Hersham Golf Club Hotel, Underground Building Surrey, Arkin Group English Property Image, Project News

Underground Hotel Development in England

Surrey Golf Project for Claudel Venture Holdings design by ReardonSmith Architects, UK

4 Dec 2009

Address: Assher Rd, Hersham, Walton-on-Thames, KT12 4RA, UK

Underground luxury 5 star hotel and spa planned for Hersham Golf Club

Design: ReardonSmith Architects

Hersham Golf Club Hotel

Claudel Venture Holdings, part of the international leisure company Arkin Group, has today published its plans for a 5-star boutique hotel and luxury spa at Hersham Golf Club, Surrey.

The unique, sustainable and innovative subterranean development, designed by international hotel architects ReardonSmith, will include high quality restaurants and bars, business facilities and improvements to the golf course along with a brand new clubhouse.

Mr Cahit Atasoy, CEO of Arkin Group Developments, said:

“Our vision is to create a stunning boutique hotel and spa destination that will be truly unique and prestigious. It will blend into the natural woodland setting and enhance and increase the level of green landscape. At the same time the Golf Club will be improved and remain an inclusive and open amenity for the local community.”

Sidharth Bhatia, Project Leader, ReardonSmith Architects, said:

“Our aim is to design a five-star hotel that is commercially viable while being sensitive to the demands of the ecosystem. Through the combination of innovative design and intelligent building technology we are replacing existing surface buildings with subterranean ones and, in effect, visually returning land to the Green Belt.”

Hersham Golf Club stands in an area of natural woodland and the proposals respect and reflect this existing beauty. The 200 plus room hotel has been designed to blend into the surrounding environment, with the guest rooms below ground level set around beautiful sunken garden and courtyard spaces and a living green roof that reflects the natural landscape. The total area of green landscape on the site will be increased, returning areas of ‘hard-standing’ paved area back to grass and trees.

In upgrading the golf course and the wider site, additional trees and shrubs will be planted, using native species in keeping with the local landscape to protect and enhance its current natural character. Innovative lighting techniques will significantly reduce the levels of light emitted from the golf club. The vast majority of the car parking will be underground, out of sight.

As part of the development, there will also be major improvements to the local transport infrastructure. A new roundabout on Esher Road will be built between the existing Molesey Road and Lammas Lane roundabouts, which will increase safety by reducing speeds along Esher Road.

The roundabout will also link to the dedicated new access road serving the Club and the hotel. These infrastructure upgrades will help to alleviate the current congestion around Assher Road and better manage the flow of traffic onto the site. The new road, like the rest of the development, will be integrated into the existing natural setting. It will be hidden from view by the design of the landscape and the use of the latest materials to ‘green’ the road and blend it in with the surroundings will also be considered.

Hersham Golf Club Hotel & Spa Development

The total area of the hotel and new golf club will be approximately 177,000 sq ft (with an additional 71,000 sq ft of car parking).

The Arkin Group
The Arkin Group is a major player in the international leisure and gaming industry and undertook its first property development six years ago with the construction and establishment of The Colony Hotel in Kyrenia, Northern Cyprus. The 100 room Colony Hotel and its Casino set the standard for a 5 star boutique hotel on the island. Since then the Group has gradually been building a land bank by acquiring prominent sites and properties with a view to expanding its development operations. In 2008, the Group moved into the international field with the acquisition of a 108 acre 18 hole golf course and clubhouse in Hersham, Surrey.

ReardonSmith
ReardonSmith Architects specialises exclusively in the hotel sector worldwide. Led by principals who have dedicated their careers to hotel design and supported by hard-working teams who share their enthusiasm for the sector, ReardonSmith is the most experienced hotel architectural practice based in London today. Their UK work includes the Savoy, Claridges and the Four Seasons, London.

Hersham Golf Club Underground Hotel image / information received 041209 from ReardonSmith Architects, UK

ReardonSmith Architects

Phone: +44 1932 267666

Location: Assher Rd, Hersham, Walton-on-Thames KT12 4RA, southeast England, United Kingdom

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