There can't be many hotels with a history that spans literally thousands of years but Littlecote House, part of the Warner Group of Hotels, has played host to occupying Romans, a Tudor tryst, a Civil War army and, now, a fabulous Vegas-style ballroom.
Within the grounds lie a beautiful Roman mosaic and the remains of what was clearly a substantial settlement, including the Orphic Hall and a once-opulent Roman villa. Today the 16th Century mansion combines a wonderful past with modern facilities that make this hotel a popular choice for adults seeking elegant surroundings, great dining and exciting entertainment.
It is in this environment that Dean Lavisher, maintenance manager, constantly strives to implement a capital investment programme that delivers both an indulgent ambiance for guests and Warner Group's forward-thinking sustainability goals. Mr Lavisher heads Littlecote's Green Team and actively monitors the energy and water consumption of the historic 201 bedroom estate on a daily basis.
"Imagine that even your grass lawn is Grade Two listed," explains Mr Lavisher. "It's a constant challenge to maintain this beautiful environment for the guests and eighty staff who live here on site, while meeting weekly energy-saving targets."
His solution is to adopt and evaluate new technologies carefully, ensuring that they can demonstrate the required cost savings and performance benefits, before implementing on a wider scale. Kosnic's LED lamps are part of this best-practice strategy and - having proved their benefits - have now been implemented in Littlecote House's bar and newly refurbished Vegas-style late lounge.
The late lounge, which is bedecked in striking colours and rich furnishings - now uses Kosnic LEDs rather than traditional 300W halogen bulbs and new LED candle lamps are used to provide mood lighting at the tables. The whole system is controlled via a ShowMagic system which provides the lighting control for the fabulous tribute acts, variety shows and special appearances from stars such as Lenny Henry and Anton du Beke.
"Kosnic LED lamps are giving us the ambiance and the performance we demand - all at a fair price," says Mr Lavisher. "Before, you used to walk in the room and you could instantly tell it was lit by LEDs, now our guests can't tell the difference."
The hotel's priority is to create a perfect break away from the hustle and bustle of ordinary life for the thousands of guests who visit every year. Previously, replacing bulbs took up almost 100% of the time of one worker from the maintenance team. The new LED lamps operate for more than 30,000 hours and so require little attention. This enables the team to spend more time ensuring that the listed venues for the varied sports, swimming and activities are all functioning perfectly. A perfect match of history and modern technology!
