Leisure company The Apartment Group has unveiled a luxury hotel, country pub and boho wedding venue in County Durham.
The Newcastle firm, which owns a strong of bars, restaurants and hotels across the region, has transformed the former Jersey Farm Country Hotel near Barnard Castle into a venue called Runa. The company snapped up the hotel before the pandemic, at the same as it bought a nearby hotel in Spennymoor.
But its renovation plans had to be put on hold during the pandemic lockdowns, when it instead focussed investment on its Newcastle city centre venues. The Apartment Group, which owns bars ChaChaBuchi, The Holy Hobo and Zarabanda, is now poised to open Runa – which takes its name from the first two letters of ‘rural’ and ‘nature’ – following significant investment overseen by chief executive Debrah Dhugga, who previously managed luxury hotels in London and Dubai.
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Alongside the 30-bedroom hotel, the company has refurbished the original farmhouse to appeal to bridal parties or family gatherings. . The house sleeps 14 with up to six bedrooms, spread over the first floor and ground floor. It also has a private kitchen and lounge, with a private chef available for hire.
The Smithy Pub is the main hub of the farm, with food and drink available all day.
Ms Dhugga said: “We’re delighted to announce yet another opening for 2022. Runa is a hotel, country pub and boho wedding venue quite unlike any other seen in the UK, combining natural rural beauty with Balearic vibes. It was our plan to create an individual and special destination for a ‘boho, honest and earthy’ experience with the farm and its produce at the very heart.
“The result is a loveable, laidback, and luxurious County Durham country retreat complete with standout spaces and suites, field-to-fork dining, inviting people to gather, feast, stay, and enjoy every element of its feelgood spirit and endless appeal. You’ll be able to enjoy a unique stay where the natural environment, the splendid views, and the magic of its simplicity will seduce you from the beginning.”
The opening of Runa comes two months after the firm opened its luxury Scandinavian-style holiday cabins, called Cabin Walk, next to Newton Hall in Northumberland.
It will now focus on a transformation of Whitworth Hall Hotel & Deer Park, based close to Spennymoor, a Grade II listed mansion which sits within its own private deer park dating back to the mid-17th Century.
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