The Elysium Windermere hotel will reopen in early 2027 with a rooftop spa and a Breton chef

Under restoration since it changed hands, the former Windermere Hotel, opened in 1847 at the top of the town of Windermere, will reopen in early 2027 as Elysium Windermere. Its 74 rooms will make up the second address of The Elysium Collection, a new British hotel and spa brand that promises a rooftop spa with lake views and has handed its kitchens to Breton chef Stéphane Delourme.

☰Contents

1. A Grade II listed Victorian hotel from 1847
2. Lake District, England’s biggest national park
3. A restoration budgeted at 10 million pounds
4. Stéphane Delourme, 21 years with Rick Stein
5. A rooftop spa: four treatment rooms or six?
6. Reopening pencilled in for early 2027

A Grade II listed Victorian hotel from 1847

The Windermere Hotel was built for the arrival of the railway in Windermere in 1847; the listing entry even dates part of the building to 1834. It overlooks the upper town, near the station, about 1.5 km from the lakeshore. It has been Grade II listed since 7 February 1973, with a three-storey façade in local slate, a cast-iron veranda with twisted columns and a square four-storey tower.

The hotel belongs to BH Group, which bought it in 2025 along with four other Coast & Country hotels, including the Ship & Castle in St Mawes, Cornwall. The group also owns The Swan, at Newby Bridge, and St Michaels Resort, in Falmouth. On 23 and 24 June 2026 it launched The Elysium Collection, a brand of hotels, spas and health clubs in which Windermere will be the second address.

Lake District, England’s biggest national park

The Lake District is the lake country of north-west England, in the county of Cumbria. It is England’s largest national park: 2,362 km², inscribed on the Unesco World Heritage List in 2017 as a cultural landscape. It counts sixteen lakes and tarns, including Windermere, England’s longest lake at 17 km.

It is also the land of Beatrix Potter, author of Peter Rabbit: her farm at Hill Top, in Near Sawrey, has belonged to the National Trust since her death in 1943 and is open to visitors.

A restoration budgeted at 10 million pounds

According to James Houlston, managing director of Elysium, the investment is said to reach 10 million pounds. The façade has been fully repointed in lime, with mortar bought from the original supplier, still in business. Roofs, chimney stacks, gutters and downpipes have been redone, and the windows have recovered their original design. The work is being carried out by Yorkshire firm Marshall’s, to plans by architects 3DReid.

On jobs, the figures vary: up to 130 positions in the press release of 25 September 2026, and 80 to 100 full and part-time, year-round jobs according to James Houlston on 16 October. The brand presented the project to residents at a free open weekend on 16 and 17 October 2026, at the Marchesi Centre in Windermere.

Stéphane Delourme, 21 years with Rick Stein

The kitchen will be run by Stéphane Delourme, executive chef of the whole collection. Born in Brittany and trained in Michelin-starred houses in France, he came to England in 1989 and worked at the Hilton Park Lane, Mirabelle and Quaglino’s, in London.

He then ran British chef Rick Stein’s The Seafood Restaurant in Padstow, Cornwall, for more than 21 years, became group chef of Rick Stein in 2019, then left in 2023 to launch The Stephane Delourme Gastronomic Adventure. In Windermere, the brand promises local, seasonal cooking in a spirit of “informal luxury”.

A rooftop spa: four treatment rooms or six?

The official website announces a rooftop spa with views over the lake, relaxation areas and a health club also open to locals. The details change from one announcement to another. The press release of 25 September 2026 mentioned an outdoor pool, a gym, a sauna, a steam room, a cold plunge pool and four treatment rooms. On 16 October, James Houlston described a spa on the third floor of an extension, with an infinity thermal pool, a gym, a sauna, two large hot tubs, four to five steam rooms, cold plunge pools and six treatment rooms.

The planning application lodged in August 2026 with the national park authority describes, for its part, a rear extension and a spa garden with a pool, hot tubs, a sauna and four “spa lodges”, small pavilions to spend the night in. It also plans the demolition of the Orrest Head bar, two bedrooms and the rear kitchen; we have not been able to verify the decision.

Reopening pencilled in for early 2027

The official website announces an opening in early 2027, whereas the September press release spoke of spring. Elysium St Mawes, 56 rooms in the former Ship and Castle, in Cornwall, is due to launch the brand in January 2027. Rates have not yet been published and the hotel could not be booked as of 17 October 2026.

In the north of England, see also the reopening of Rockliffe in County Durham and the new wing at Aldwark Manor Estate, in Yorkshire; further south, the spa hotel The Parade has opened in Bath.