The Project
Rigby Group is a multi-national, service-based holding company for a portfolio of privately owned
businesses and generates a turnover of £2.86bn a year.
The Eden Hotel Collection consists of five unique and luxurious hotels spanning Worcestershire,
Warwickshire, Gloucestershire and Dartmoor. Since 2017 Black Pear Electrical has been their
nominated electrical partner working alongside Eden Hotels individual hotels’ estates team, carrying
out all genres of electrical works, from emergency call outs, reactive fault finding and general
electrical maintenance, to more specific projects including: lighting upgrades, compliance testing,
new installations for hotel improvements and EV charger installation.
The Greenway Hotel and Spa is a stunning 16th Century Manor House, set in eight acres of land in the
heart of the Cotswolds. The manor house is Grade 2 listed and dates back to 1584, where it was a
private residence until 1947 when it opened its door as an exclusive hotel.
The ambitious £1.2 Million refurbishment project involved multiple trades, coordinated by the
principal contractor, and the design lead by the Eden Groups design team. Black Pear Electrical were
charged with the electrical works. In total 17-bedroom suites required complete refurbishment and
many of the layouts altered to help create great spaces and larger bathrooms, emphasising the
importance of the guest experience.
The Project was split into two phases:
Phase one – Encompassing the Manor House bedroom and corridors, all of which needed complete
electrical rewiring, including updating the emergency lighting systems. Data, telephony and TV
distribution.
Phase one duration: August to December 2022
Phase Two – The stable block bedroom refurbishment, which saw all fixture and fitting being
upgraded, along with some additional lighting, small power and data points.
Phase two duration: January to March 2023
Our Approach
Communication was a key aspect in the successful completion of this project. With careful planning
and organising of all trades it was imperative that we kept our client up to date with our progress
and carefully communicated any lapses or deviations from the schedule.
In order to accommodate the extensive upgrade and significant electrical changes, new distribution
boards were required allowing for both single and three phase supplies throughout the hotel.
We upgraded the data system through introducing fibre optic cable between 2 communication racks,
thereby significantly reducing the quantity of CAD 6 cabling required. Reducing costs and increasing
functionality.
Due to the listed status of the hotel, it was imperative that concealed wiring routes were used
without causing any damage to the 16th century architecture. One of the main challenges of the
project was finding design solutions and fixture and fitting that were in keeping with and respecting
this historical design of the building. The rooms and corridors are all a variety of shapes and sizes,
each with individual character and colour pallet, and many of the original features were enhanced to
maintain and emphasise the rich history of the buildings. We worked closely with the principal
designer from Rigby Group and the main contractor project manager in charge of the refurbishment
project to find suitable fixtures and fittings that fitted the very specific brief. A further challenge
associated with the age of the building, was the regular adaptation of plans and site works and
proposed wiring routes due to the unknown aspect of refurbishing such a historic building.
Form the majority of the refurbishment project we had an onsite team of 5 electricians with a full-
time supervisor. In addition to this our contracts Manager Carl Bullock, attended site at least once a
week to carry out site safety and audit reports ensuring that work was being carried out to the
desired standard, in line with the specification, on programme and within budget, feeding back
progress reports to the main contractor of this project. The works had to be programmed around the
day-to-day hotel operation minimising disruption to the guests whilst still ensuring safety and
efficient working.
Upon project completion a full suite of operation and maintenance information, including electrical
installation and minor works certificates, was handed back to the main contractor for inclusion in the
project file.
The refurbishment of the Greenway Hotel has been featured in Premiere Hospitality Magazine, issue
14-5 and can be read HERE
