Hand Picked Hotels won AA Hotel Group of the Year 2004-2005 and was presented with the Business Excellence Award last December by the Tourism Minister for its commitment to customer service and developing the brand. Julia was presented with the top award in the Tourism and Leisure business sector of the First Women Awards, organised by the CBI, in conjunction with Real Business magazine, in July last year. Julia also sits on the judging panel for the Wines and Spirits Education Trust.