The Victorian-era Chester Grosvenor, one of northern England’s grandest hotels, is to close indefinitely this autumn following the discovery of defective concrete in the building.
The closure, from September 30, will see the loss of its two restaurants: the very traditional and highly rated Arkle, run for by many years by chef Simon Radley and known for its heavyweight wine list, and the atmospheric La Brasserie.
The closure follows the discovery of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) above the hotel’s function suites. RAAC was installed in hospitals and other public buildings in the 1950s-90s, but is now considered by the Health and Safety Executive to have a life-span of 30 years and is liable to collapse with little or no notice.
The listed hotel is part of the Duke of Westminster’s Grosvenor Estate and occupies a prime site next to Chester’s historic Eastgate clock, and has been operated by Bespoke Hotels since 2015.
Bespoke issued a statement saying: “We closed our conference suites after the discovery of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) during recent surveys. The safety of our guests and colleagues is of the utmost importance and the affected area will remain closed as a precaution. All other public areas of the hotel, as well as the car park, are unaffected and continue to operate as normal.”
The company’s chief operating officer Richard Grove added in a letter to staff: “Following the recent discovery of RAAC above the function suites, the scale and complexity of the works required to put a long-term solution in place, alongside necessary refurbishment works, we have taken the very difficult decision to cease operating The Chester Grosvenor.“
The Grosvenor Estate has confirmed its intention to refurbish the hotel and find a new operator, although there is no timescale for the process. “Our priority now is to ensure the long-term future of the hotel given its importance to Chester.“
