A LAKE District hotel is reopening with a new name and more staff after a multi-million-pound project which has seen it completely transformed.

A total of £10m has been spent on Lakes Hotel & Spa in Bowness-on-Windermere since 2014, the majority of it over the lockdown period as it moves to becoming a five-star hotel.

Owner Richard Berry believes it offers guests a unique experience in this country.

“When I bought what was then called the Burnside Hotel in 2014, I could see that it was a fantastic building in a great location,” said Richard, who owns a group of companies. “But I was also impressed by its potential. There are 980 places in the Lake District where you can get a bed and a bathroom and I knew I could do something different here.”

Work on the transformation had been happening for several years but accelerated following the first lockdown last year.

“The lockdown affected us in a dramatic way,” said Richard. “We had to cancel every single booking and the hotel closed for the first time since probably World War Two.”

But having no guests meant work could forge ahead.

“On the first day of lockdown guests left by 11am and by noon we had our builders digging the footings for the extension to the hotel’s West Wing, creating more balconies for hot tubs.

The atmospheric, mood-lit spa has been refurbished, including adding a hydrotherapy pool and cabanas; the hotel’s traditional pub has doubled in size; the main part of the hotel has been refitted; new suites have been created; the terrace outside the cocktail bar overlooking Windermere has been extended and fire pits added.

The major work on the West Wing means there are now 42 hot tubs on spacious hotel room balconies.

The hotel, called the Burnside Hotel since the late nineteenth century, has just been renamed Lakes Hotel & Spa.

An extra 13 full-time staff have been recruited, taking the total number of staff to 80.

The hotel reopens on May 17.