The origin of many a boutique hotel is the conversion or re-use of an existing building. Although there are new build boutiques, many are in buildings such as the General Post office in Washington DC, where Kimpton have turned the US Historic Building into one of their boutique chain. England has more than its fair share of Victoriana that survived the 1960’s wrecking ball, when it was briefly but destructively fashionable to wipe out all trace of our then reviled, now much admired, Victorian Imperial predecessors

Many of the fine buildings that survived are in their fourth, fifth, or more, variations on the original use, and Jesmond Dene in Newcastle is no exception to this. Originally a smaller Georgian house, it was initially extended by Victorian architect Norma Shaw (who designed the original famous Scotland Yard building of Sherlock Holmes’s time, now MP’s offices). Jesmond Dene then went through various owners until becoming a regional Civil Defence building, complete with underground fall out bunkers. Bought by Michelin star winning chef Terry Laybourne, the expenditure of $20 million has resulted in a fine example of a boutique hotel.

The original building has many fine ‘Arts and Craft’ movement touches that survived its various owners and these have formed the basis of the interior design, where the designer has mixed the contemporary with the traditional very skilfully. First of all though local architects Ward Robinson had to sort out the planning, and modern architectural extensions were added to create reception and the necessary increase to the restaurant seating area. Using timber as the main material could easily tempt a designer to match the existing oak of the interior joinery, but this has been resisted, and although oak has been used, it has been left natural, so the new additions are in no way disguised, yet they sit easily with the existing building.