Register to get 3 free articles
Register to unlock the article and receive our free newsletter. Join 26,000 other hotel leaders and stay in the know.
Want unlimited access? View Plans
Already have an account? Sign in
Wildes Hotel Group has announced that work on a £5m boutique hotel, with a destination restaurant and spa, in Chester, will resume in February.
The news after work had been temporarily paused in 2024 whilst awaiting additional planning permission for the expanded hotel and restaurant, X by Harry Guy.
Expected to be ready for a spring 2026 opening, the hotel will be set within the historical Rows of Chester with views onto Eastgate Street.
The latest plans proposed two additional bedrooms suites, with each chamber due to be “totally unique” with free-standing furnishing to allow the original building and its features to “breathe”.
Each room will also benefit from “quirky” elements such as a free-standing bathtub with skylight. One of the rooms will even feature its own four-seater cinema.
According to the hotel group, the expansion will allow extended roof space with views overlooking the city to create “one of the region’s premium spa destinations” which will feature a 32ft rooftop pool and terrace with views of the city, multiple treatment rooms and amphitheatre sauna.
The increase in size also ensures that the venue will be open to the public, not just hotel guests.
In total, the hotel will offer 18 boutique bedrooms, a rooftop spa and “one of the most exciting restaurants in the country” – X by Harry Guy.
The hotel restaurant will be headed up by chef and Roux scholar, Harry Guy. The 50-cover space will serve British dishes that “embody the tastes, textures and aromas of the natural world”.
Paul Wildes, CEO of Wildes Hotel Group, said: “We are thrilled that work is set to resume on site, after a long wait we are more determined than ever to ensure the hotel, spa and restaurant will be like nothing the city has seen before.
“We are grateful to Grosvenor, whom we have acquired a long lease for the building from, and thank them for their continued support of our plans. We hope that Chester’s growing population of residents and tourists will enjoy this little corner of luxury that we will bring to the historic city centre.”
