Peckforton Castle

Peckforton Castle is a unique venue in the North West. The building is steeped in rich history, the location is stunning, and there’s a variety of unusual activities such as falconry and abseiling available. There are many further unique features and the Castle plays an important part in Cheshire’s heritage. It was built in the 1840s for wealthy MP John Tollemach and designed by famous architect Anthony Salvin. It is described by English Heritage as the only intact medieval style castle in the country and is a Grade I listed building.
Our business is proud to preserve the region’s history whilst providing valuable services and opportunities. During the recession we grew our business when many were facing very tough market conditions. We've grown our turnover and profit from £250,000 in 2008 to £650,000 in 2011 following a major investment initiative. Furthermore, we continue to invest in the business and the further development of the hotel and staff to meet customer needs.

Peckforton Castle has undergone a major investment programme, resulting in the introduction of a valet parking service, VIP packages, an upgraded central heating system, refurbished ladies and gents’ restaurant toilets and refurbished gents toilets. We have installed electric plate glass doors for the reception entrance and refurbished the reception area. We have renewed the two glass atriums and re-surfaced the drive and car park. Complementary Wi-Fi is now available throughout the hotel. We have replaced all outside furniture for high quality teak and we are replacing various carpets throughout the building. A further investment of £1.5m has seen the launch of 11 additional ensuite bedrooms to minimum of Executive standard, a passenger lift, a brasserie, including a new kitchen facility and three beauty treatment rooms, plus further outside space. All of these improvements enhance the customer experience and we can see from the feedback we receive that customers greatly appreciate these improvements. We have also noticed an increase in turnover and profit. From operating at almost a quarter of a million pound loss in 2006, the business now operates at a profit of more than £650K.
Further growth can be seen in the number of conference bookings that are growing yearly. Our events and themed nights have gone to strength to strength yet we continuously strive to be competitive in terms of price, service and quality.

The investments were acknowledged recently when Peckforton Castle was awarded a prestigious four AA stars following its AA inspection. The Castle’s merit score has been increased by 10% something described as near impossible by the inspector himself. The venue has now increased its standings as one of the top hotels in the North West. Furthermore, the venue was nominated as Best Wedding Venue in the upcoming charity awards – the North West Wedding Awards.

Customer service is of upmost of importance to everyone at Peckforton Castle. Our 1851 Restaurant has 2 AA Rosettes and a Taste Cheshire Award. Our attention to detail with the menu, selection of local produce and ambiance of the restaurant itself is outstanding. Everyone is briefed daily about VIP guests, key events and/or wedding parties and all restaurant staff are briefed daily about the menu and produce origin. We organise a full tasting and training session for new dishes and menus. Our wine supplier holds regular training sessions and he attends the menu tasting so he can explain which wines best suit each dish.

Peckforton Castle believe that our greatest asset, and the key to our success, is our people. We believe that each member of staff should feel a sense of dignity, pride and satisfaction in everything they do. Satisfying our guests depends on the united efforts of many; our team is most certainly most effective when we work together cooperatively, respecting each other’s contribution and importance.
Staff are trained to the highest standard the team have recently invested £30,000 plus numerous resources into their new ‘Peckforton Family Training’. The training focuses on educating staff on the prestigious product that Peckforton Castle is and how they can demonstrate pride in working for the organisation and in everything they do. We have defined a set of core values to define who we are and inform the decisions we make. The training guides the actions of everyone in the organisation, aligning our goals, beliefs and principles into the foundation of the work we do on behalf of our guests every day.
We work with NVQ services and offer staff regular training and courses. All staff members underwent training in the principals of Dignity at Work and were offered the opportunity to attend a course to help them understand how they contribute to the financial security of the business. We have recently completed another first aid training course, which 12 people attended. We also hold quarterly HR training full day sessions focusing on staff moral, appraisals and disciplinary. In addition we carry out regular ‘general’ training with our staff whether it is Wine tasting or Cellar training through our suppliers. We are also proud to be involved with a professional exchange programme with a hotel in Sicily and Reaseheath College.

Peckforton Castle has recently joined forces with the De Vere Academy of Hospitality in Wychwood Park, Crewe to offer local 16-24 year olds not in education, employment or training the chance to work in the hotel and catering industry by offering work placements in Customer Service and Professional Cookery. The Academy, a joint venture between De Vere and The National Apprenticeship Service, is the first of its kind in the UK – a unique training initiative for any young person with aspirations for a career in hospitality.
Peckforton Castle is committed to developing 2 customer service apprentices and 2 chef apprentices in the art of hospitality on 8 week and 12 week cycles respectively. The apprentices were chosen, by De Vere, for their potential and enthusiasm rather than educational qualifications or experience. The students have been thriving on intensive internal placements and are now keen to put into the practice the abilities they have already learnt and discover new skills a plenty at Peckforton Castle.

We work very closely with the region’s local communities particularly with schools regarding the birds of prey, conservation and history and we’re currently planning more events specifically for the local community, a local Christmas market for example. We’ll also be running a competition in conjunction with local schools, which will help raise awareness of seasonal, local produce, nutrition and food preparation. We donate hundreds of pounds in prizes to local schools and charities and works closely with local businesses creating mutually beneficial packages, for example the Castle offers a ‘Lunch, Glam and Boutique Shopping Experience’ that offers guests a personal tour around the shops located in Tarporley village. Peckforton Castle also sponsors ‘Tarporley Vics’ the village’s local football team – providing them kit and a pitch to play on.
Unfortunately on the 19th June 2011 Peckforton Castle suffered an arson attack in the early hours of the morning. The alarm was raised at 4.45am on Sunday (19th June 2011) morning after the Castle’s largest function space decorated with chandeliers and tapestries was set alight. Twenty fire engines from as far afield as Shropshire and North Wales rushed to the scene and 70 guests – many still in suits and evening gowns – were evacuated to the safety of the courtyard by hotel night staff. Around a quarter of the Castle was damaged but due to the team at Peckforton Castle’s hard work, determination and commitment the Castle’s public areas will be open as of breakfast time Saturday 25th June 2011 with all weddings going ahead as scheduled. The venue will be operating as a 33 bedroom hotel, for the next few months whilst the damaged areas are refurbished and revamped. Furthermore, all services will be available including the 2010 Brasserie, award winning 1851 Restaurant, Falconry and Tranquility Spa. All conferences and weddings will be able to go ahead with a little reformatting where necessary. Managing Director, Chris Naylor, hopes to see the Castle back to its former glory by December this year. “The reopening of the Castle in a less than a week after this devastating fire is a true testament to the strength of our staff here at Peckforton. The incident was truly heartbreaking for me and the entire Peckforton family – my parents, brothers and sister but also my team. It is now time to move on. We are determined not to be beaten and will come back bigger and even better than before.”