De Vere Latimer Estate completes £7m renovation

The 205-bedroom De Vere Latimer Estate in the heart of the Chiltern Hills, Buckinghamshire, has unveiled a £7m renovation that has revealed many original features of the early 19th-century property.

An additional 31 bedrooms have been created in the red brick Tudor-style mansion following the transformation of what was previously meeting rooms and offices.

The hotel now features the new 1838 restaurant and bar with an open kitchen, serving seasonal British dishes. It has also launched De Vere's first Burr & Co. coffee shop concept, which has already been introduced into the Edinburgh property of sister hotel brand Principal.

The mansion house at the heart of the 30-acre estate offers four event spaces, including the Cavendish Suite for up to 200 guests. There are also an additional 28 flexible meeting and events spaces located in the Cormorant and Mews buildings, adjacent to the mansion house.

Completed in 1838, the main property hosted captured German U-boat submarine crews and Luftwaffe pilots during the Second World War before becoming the National Defence College until 2006. De Vere Venues operated the property as a conference and events space until Starwood Capital Group bought the building as part of its £231m acquisition of the company in March 2014.

Antonio Campanile, general manager at De Vere Latimer Estate, said: "We're very proud to have restored this remarkable mansion house back to glory; a lot of time and work has gone in to this project, to ensure homage is paid to its important history. The newly refurbished bedrooms are looking fantastic and we're already receiving excellent feedback from guests."

The completion of Latimer Estate's refurbishment is part of the wider multi-million-pound renovation of De Vere's estate of country hotels. Many of the properties in the 24-strong portfolio are set to see extensive improvements in the outside areas, with the addition of outdoor dining patios and sculptures.

De Vere Wotton House unveils final £6m transformation >>

Starwood Capital's new city centre brand to be known as Principal >>

Starwood Capital buys De Vere Venues for £231m >>

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