Ben Danielsen appointed general manager of Cameron House hotel

Royal Crescent general manager Ben Danielsen is set to depart the Bath hotel this week to take up the same position at Cameron House on Loch Lomond from 19 July.

Norwegian-born Danielsen told The Caterer he was looking forward to being part of Cameron House “re-establishing itself at the top end of the luxury resort market”.

He said his previous role as general manager of the Vale Resort in Cardiff and the Crowne Plaza Resort Colchester has armed him with resort experience, and he has also gained experience of working within the five-star environments of the Royal Crescent and four years as operations director of the Vineyard Group.

He added: “When I pass Carlisle and arrive on the motorway into Scotland, it is almost like driving in Norway. When I come to that open landscape, I can feel my shoulders lowering and I just take a deep breath. It is just like coming home.”

Danielsen has replaced previous general manager Craig Paton, who left the property in February.

The hotel in West Dunbartonshire is due to reopen on 1 August after being extensively damaged in a fire in December 2017, just months after the completion of a £4m refurbishment project. Two guests were killed. The hotel has since admitted safety failings and was fined £500,000 while a porter was sentenced to a community payback order. An independent Crown Office review has decided that a Fatal Accident Inquiry should be held into the deaths of Richard Dyson and Simon Midgley.

The reopening will see the launch of a new fine dining restaurant, Tamburrini & Wishart, overseen by Scottish chefs Paul Tamburrini and Martin Wishart.

The luxury resort is also in the process of building a £17.5m extension, which will include a 7,345 sq ft ballroom with capacity for 400 guests and an additional 68 bedrooms, taking the resort up to 208 bedrooms in total including 30 suites, which will be completed and open to guests in January 2022.