No.15 Great Pulteney - A quintessential boutique townhouse hotel in Bath
WOOLF Interior Design and Interior Architecture were invited to an evening event at Number 15 Pulteney Street, where we were given a grand tour of the hotel. We were struck by the unusualness of the space and how it had been filled with local art pieces. It is an intriguing building which marries the history behind the building in Bath, whilst developing itself as a center-piece for displaying regional art works.
The hotel can be found in a beautiful Georgian building on what must be the grandest street in the City Bath; Great Pulteney Street. The hotel is timeless and luxurious with a creative elegance that is guaranteed to impress. No.15 Great Pulteney is a hotel for both relaxation and revelry. Independently owned and set across three Grade-I Georgian townhouses, No.15 Great Pulteney is a quintessentially ‘English luxury boutique townhouse hotel’, which is full of surprises and curiosities.
At WOOLF Interior Design and Interior Architecture we also love collaborating with artists when we are designing our interiors projects and from this perspective the hotel resonated with us. Great collaborations often create more personalized spaces for our clients to live and work in. This approach resonates with a number of the projects that WOOLF have designed where we have brought together a balance between a building’s history and contemporary artist’s work. For example Claridge’s have a history of collaborating with artists and have been particularly clever at finding fine artists and fashion designers, whose work they have used as an inspiration for the design of some of their bedrooms. Indeed, one winter Anthony Gormley’s amazing glowing ‘Western Red Cedar Christmas Tree’ was commissioned as a display to sit outside the Connaught Hotel. Explore WOOLF commercial projects
At the heart No.15 Great Pulteney there are clearly keen purveyors and collectors of art, with a focus on the display of intriguing collections, vast canvases and captivating curios, which all help create an almost gallery-like feel. As well as working with those who have made ‘making or finding beautiful things’ their life’s work, the hotel also worked closely with local and up-and-coming artists to commission one-of-a-kind contemporary pieces; these are further enhanced by their statement lighting and the myriad of chandeliers found in the hotel. In keeping with the theme, upstairs on the top floor is the Artists’ Floor, where seven of the rooms feature bespoke wall murals ranging from a ‘Greek seascape’ to a 'Lizard’s day out’ and a ‘Hole in the wall’. Art, in all forms, will always be an integral part of No.15 Great Pulteney’s ‘luxury for the curious’ offering.
The 40 bedrooms are individually designed with a supremely comfortable night’s sleep in mind. Captivating collections, bespoke art, joyfully unexpected touches, calming colour schemes and ambient lighting all help to create a truly unique experience. Wonderfully restful sitting rooms with open fires provide the ideal backdrop for relaxing over everything from specialty ‘Origin coffee’ and homemade patisserie to afternoon tea, or simply soaking up the gallery-like feel. The Dispensary is the hub for relaxed dinners while Bar 15 serves up ‘creative liquid libations’ and wonderful wines from across the globe.
If relaxing and the ‘taking of the waters’ for which Bath is famous for, then Spa15 would be a perfect spa relaxation treat situated below the hotel and under the pavements in the ‘Great Pulteney Caves’. We loved the feel of the Spa and the original execution of the space. They have not tried to replicate the Georgian Architecture or pastiche the hotel building itself, rather they have been bold by creating something more modern and fun in a Georgian setting. Explore WOOLF historic Projects
No.15 Great Pulteney sits on Bath’s most iconic neoclassical street, and is made up of a collection of Georgian townhouses each with a rich and distinguished past. Even now, as you stroll along the wide pavements – away from the fountain at Laura Place towards the trompe l’oeil outlines of the Holburne Museum – you can breathe in the history.
The History Of The Hotel
Originally Great Pulteney Street was home to single family dwellings but in 1846 the house at No.15 became a lodging house followed shortly after by No.14 and No.13. In 1921 No.15 was converted into The Carfax Hotel and in 1930 the hotel took over all 3 Georgian townhouses No.13 - No.15. All 3 Georgian townhouses we bought by Ian and Christa Taylor, owners of the Kaleidoscope Collection in 2013 and No.15 Great Pulteney was born. In 2019 No.15 Great Pulteney was bought by the family-owned and managed ‘Guest Holdings’. Explore WOOLF historic Projects
Great Pulteney Street has always been a hub for the city’s beau monde. Scratch the elegant surface of the beautiful Georgian Townhouses built in Bath stone you discover that they have been home to everyone from roguish money-laundering admirals and promiscuous colonels to the more genteel titled ladies, perfumers and commissioners of police. The intrigue and drama of all these stories provides an entertaining and sometimes extravagant backdrop to the awe-inspiring structures of the buildings in their own right.
The hotel partnered with Rossiters of Bath, who are a local interior furnishing supplier, from where much of the luxurious furnishings in the hotel have been sourced. Opened in 1961, ‘Rossiters of Bath’ also occupies three Georgian townhouses right in the center of the city. It has a local reputation as being the ‘Liberty of the West Country’.
“No.15 Great Pulteney is set in one of Bath’s most elegant streets and has the luxury of looking out to the sensory gardens of Henrietta Park – this has been a major source of inspiration for us,” explains Ann-Marie James, buying director and owner at Rossiters. “We were also very inspired by the phrase ‘luxury for the curious’, used to describe the overall style of No.15 Great Pulteney and we loved the idea that guests stepping into the hotel would discover a slightly more eccentric beauty within, compared to the classical beauty outside.” Explore WOOLF historic projects
To be found at the very heart of Bath’s fashionable society, No.15 Great Pulteney is an elegant and vivacious luxury hotel on the very grandest street in Bath. Imagine a place where you can indulge in all the best things in life; from the very finest artisanal food to superlative spa treatments and carefully-curated drinks whilst enjoying wonderfully individual, restful spaces right in Bath's historic city center. It is a sense of unique personality and ultimately, the unexpected, that the hotel have re-ignited and imbued within the beautifully restored trio of Georgian Bath townhouses. Explore WOOLF historic Projects
