Update: This story was our April Fool! Thanks to everyone who played along.
Kirklees Council’s plans for the George Hotel are moving on apace and thoughts are now turning to the Huddersfield-themed interior.
The council has signed a deal for the hotel to become a Radisson RED, an iconic global brand which will help attract international visitors to Huddersfield.
The interiors of Radisson RED hotels aren’t bland or generic. Instead, they reflect and showcase the town or city in which they are based.
While work continues to secure planning permission for the external works for the grade II-listed building, the council has launched public consultation on the Huddersfield-themed interior.
Designers are working on the interior décor but the council is now consulting on the names and themes for some of the hotel’s suites and bedrooms.
The council has held a series of away days for councillors and officers to encourage ‘blue sky thinking.’ The aim is to connect the George Hotel’s future to the town’s history and heritage.
The council has looked at all Huddersfield’s claims to fame such as Meltham being the birthplace of David Brown Tractors. Not a lot of people know that David Brown also owned Aston Martin. The iconic Aston Martin DB5 was the car driven by 007 James Bond.
Then there’s famous people too such as the late Moldgreen-born comedy actor Gorden Kaye, who played French café owner Rene Artois in the TV sitcom ‘Allo ‘Allo.
There’s also Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer Anita Lonsbrough, docked wages as a clerk for Huddersfield Corporation when she took time off to train for the 1960 Rome Olympics.
Huddersfield’s Ivanhoe’s nightclub was the venue for the last ever UK gig by the Sex Pistols on Christmas Day 1977 and, more recently, there’s Jodie Whittaker, of Skelmanthorpe, the first woman Doctor Who, and, of course, Felix the Huddersfield Station cat, who has the biggest social media following of any feline in the world.
The council has now launched public consultation on the following suite and room names for the new hotel:
- The Warnock Escape Room – Huddersfield Town fans are assured of a good night’s sleep if, of course, boss Neil Warnock pulls off the Great Escape and keeps them in the Championship;
- The Lion Chamber – this top floor room will have views across John William Street and will be eyeball-to-eyeball (or rather eyeball to bum) with the lion statue on top of Lion Chambers;
- The Doctor Who Tardis Family Suite – this room sleeps a family of 11 and is bigger on the inside than it looks on the outside. There’s a life-size mural of Jodie Whittaker on the wall and a full-size dalek in the spacious bathroom. The dalek will incorporate a state-of-the-art air purifier and will cry: “Exterminate, exterminate!” whenever it is activated to dispose of any nasty niffs.
- The Felix Suite – puuurfect for all you cat lovers out there. This room with cattitude allows you to surround yourself with all things Felix, known to her fans as the ‘flooofy one.’ The room also comes with a cat flap as Felix’s role as mouse catcher in chief at the station is also being extended to the George. You might even wake up one morning with Felix snuggling up beside you! Felix’s sidekick Bolt won’t miss out either as the en-suite is named in his honour – The Bolt Hole.
- The Jonny Rotten Suite – a room dedicated to the legendary Sex Pistols frontman with a video wall which plays tracks from the album ‘Never Mind the Bo***cks.’ The cleaner comes in twice a day to trash the room for you.
- The Goodnight Mr Bond Honeymoon Suite – this is pure five-star luxury for brides and grooms. This private suite takes up the entire top floor and includes a swim-up Lonsbrough pool with Jacuzzi and a ‘dumb waiter’ lift which will transport food directly from the Gorden Kaye French bistro below. The experience will be completed by an intimate ‘Shaken Not Stirred’ cocktail bar for two staffed 24/7 by a bartender/masseur who will attend to a couple’s every need.
The council’s Cabinet member for regeneration Clr Graham Turner urged the public to get involved in the consultation and said: “The George Hotel is going to be incredible for Huddersfield.
“In fact, the plans we have for the themed rooms are almost too unbelievable to be true. It’s a privilege to have been part of this.”
Hotel consultant designer Avril Dia de los Inocentes said: “The George Hotel is going to be a wonderful celebration of Huddersfield and I hope as many people as possible will make their views known so please click on the consultation link below.”
The consultation starts on Saturday April 1 and can be accessed HERE
READ MORE: Remember this story from exactly 12 months ago to the day? Click HERE