Merchants Manor Hotel

A plan to replace an ageing conservatory-style function room with two readymade self-contained holiday accommodation units.

The Merchants Manor Hotel and Spa is an impressive Edwardian mansion dating from 1913, set on a hill above Falmouth and enjoying panoramic sea views.

A short walk from Gyllyngvase Beach, the site lies within the town’s Conservation Area, with an area of protected woodland to one side.

With a growing focus on wellness and wellbeing, Merchants Manor’s owners, Sioned and Nick Rudlin, were keen to expand the accommodation on offer, while causing minimum disruption to guests staying at the award-winning country house hotel.

The solution: two boutique cabins, designed and built by London-based Bert & May. Measuring 19m x 4m, the prefabricated pods comprise two bedrooms and two bathrooms, underfloor heating, terraces, and flat green roofs. The exterior and interior walls are clad in reclaimed timber and the floors finished with encaustic tiles. The eco-pods are built and finished, both externally and internally, prior to delivery.

We secured planning consent for the scheme within the eight week target, and were subsequently retained for construction drawings, building regulations, project management, and contract administration.