With tourism in the UK opening up once more, how appropriate to find Diespeker doing a restoration project for a hotel in North Devon!
Saunton Sands Hotel was built in the 1930s and is an iconic Art Deco hotel and spa. It sits on top of cliffs overlooking the sea – it’s the perfect place for surfers, walkers and families to stay and explore the local coastline and area.
The hotel, part of the Brend Hotels group, is regularly refurbished and during lockdown #3 it was the turn of the entrance steps. In keeping with the Art Deco heritage, these are curved steps made from terrazzo, which was a popular material during this period of history. The well-used steps were a little worse for wear from all the hotel guests, needing a touch of magic from the Diespeker team.
Diespeker recreated the steps in one of our standard cement terrazzo designs, TE007. The design is a popular choice, smart and contemporary with more than a nod to bygone days. The team went to Devon for a site visit to survey and template the existing curve in the treads, returning to London to engrave the shapes in the factory using the CNC machine.
The new steps were then taken to North Devon, where they were installed by one of our experienced teams. While the original steps had grooves cut in to prevent slipping, the Diespeker team added a modern slip resistant strip into a curved slot which had been engraved at the factory. This anti-slip mix includes phosphorescent properties to enhance safety for guests and staff members.
The result of the replacement is a stunning set of steps and a return to the grandeur of the Art Deco Era. An appropriately decadent way for guests to walk into this gorgeous hotel and spa.
Saunton Sands’ Maintenance Manager Keith Mitchell contacted Diespeker to say how impressed everyone at the hotel was with the steps. He also mentioned the quality of our team: “….proper craftsmen who have done a lovely job, were extremely courteous and kept their work space clean and tidy at all times.”
It’s always a bonus to receive such genuine praise. Good luck to the hotel for the coming summer season as the country eases out of lockdown and back to some form of normality. North Devon is a wonderful destination, as our installation team will confirm!
Featured image: Saunton Sands Hotel and beach buildings
cc-by-sa/2.0 – © Tom Jolliffe – geograph.org.uk/p/2334613
