Yorkshire hotel to compete with world’s best

DAVID PANTIN, the former managing director of luxury chain Rocco Forte Hotels, has unveiled plans to bring a “world class chef” to his first hotel in Yorkshire.

The Ellington will be the first five star hotel built under the Pantin Hotels banner with others planned in locations including the Caribbean and mainland Europe.

Although the “boutique hotel” will include 35 top-of-the-range bedrooms, including one and two bedroom suites, Mr Pantin wants to make it a key destination for the region's business community through its 56 cover restaurant and bar facilities.

Mr Pantin, who was born in Trinidad but spent his early years in South Africa, told TheBusinessDesk.com: “The bar is the main core for the hotel. The heart of the hotel is the booze and dining experience. I've always thought that and high quality food and beverage is central to that.

“The thing about Leeds that has fascinated me is that it's the second largest financial centre in the country. As a result we want The Ellington to be a meeting place and community hotel – a business community hotel.”

The Ellington, which will create around 50 staff, is set to open in York Place in August with a second hotel, The Crispin, planned to be launched in 2010 in the city.

The Crispin will be housed at the Grade II listed former Crispin House on New York Road. It will include 90 bedrooms, a luxury spa, two restaurants seating a total of around 130 people, and conference and meeting facilities.

The Ellington, which has become one of only three hotels in the world to be listed before completion as a member of the prestigious Leading Small Hotels of the World catalogue, will also house private dining facilities, including 14 seat The Boardroom, 30 cover The Wellington Room and 10 seat The York Room.

Although remaining tight-lipped about the hotel's head chef, the individual is rumoured to be an internationally renowned household name.

Other members of Mr Pantin's team at Pantin Hotels include former Chancellor of the Exchequer Lord Lamont, who is the company's chairman.

Director of operations is Gerhard Schaller, who has worked in a number of senior management positions at exclusive hotels in London, including the Sheraton Park Tower, Grosvenor House and The Savoy, before becoming general manager at Nikko Hotels, where he worked in London, Mexico City and New Delhi.

Mr Pantin said: “I have built a team that shares my passion for hotel keeping. They have all had previous experience in some of Europe's leading hotels and many of them have worked with me previously.

“Together we want to create a guest experience that reflects the true art of hotel keeping through hospitality with warmth and first class service.”

Mr Pantin believes The Ellington will bring a new dimension to the region's hotel industry and he said he was keen to establish the company's first venture in Leeds because of its financial strength, transport links and growing presence as a tourist spot, which he believes will make the hotel a popular weekend destination.

“I think Leeds is an aspirational city,” he said. “I also thought that when I worked on the Lowry in Manchester for Rocco Forte Hotels which has been a good hotel. A lot of people were sceptical of a five star hotel in Manchester but the response has been fantastic.”

Although Pantin Hotels was established in 2006 and has its office in Leeds, Mr Pantin has kept his plans for the sites quiet, focusing more heavily on building his team and ensuring the developments, which in the case of The Ellington has involved demolishing the existing building on the site, are running to schedule.

Mr Pantin began his career in 1977 as a management trainee with Trusthouse Forte Exclusive Hotels, where he held management positions at hotels including the Hyde Park and Westbury in London and the Hotel Plaza Athenee in New York.

Senior executive roles at Trusthouse Forte Exclusive Hotels included the turnaround of London's Cafe Royal where he led a programme which saw it double turnover between 1991 and 1994, including the creation of its renowned cabaret business 'The Green Room'.

He subsequently served as vice president responsible for Forte's Caribbean business and resort hotels, which he managed until the acquisition of Forte by Granada in 1996.

Prior to joining Rocco Forte Hotels, where he was managing director for five years until 2004, Mr Pantin was a senior vice president for the hotels division of Hong Kong company Hutchison Whampoa.

Mr Pantin, who has also served as chairman of Dawnay Shore Hotels, led the pre-opening of the $450m Our Lucaya resort development in the Bahamas which included 1,270 bedrooms and two PGA Championship golf courses.

Mr Pantin added: “We would like to grow the business by doing deals that give our stakeholders an appropriate return on their investment. I've always believed from my early days in hotels and especially with Cafe Royal to make market decisions. The key is to give the market what it wants.”

Other features of The Ellington will include entertainment centres in each room capable of playing Xbox 360, Wii and PS3, all of which will be available to guests.

Afternoon tea will be served in the lounge each day from 3pm to 5pm.