Five star hotel launches helicopter service
A five-star hotel in Yorkshire has launched a helicopter transfer service which will allow guests to be whisked, VIP-style from their homes and back again.
The Grand Hotel & Spa, York – Yorkshire’s only AA-rated five-star hotel – said it has launched the bespoke service in response to requests from guests.
The VIP helicopter service – unique to the UK – is the latest initiative from the hotel which in March will almost double in size with the opening of 100 new guest rooms.
Its £15m expansion also includes a luxury executive lounge and arrivals lounge which will open soon; a new purpose-built restaurant, The Rise, opened last summer while its three-AA-rosette fine dining restaurant Hudsons by Craig Atchinson has also been redeveloped.
Philip Bolson, general manager at The Grand Hotel & Spa, said: “As a luxury hotel we try to accommodate all of our guests’ unique requests to ensure an unforgettable stay and recently we have been asked about helicopter landing spots and transfers.
“To fulfil this we have teamed up with a local aviation company who can provide transfers in two types of helicopter depending on how many guests will be staying with us.
“Where possible, our helicopter will pick up guests from the grounds of their homes, or land nearby, and fly them to York where our chauffeur service will collect them from the drop-off point within the grounds of York Racecourse, a five-minute drive away.”
The Grand will be using two helicopters – a four-seat Robinson R44 and a five-seat Bell 206 Jet Ranger – from nearby Hields Aviation.
The Yorkshire Chauffeur Company will provide Range Rover airside transfers to the hotel.
