With a growing reputation as a city break destination in its own right, Derby now has the all-new Coach House B&B, as well as a range of city centre apartments operated by The Stay Company, available to its growing number of visitors.
Both are a sign of things to come for a city which already boasts the boutique Cathedral Quarter Hotel, the stylish Kedleston Country House on its outskirts, and a full range of famous name and budget city centre hotels.
The Coach House B&B is the latest accommodation on offer in a city which has been transformed over the last decade by a regeneration programme estimated to be worth around £2.2-billion. It has a total of seven rooms: four in the main building; and three design-led superior rooms in a separate stable block to the rear of the house. These provide the ‘Wow factor’ in a well-run B&B where one of the aims is to do the simple things very well.
“We’ll use local produce as far as possible for breakfast, for example” explains owner Rob Aitken. “But our guests will also find we’re a little bit quirky”.
The B&B’s new brandings – portraying a boar on the back of a horse, and a chicken on the boar’s head – stands testament to that. The horse doffs its cap to the fact that this once was a coach house; the boar signifies the Boar’s Head Cotton once manufactured at nearby Darley Abbey Mill; and the chicken is a reference to the local produce used in the home-cooked breakfast.
Anyone in search of other USPs in a city centre B&B, need only ask Aitken about the history of the house, who owns a copy of the book written by the original owner of the property, Reverend Walter Weston, who played football for Derby County FC, held the mile record for the city, and championed climbing in Japan.
The Coach House B&B stands close to the Derwent Valley Mills UNESCO World Heritage Site and is a short taxi journey, or a very pleasant 20-minutes riverside walk, into the city centre.
Prices arrange from £44 a night in a standard single room within the house, and rise to £90, £120 and £150 per room per night (bed and breakfast) in one of the superior double rooms in the superbly renovated stables.
For further details, visit http://coachhousederby.com.
Elsewhere, The Stay Company has quietly gone about the business of totally transforming a handful of historic properties, which now offer both long and short stay visitors luxury accommodation in a series of modern city centre apartments. The spec throughout is high; but the prices are relatively low – with four people able to stay in a two-bedroom apartment from £37.50 per person per night. Further details can be found at http://www.visitderby.co.uk/stay/self-catering/the-stay-company.
For a complete listing of all other accommodation in Derby, visit http://www.visitderby.co.uk/stay.