A luxury ‘hipster’ hotel that tried to entice wealthy creatives living in London with its ‘festival’ atmosphere, pottery workshops and sourdough baking sessions has gone into administration.
The Birch Hotel in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, emerged during the pandemic and quickly became an award-winning hotel.
Using a private members’ model, it was billed as a cross between the ultra-trendy Soho Farmhouse and a creative arts festival, set in 55 acres and just 30 minutes from London.
When its owners, Chris Penn – a former director at Shoreditch’s Ace Hotel – and Chris King, bought the former conference hotel in 2018, they spent £8.5million over two years on renovations.
The aesthetic was chic and modern while repurposing existing material from the site, which was originally built in 1763 and is a Grade II-listed building. Rooms for non-members started at £150-a-night.
CHESHUNT: The aesthetic was chic and modern while repurposing existing material from the site, which was originally built in 1763 and is a Grade II-listed building
CHESHUNT: A room at the hotel didn’t come with a TV, with the idea to entice residents out of their rooms
CHESHUNT: The hotel was billed as a cross between the members’ only club Soho Farmhouse and a creative arts festival set in 55 acres and just 30 minutes from London
It was a joint venture between Mr Penn and Mr King’s management company, Performance Hotels, and real estate investment company Aprirose.
A room at the hotel didn’t come with a TV, with the idea to entice residents out of their rooms.
For entertainment, guests could try pottery, glassblowing, candle making, beekeeping, soda bread making, gong baths, board games or spoon carving at an extra cost.
There were also free film screenings, as well as fitness classes such as HIIT, al fresco yoga, a nightclub-style spin studio and more.
A second hotel opened in Selsdon, south London, last spring, with a membership scheme and two restaurants.
The restaurants, Elodie and Vervain, were managed by Michelin-starred chef Lee Westcott and received a rave review from Observer restaurant critic Jay Rayner.
CHESHUNT: The Birch Hotel in Hertfordshire emerged during the pandemic and quickly became an award-winning hotel.
SELSDON: The Birch near Croydon opened last Spring, but locals said the area lacked the ‘hipster’ vibe the hotel was trying to attract
SELSDON: The poolside at Birch’s south London sister hotel in Croydon
CHESHUNT: Food at the Birch restaurant in Hertfordshire. Customers complained it was ‘expensive’ and food was ‘mediocre’
Rooms at the hotel did not come with a TV, with the idea to entice residents out of their rooms. For entertainment, guests could try pottery, glassblowing, candle making, beekeeping, soda bread making, gong baths, board games or spoon carving at an extra cost.
There were also free film screenings, fitness classes such as HIIT, al fresco yoga, a nightclub-style spin studio and more.
A second hotel opened in Selsdon, south London, last spring with a membership scheme and two restaurants, Elodie and Vervain, managed by Michelin-starred chef Lee Westcott and receiving acclaim from restaurant critic Jay Rayner.
However, Mr Penn and Mr King left the business just before the new location opened and new management was brought in last February.
This proved too late as the south Croydon hotel closed its doors last month and administrators have just put the Birch Hotel on the market.
Hundreds of staff lost their jobs in Croydon after many of the casual staff had already been let go.
Henry Spencer, pictured, said he was ‘not surprised’ to hear that the hotel chain had gone into administration
CHESHUNT: The Grade II listed Birch hotel was set on 55-acres in Hertfordshire
CHESHUNT: The heated outdoor pool at the Birch hotel in Hertfordshire. However, in April staff stopped heating it due to a rise in energy costs
The staff who remained until the end had to learn different roles and it was reported that the gardener was staffing reception.
Writing on Facebook, a former staff member said: ‘Nearly 300 of us got made redundant on the spot yesterday at 12pm with no pre-warning whatsoever right before Christmas.’
Another person claiming to be a former employee said: ‘None of us have been paid/will get paid our final wage which was due next Thursday! Five weeks pay!’
‘So we are heading towards Christmas with ZERO MONEY. Some of those people have young families, new babies, or live alone with no support group around them.’
According to The Caterer, the business ran into difficulty due to ‘cash constraints’.
Locals complained about its south London hotel being overpriced and alienating locals with its membership scheme.
Henry Spencer, 30, from Hackney, told that he stayed on September 19, 2020, with his wife and they ‘vowed never to return’.
He said: ‘My wife and I stayed there not long after it opened and had THE worst time. Disastrous from start to finish!
‘We had a press rate via my wife and still thought it was absurdly expensive for what it was.
‘Arriving at the gates was a disaster, the food was at various points inedible, you couldn’t have a drink outside without either being bombed by falling acorns or smoked to death by horrible fire pits, the shower was too small to fit in and the taps leaked.
‘I am so not surprised they’ve closed. It was all such a lot of hot air and the service was just terrible.’
Lamenting it’s closure, one customer said: ‘There’s not much of a market for the “hipster” vibe in Croydon, sadly.’
CHESHUNT: The aesthetic was chic and modern while repurposing existing material from the site, which was originally built in 1763 and is a Grade II-listed building
CHESHUNT: Birch also had a small farm with animals including pigs, chickens and llamas
CHESHUNT: The property company that won the rights to sell the hotel, Savills, said the sale provided investors with a ‘unique opportunity to acquire a substantial freehold property’
Meanwhile another added: ‘If they had been more inclusive to local residents it might have been better.’
Others were dismayed at the ‘expensive’ prices, with one person commenting: ‘People haven’t got that kind of money. Not surprised it’s closed!’
The property company that won the rights to sell the hotel, Savills, said the sale provided investors with a ‘unique opportunity to acquire a substantial freehold property’.
Savills hotel agent Harriet Fuller added: ‘It has been recently refurbished to seamlessly combine modern design aesthetics with the amenities of a lifestyle hotel and private members’ club.
‘We expect this to be a highly south-after asset.’
A spokesperson for Birch said: ‘Daniel Smith and Gavin Park from Teneo Financial Advisory were appointed by the directors as Joint Administrators of Theobalds Park Op Co Limited, trading as Birch (Cheshunt), on 20 November 2023.
‘Unfortunately, the Joint Administrators made the difficult decision to cease trade immediately upon appointment.’