Top award for Buxton Crescent hotel renovation

Buxton Crescent Hotel & Thermal Spa has been recognised as the UK’s Refurbishment/Revitalisation Project of the Year at the RICS Awards Grand Final in London.

The UK’s most outstanding building projects went head-to-head for top national accolades at the awards, with the winners announced at The Londoner Hotel, Leicester Square, on Friday October 21.

Category winners of all sizes and budgets from each of the 12 regional RICS Awards competed in the Grand Final for the chance to win their respective category. Four new national categories were introduced at this year’s awards - Infrastructure Team of the Year, Environmental Impact, Outstanding Large and Small surveying firm/team. The 10 category winners were announced at the ceremony as well as the overall winner and a Lifetime Achievement Award recipient.

The Crescent was built between 1780 and 1789. The Grade I listed property has been restored and conserved to create an 81-bedroom luxury spa hotel, a unique thermal mineral water spa, a visitor experience and six shops. The project took several years to complete and the hotel opened its doors in October 2020.

Commenting on the project the judges said: “This project is based in the centre of Buxton at the Crescent which was built in the 1780s by the Fifth Duke of Devonshire. The building is Grade 1 listed and is one of the most architecturally significant buildings in the UK.

“Being the restoration of a unique Georgian building in an urban setting, which took more than two decades to come to realisation, it is a worthy winner and can be endorsed again as the restoration of the decade.”

Chair of the judging panel David Brooks-Wilson FRICS said: “Each of the winning projects is having a profoundly positive impact on their local area and the RICS is delighted to recognise the hard work that went behind ensuring these projects were delivered successfully, particularly in such challenging and uncertain times as we navigated through the pandemic.

"The teams behind them should be incredibly proud of the part they have played in helping to improve their community and wider local economy.”