Festive Focus: Tracey Ractliffe, director of sales and marketing at Grantley Hall

Can you introduce yourself and your business to our readers?

“Grantley Hall is a five-star luxury country house hotel and wellness retreat near Ripon in North Yorkshire.

“It is scheduled to open in late Spring 2019 and will bring an exciting and diverse range of dining and wellness facilities to the Yorkshire countryside.

“The main Hall is a 17th-century Grade II-listed mansion house which is being fully renovated and will be further complemented by the addition of a new wing, which will house the tranquil spa and wellness centre. Plus the creation of a design-led standalone building called The Garden Pavilion, which will house a vibrant pan-Asian bar and restaurant, subterranean champagne and cocktail bar, and a versatile function and event space.

“The hotel will offer 47 exquisite bedrooms, four restaurants and three bars once completed and is delighted to announce that it will also be the first Relais & Chateaux property in the North East of England.”

What was your company’s biggest achievement of the year?

“The business is very much in its infancy as we have not yet opened our doors to the public.

“However, we are in a very exciting and challenging phase of our development, as all areas of the business have significantly moved forward during the year, including the appointment of the initial pre-opening team who will be part of the 200-strong workforce [and] the launch of the hotel’s PR and marketing strategy.

“Not to mention the actual changes in the building project itself, which has transitioned from a semi-derelict building and several holes in the ground to a range of watertight buildings which are now helping to bring the vision of the end product to life.”

How would you approach 2018 differently, given the chance?

“Difficult question given that we are not yet a trading business, but if we can talk about some external factors then the ‘Beast from the East’ wouldn’t have happened as that did cause a few challenges to the building works at the time, and the very hot summer was also quite detrimental to the planting that had been done in the newly designed formal gardens.”

What are your company’s plans for the new year?

“To open a very special, magical and successful new luxury hotel and selection of restaurants – and exceed all of our guests’ expectations.”

What’s your favourite Christmas song?

“White Christmas by Bing Crosby… it’s a lovely relaxing song that I always play when decorating the tree.”

Grantley Hall is a member of Welcome to Yorkshire’s Y30 Club of Yorkshire-based business partners.

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