One of Wearside’s leading hotels has received a prestigious fourth star from the AA following a £1 million refurbishment.
The Roker Hotel at Sunderland recently unveiled 43 brand new en-suite rooms as part of the refurbishment, which marks the end of a three-year development programme at the hotel.
And following a series of site visits from AA inspectors, the hotel’s efforts have been rewarded, seeing the hotel’s previous three star rating upgraded to four stars.
The AA report, which highlights all of the hotel’s key qualities and reasons for raising the star value, states that The Roker Hotel “continues to impress for its many qualities and unique, varied food and beverage offerings”.
Hotel staff were also recognised in the report, for “providing very good quality service”, “working hard to engage with guests beyond the needs of the service encounter” and the AA also noted a strength of the visit was the “friendly, upbeat interaction of all staff”.
Mark Hird, managing director of Tavistock Hospitality, which owns more than a dozen bars, hotels and restaurants across the region – including The Roker Hotel – is delighted with the hotel’s upgrade to four stars and believes both his staff and the refurbishment are the reasons for their recent success.
“The team’s hard work and efforts are one of the things the AA picked up on and praised and I’m proud to have such a brilliant team who always endeavour to give guests the best stay possible at the hotel,” he said.
“The recent £1 million refurbishment, which involved the creation of the hotel’s independent venues Let There Be Crumbs tearoom and gelateria, the Italian Farmhouse restaurant and pizzeria and Poetic License bar, has helped give the hotel a unique boutique feel and firmly differentiates us from other hotels in the area.
“These venues, as well as our newly refurbished contemporary style bedrooms with nautical features and sea-views, have been paramount to our success and we’re pleased that our continuous drive to make the hotel a memorable place to stay has been recognised.
“We are an independent, family-owned business so to be rewarded with our fourth star has been huge for us.”
The Roker Hotel was built in 1842 by the north of England’s most prominent architect, John Dobson, and is owned by North East leisure group Tavistock Hospitality.
For further information, or to book, call 0191 5671786 or visit www.rokerhotel.co.uk.