Press Release New Dorchester Collection Hotel, Coworth Park

Press Release

New Dorchester Collection hotel, Coworth Park leads the way in green technologies

Coworth Park, Dorchester Collection‟s new country house hotel and spa, which is set to open in September 2010, will be one of the UK‟s most environmentally-friendly hotels through the incorporation of renewable and low energy technologies. The hotel which is set in 240 acres of parkland will have 70 rooms in total with 30 in the main Mansion House and 40 in the converted stable block and cottages. It will also have an underground Spa at Coworth Park and equestrian centre with 40 stables, two polo fields and a practice field.

Christopher Cowdray, Chief Executive, Dorchester Collection, “When planning this hotel we seized upon the opportunity to introduce some of the latest zero carbon technologies, many of which are a first for hotels of this nature in the UK. Guests will be able to enjoy the ultimate luxury that Coworth Park has to offer, whilst at the same time be confident that they are helping to look after the planet”.

The hotel aims to reduce total carbon dioxide emissions by at least 50% thanks to radically different approaches to heating, cooling and lighting. Key features include:

Carbon-neutral fuel supply

Coworth Park will be the first hotel in the UK to grow its own carbon-neutral fuel supply in the form of willow. The willow will be used as bio mass fuel for the main boiler within an „Energy Centre‟. In total 12 acres of the 240 acre estate will be planted with short rotation coppice willow which will be harvested every three years. In the intervening two years arboricultural waste in wood chip form will be purchased from local suppliers to ensure there are no major transport requirements.

Energy Centre

The hotel will have an energy centre incorporating all primary heating, cooling and domestic hot water generation serving the main hotel, the Spa, stable block and cottages. This energy centre

will utilise renewable and low energy technologies to both heat and cool the hotel and will incorporate the following:

Bio Mass Heating Plant

The hotel will in part be heated via the bio mass heating plant, that will burn willow and wood chip waste. It will also boast a thermal store which enables it to store energy during low-demand periods making it particularly energy efficient as the boiler „down turns‟ are minimised. The bio mass boiler plant will result in significantly reduced carbon dioxide emissions compared to a conventional boiler.

Ground source heat cooling

To assist in cooling the hotel a closed-loop horizontal ground source water circulation system of underground pipes will be installed. Known as „slinkys‟ these underground pipes will be buried in approximately 100x150 metres of meadowland. Water is first passed through a chiller (fitted with turbocol compressors) and then constantly circulated via these slinkys and then via energy efficient water chillers to provide chilled water for the air-conditioning process. This process is significantly more efficient than conventional air-cooled or water-cooled chilled water. The stables and spa will utilize heat pump technology for both heating and cooling. A heat pump moves heat from one location to another. Using ground source (water via the slinkys) heat pumps improve the system performance as the temperature of the under soil is relatively constant all year round compared to the air temperature

Eco-luxury underground Spa

The Spa at Coworth Park will have eight treatment rooms, fitness centre and an indoor pool will be located underground. There will be a Living Roof with plants and herbs such as Thyme, Camomile and Lavender which will be used by the spa therapists. Built predominantly out of timber structures with carbon-negative lime hemp spine and external walls, it will be a green and sustainable building that emerges from the existing hillside to provide an eco-luxury spa with low energy requirements. The Spa at Coworth Park is one of the world‟s first spas to incorporate such carbon negative lime hemp walling as part its overall design objective to be carbon neutral in its landscape setting.

Solar Controlled Glazing

To efficiently manage heat loss and gain the glazing in the Mansion House and converted stable block will be solar and thermally fitted.

Re-using Water

All rain and surface water will be recycled by draining into the lake to then be used as irrigation for the polo fields and the willow plantation.

Editor’s Notes

Coworth Park

Coworth Park is a 70-room luxury country house hotel and spa set in 240 acres of picturesque Berkshire parkland just 45 minutes from central London and 20 minutes from Heathrow airport. Its location, unrivalled in the UK for the ease and convenience of its transport links, is also enhanced by its own helipad. The estate includes an eco-luxury Spa with indoor pool and three restaurants including the Spatisserie, relaxed dining in The Barn and fine-dining at John Campbell at Coworth Park. The only UK hotel to feature its own polo fields as well as an exceptional equestrian centre, current facilities include stabling for 30 horses together with self-contained accommodation for grooms and a full programme of polo tournaments.

High resolution images can be downloaded from: www.leonardo.com/dorchestercollection

Dorchester Collection

Dorchester Collection, a portfolio of the world‟s foremost luxury hotels in Europe and the USA, is the successor to the Dorchester Group, originally established in 1996.

The launch of Dorchester Collection in 2006 signalled a change to the strategic goals of the company. By applying its unrivalled experience and capability in owning and operating some of the world‟s great individual hotels, the company‟s mission is to develop an impeccable portfolio of the world‟s finest hotels, both traditional and contemporary, through acquisition as well as management of wholly-owned and part- owned hotels, and to enter into management contracts.

The current portfolio includes:

The Dorchester, London The Beverly Hills Hotel, Beverly Hills Le Meurice, Paris Hotel Plaza Athénée, Paris Hotel Principe di Savoia, Milan Hotel Bel-Air, Los Angeles (re-opening in October 2011) Coworth Park, Ascot, UK 45 Park Lane, London (opening in September 2011) Le Richemond, Geneva (from 1 August 2011) www.dorchestercollection.com

For further press information, please contact:

Rosanna Crawley Emma Parfitt Area Head of Communications Communications Executive Tel: +44 (0) 20 7319 7062 Tel: +44 (0) 20 7319 7055 [email protected] [email protected]