Sir Matthew Pinsent unveils new spa and bedrooms at Lancashire's Stanley House

Olympic gold medallist Sir Matthew Pinsent has unveiled a new multi-million spa and accommodation wing at the Stanley House hotel in Lancashire's Ribble Valley.

Owned by the Walker family, the hotel in Mellor has added 18 bedrooms to the hotel, called the Woodland Rooms, to complement the 12 bedrooms in the main Grade II-listed Manor House, which dates back to the 17th century.

The rural themed spa, delivered by Howard Spa Consulting, offers one double and four single treatment rooms, alongside a therma suite and hydro pool, Finnish sauna, Pilates studio and gymnasium.

At the opening reception, attended by 350 guests, Sir Matthew (pictured with Nora Walker) said: "To achieve anything in sport, you need vision, dedication and a will to win. This behaviour is no different in business - and it's great to see businesses such as Stanley House, despite difficulties in the current economic climate, improve on their business model."

Simon Glassbrook, director at Stanley House, said: "We've always listened to our customers and committed to innovation. The opening of the spa and our new Woodland bedrooms will see us diversify our offering and make Stanley House a genuine national destination of which we are extremely proud."

Stanley House opened as a hotel within a 54-acre estate in 2004, following the conversion of what was previously the ruins of the original manor house.

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By Janet Harmer

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