Western Morning News (Saturday)
Dame Judi leads virtual toast to new hotel wing
DAME Judi Dench has performed the virtual opening of a new wing at a famous Cornish hotel – in front of guests from around the world, who tuned in to a ‘drinks party’ on Zoom.
The Oscar-winning actress (below)– who starred as the spymaster M opposite Daniel Craig’s 007 in recent James Bond films – is a regular at The Nare Hotel on the Roseland peninsula, which on Thursday night launched the new Whittington Suites.
Dame Judi, who attended the virtual party with her grandson, Sam Williams, said: “During lockdown we’ve not been able to get to our beloved Nare – but being asked to do this is the very next best thing. We can’t wait to be with you again.”
Hotel owner Toby Ashworth and his wife Katie have invested millions in extending the five-star hotel with four exclusive new suites to sleep a total of 18 guests.
Toby explained that they had been named Whittington after his maternal grandmother, Bettye Gray – born Bettye Whittington – and his great grandmother, Olive Whittington, who were both Cornish hoteliers.
He said the new suites, the planning for which began more than 16 years ago, offered the best seaview accommodation in the country. They look out across Gerrans Bay on Cornwall’s south coast, with views from Nare Head to The Lizard.
Toby said they had hoped to be able to host a real drinks party to launch the new suites, expected to attract visitors from around the world, many of whom come back to the Nare again and again.
But he said lockdown meant an online launch was the only possibility. The hotel is ready to reopen as soon as lockdown eases, and bookings have already been flooding in. The new suites are almost full until at least November, he revealed. And he said the hotel had been approached to provide accommodation in connection with June’s G7 summit at Carbis Bay, but was already fully booked. He paid tribute to his staff, particularly through lockdown, adding: “We have not had to make a single member of staff redundant.” Describing the inspiration behind the new suites, which maintain the Nare’s ethos of a country house hotel by the sea, he went on: “The main priority for us at the Nare has always been comfort. The Nare Hotel is widely considered to be the most comfortable hotel in the region.” Mr Ashworth said that sustainability was also key in the development of the new suites, which use watercooled air conditioning systems to help heat the water for the bath and shower, while “grey water” was used to flush the toilets. But he said he believed green measures at hotels ought to be “subtle and behind the scenes”.