Homewood gets green light for £3m expansion plans

Local authorities have given the green light to £3m expansion plans for Homewood hotel near Bath, with work expected to start later this year.

Owners Ian and Christa Taylor plan to target longer stay leisure and multi-generational travellers by further enhancing the venue’s spa and leisure offering. The news follows a three-year process during which time the Taylors worked with local architect Kevin Murphy of Aaron Evans. The Caterer reported on the expansion plans in 2018.

Improvements will be made to the north of the main hotel in the grounds of Homewood Lodge, refurbished in 2020 into 10 luxury bedrooms, now known as Mallingford Mews. The development provided six new luxury guest suites, each with their own private terraces and hot tubs overlooking the Avon Valley, as well as a small meeting and events space.

In addition, extensions to the existing spa will create a new entrance foyer, a double treatment room, fitness suite and relaxation space.

Homewood already has 31 bedrooms, a garden spa with outdoor pool, and Olio restaurant.

Ian Taylor said: “Since we took ownership of Homewood in 2018, I have had ambitions to make the most of its heart-capturing location overlooking the beautiful Somerset countryside which sits in Green Belt and AONB. I have always seen great potential with the barn, outhouses, and spa; and it has been our vision to transform them into spaces for luxury experiences with a touch of playfulness.

“It is a key objective of this project to focus on sustainability and achieve a design that is sympathetic to our neighbours in the local community, by taking into full consideration, ecology, and light spill, given our location on the top of the hill. I am delighted with the final result, which marks the last piece of the jigsaw in the Homewood rejuvenation project, quickly developing as a market-leading boutique hotel.”

Homewood is part of the Taylors’ Kaleidoscope Collection, an independent hotel group including the Bird, also in Bath, and Bishopstrow Hotel & Spa in Wiltshire, which the Taylors bought out of administration in 2021.

The couple have a reputation for investing in properties and transforming them into design-led hotels, having also done so with No 15 Great Pulteney and the Abbey, also both in Bath, which they later sold.