Warner Leisure Hotels

Warner Leisure Hotels is a regional chain of hotels operating throughout the UK, hosting accommodation ranging from manor houses to coastal resorts and villages. Owned by Bourne Holidays Limited, to date Warner Leisure Hotels offer a total of thirteen properties in the following locations: Cheshire, North Wales, Somerset, Herefordshire, Berkshire, North Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Isle of Wight, Suffolk and Hampshire.

Brief Company History

Captain Harry Warner opened his first Northney Holiday Camp at Hayling Island in 1932 in order to provide families with holidays by the sea. During the late 1980s Warner Holiday Camps were rebranded as Haven Holidays. As the holiday market evolved, in 1994 Warner rebranded to its present offering, providing short UK adult-only breaks at a network of seven country hotels in select inland locations, and six hotels located in coastal villages on the English mainland and the Isle of Wight.

In 2000 Bourne Leisure bought the Rank Organisation which consisted of the Warner, Butlins and Haven holidays brands. Bourne Leisure is privately owned by John Cook, Peter Harris and David Allen.^[1]

Nidd Hall Hotel

See Nidd Hall

Nidd Hall Hotel is a grade II listed mansion near Harrogate,^[2] which was built in the 1820s. It is located in the heart of Yorkshire and is surrounded by 45 acres of grounds. It was built for Benjamin Rawson who was a wealthy Bradford wool merchant on the site of an Elizabethan manor house. The building has Tuscan columns, dome capitals and stained-glass panels. Rooms include a dining room with a copper ceiling and a 12-foot-high marble fireplace, an entrance hall with a grand staircase, drawing room and a panelled library, behind which are also two secret chambers.

The site also includes a self-contained Georgian cottage which overlooks the village church of Nidd. This was redesigned in 2009, with much of the building restored to close to its original state.

Thoresby Hall Hotel

See Thoresby Hall

Thoresby Hall Hotel is a Grade I listed house ^[3] that sits within the 100-acre Thoresby Estate, in the heart of the area commonly known as 'Robin Hood country' in Nottinghamshire. The hotel grounds consist of 30 acres of gardens. The hotel itself was restored over a decade ago.

Thoresby Hall is a part of The Dukeries – a tract of forest belonging to the Dukes of Portland and Newcastle, and the house’s original owner, Earl Manvers.

The mansion was bought by Richard Pierrepont, 1st Earl of Kingston in 1633. It was then replaced in the 1680s by the 4th Earl of Kingston before being rebuilt by the 2nd Duke in 1771. The present Thoresby Hall has occupied its site since 1875.

Thoresby Hall is most well known for its link with Robin Hood. It lies close to the best-known tree in England, known as the Major Oak, and the nearby church of St Mary, Edwinstowe, where Robin is said to have exchanged vows with Maid Marian. The Major Oak forms a centrepiece of the Sherwood Forest Visitor Centre, which also houses an art and crafts centre, to be found just a few minutes' drive from Thoresby Hall.

Corton Coastal Village

Corton Coastal Village is located near Lowestoft, Suffolk, set on a cliff overlooking the North Sea. It is close to the most easterly point of the UK.

Developments took place in 2012 with new rooms and landscaping. The village consists of chalets, beach gardens and lawns overlooking the coast.

At the end of the 19th century, Jeremiah Colman, patriarch of the family which established the world-renowned mustard business in nearby Norwich, built a house called The Clyffe and turned the estate into gardens on the east coast.^[4] W J Brown MP bought the property in 1924 on behalf of the Civil Service Holiday Association. It was in 1946 that the Warners bought the Corton estate and began to develop it as a modern coastal holiday village.

Gunton Hall Coastal Village

See Gunton Hall

Gunton Hall Coastal Village is built around a Grade II listed building that stands in 55 acres of grounds close to the Suffolk coast town of Lowestoft.

Nearby attractions include the fishing port turned historic market town of Southwold, Dunwich, which served as the capital of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of the East Angles – from whom this region of England takes its name - and the city of Norwich.

The hotel is situated on East Anglia’s coast, and historical records of the Gunton Estate show that there was a settlement of Vikings there before the invaders arrived. A widely commissioned architect, Matthew Brettingham, designed the 18th-century manor hall. In 1810 the new owner, Thomas Fowler, set about building the smaller New Hall, which now serves as the reception building for the resort.

Sinah Warren Hotel

Sinah Warren Hotel is a coastal location on the tip of Hayling Island with sea views over Langstone Harbour and acres of landscaped gardens. The hotel is located close to the historic harbour at Portsmouth and Spinnaker tower.

Sinah Warren Hotel was originally a 15th-century health farm ^[5] and theory has it that the name ‘Sinah’ was a herb whose use could cure a wide range of ailments^[5] which could have been where the original hotel name came from.

The resort is a few miles from the cathedral city of Chichester, and the village of Fishbourne, which was a military supply base during the Roman conquest of Britain in AD 43.^[6] It is also close to the city and harbour of Portsmouth, Beaulieu National Motor Museum, Arundel Castle and Goodwood, the home of the Rolls-Royce cars factory, and a racecourse which annually hosts one of the best-known race meetings in the British flat racing calendar.

Lakeside

Lakeside is located on the edge of a lake which attracts wildlife including swans and migrating birds.^[7]

It is a traditional holiday resort with chalet accommodation which sits on the coast of Hayling Island in Hampshire between the lake and the sea.

Lakeside was originally called ‘Coronation’ to mark the accession in 1937 of King George VI and was co-opted during World War II as a naval barracks and designated HMS Northney.^[8]

Close to the resort is the market town of Arundel, the city of Chichester and Portsmouth Harbour.

Visitor facilities today include an indoor swimming pool, and a championship-standard six-rink indoor bowls hall.

Bembridge Coast Hotel

Bembridge Coast Hotel is on the eastern shore of the Isle of Wight, close to the Solent.

The Isle of Wight is familiar with the royals ^[9] and many of the houses and castles have played host to the Kings and Queens over the centuries. After the estate was purchased by George V’s Lord-in-Waiting, Queen Mary and Princess Beatrice would frequently descend to take afternoon tea. The Queen Mother also chose to spend Cowes Week at the hotel, which is an annual yachting pageant for which the Isle of Wight is well-known.

Bembridge Coast’s south-east corner was rented during World War II by the Admiralty and named HMS Blazer. After the war the site returned to duty as a holiday destination and it was at the beginning of the 21st century that it became the site of a 245-bedroom hotel.

The 23 acres of grounds in which the hotel stands includes an area of landscaped Spanish gardens, while the selection of sporting activities ranges from archery to Zumba classes.

Norton Grange Coastal Village

See Norton Grange.

Warner Leisure Hotels' second Isle of Wight destination is close to The Needles, and five minutes' drive from the ferry port of Yarmouth.

Designed to offer views over the western Solent, Norton Grange was built in 1760, and first became a holiday destination shortly before the Second World War. Its new purpose was interrupted by a spell during the conflict as an operational base for the Admiralty, after which it reverted to use as a holiday park.

In recent years, a maritime museum, aquarium, model railway and planetarium have been added.

Cricket St Thomas Hotel

Cricket St Thomas Hotel is a conversion of a Grade II listed Regency mansion set in a valley in Somerset, close to the border with Dorset.

The grounds were designed by a student of Capability Brown ^[10] and the site itself has strong links with British naval history, including being the home of Admiral Lord Rodney, and later Alexander Hood, second in command of the English Channel fleet during the Napoleonic Wars. Within the grounds lies the 12th-century parish church of St. Thomas which features the brocade cloth which adorned the Coronation altar in 1953.

Lord Nelson and Lady Hamilton were regular visitors and the estate of Cricket St Thomas was used as the location for the filming of BBC TV sitcom 'To The Manor Born', starring Penelope Keith and Peter Bowles. ^{[11] [12] [13] [14]}

Littlecote House Hotel

See Littlecote House.

Littlecote House Hotel is located in the Royal county of Berkshire and is a Grade I listed Tudor property. It has 113 acres of gardens and parklands which act as a base for exploring this area and the neighbouring counties of Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Somerset.

The 16th-century mansion has housed Romans, a Tudor tryst and a Civil War Army. Within the grounds are a Roman Mosaic and the remains of a settlement including the Orphic Hall and a Roman Villa.

The first Littlecote House was raised by the de Calstone family in the 14th century. Their descendent was Sir George Darrel and he expanded the mansion in the 1500s. As Sir George’s guest in 1520, King Henry VII was introduced to his third queen-to-be, Jane Seymour; the event is marked by a stained glass roundel of royal initials, lover’s knot and Cupid’s head in the high window of the Great Hall.

Three years before Sir John Popham inherited Littlecote in 1590, he sentenced Mary, Queen of Scots to death for treason. Colonel Popham became instrumental in restoring Charles II to the throne for which he received a Royal pardon. After entertaining the King to a "costly dinner" at Littlecote in 1663 the Colonel was given a royal patronage that secured the Popham family fortune at Littlecote for another 166 years.

Littlecote House is also home to the Jerusalem Stairs, the Dutch Parlour, the secret passage behind the library bookcase, and the rooms where the D-Day landings were planned.

Holme Lacy House Hotel

Holme Lacy House Hotel is a Grade I listed mansion located in the Wye Valley near Hereford . It is a Georgian manor house and is surrounded by 20 acres of restored formal gardens and landscaped parkland.

William Pitt the Elder conducted cabinet meetings in the grounds of the mansion and Queen Victoria’s daughter, Princess Beatrice, marked a memorable visit by planting a tree.

In 1354 the estates in the west of England were granted by William the Conqueror to Walter de Lacy and inherited by Thomas Scudamore by his marriage to Clarice de Lacy. Two centuries later his descendant, John Scudamore, built a brick mansion and in 1628 his son John, first Viscount Scudamore, added portions in local red sandstone. In 1674 the third Viscount Scudamore finished the mansion as it stands today. Some of the interior such as the plaster ceiling, paneled state rooms and the main staircase originate from this period.

Alvaston Hall Hotel

Alvaston Hall Hotel is a half-timbered Victorian country house located near Nantwich. It is the company's only hotel to have its own nine-hole golf course, and for the 2014 season received a £12.5 million redevelopment, the largest ever undertaken by the company. The hotel offers table tennis, rifle shooting, outdoor bowls, and archery. There is also a heated swimming pool and a sauna.

In the early 1800s the property, which was then called The Grove, was sold by Crousdon Tunstall, a Quaker banker and farmer. The new owner, Francis Massey, undertook rebuilding work before the house was bought again in 1896 by Arthur Knowles, who then carried out further alterations.

The hotel has half-timber framing, pinnacles, a crested ridge tile, a clock tower and gargoyles above the porch. The reception hall was once a living room and features a stained glass window and a large fireplace with Italian ironwork.

In 2014, Alvaston Hall under went a £12million refurbishment, which contained of an extra 200+ rooms, a new dining cabaret hall. The extension of rooms took the hotel to become one of the biggest in the area.

Bodelwyddan Castle Hotel

See Bodelwyddan Castle

Bodelwyddan Castle Hotel is a Grade II-listed Victorian folly in north-east Wales, which is surrounded by the Clwydian Mountains and 200 acres of Victorian parkland. Its location is 20 minutes' drive from north Wales' largest seaside town, Llandudno, and an hour from the Snowdonia National Park, the third oldest such area of protected landscape in the UK.

The father of Sir John Williams, first baronet of Bodelwyddan, remodelled the site's original Elizabethan house and raised the mansion. Bodelwyddan Castle was developed after 1830 when battlements, extensions and internal modifications were added by Sir John’s successors.

The site was designed to look like a castle but was requisitioned by the army for nearby Kinmel Barracks where they used to practice trench warfare. In 1982 it became Lowther College and what was once the head teachers’ study is now the Royale bedroom. The sculpture gallery has a vaulted ceiling and original 18th-century marble chimneypiece, and is reportedly haunted by the ghost of a lady. The folly is also home to the National Portrait Gallery’s Victorian collection.

Company marketing slogans

The company has used many slogans and brand messages over the years: • "Just for grown-ups" • "Exclusively for adults" • "No children, just big kids" • "Life Begins at Warner"

Product Range

The company offers its breaks on an all-inclusive model, with prices including accommodation, food, indoor and outdoor activities, use of all on-site leisure facilities, and nightly entertainment.

Holiday packages include weekend and midweek breaks, supplemented by a selection of breaks centred on specific occasions, such as Spring Bank Holiday and Father's Day. This programme is due to be extended in 2015 to include programmes based around Valentine's Day, Easter, Mother's Day and St Patrick's Day. A feature of most breaks is a range of daytime workshops offering classes in a variety of types of dancing, including ballroom, Latin, line and tap.

Live Music and Entertainment

Every Warner Leisure Hotel hosts a programme of evening entertainment, featuring live music, comedians and other performers, and often including famous names. Among those lined up to appear in 2014 were Billy Ocean, former member of the Three Degrees Sheila Ferguson, and Elaine Paige.

References