BOUTIQUE hotel collection MGallery by Sofitel is celebrating the opening of Queens Hotel Cheltenham, following the revival of the Grade II heritage property in the heart of the town.

Queens Hotel Cheltenham has joined the MGallery by Sofitel collection following a complete refurbishment and is now ready to welcome its first guests.

The hotel was originally built in 1838 on the site of the Sherborne Spa, which was moved stone by stone further down the promenade.

Named in honour of the sovereign and opened in the year of Queen Victoria’s coronation, it was later listed as a Grade II English Heritage building in acknowledgment of its opulent design and period details.

Perhaps the most notable feature of the hotel is the original wallpaper by Augustus Pugin, pioneer of the Gothic Revival style, famed also for designing the interior of the Palace of Westminster, which greets guests in the hallway and provides a striking backdrop for the listed staircase.

The hotel has 84 bedrooms comprising 52 Superior rooms, 28 Deluxe rooms and four Deluxe Suites, overlooking the Imperial Square Gardens and Cheltenham Town Hall.

Suites are named after the area’s historic spas; Imperial, Sherbourne, Cambury and Montpellier. Each comes with its own lavish dressing area, free standing roll-top bath tub, antique pieces of furniture and signature artwork.

The hotel has welcomed guests as impressive and distinguished as its own history. From the moment its doors opened, illustrious persons and celebrities from all walks of life quickly became associated with the hotel, including General Sir Charles Napier, musician Edward Elgar, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and King George III, who spent five weeks in Cheltenham to drink its medicinal waters.

The Queens Hotel restaurant, The Orangery, offers guests a true taste of the area with a menu consisting of fresh, quality produce sourced from local farms and artisans. Whether guests choose to dine in The Orangery or the garden, exquisite culinary dishes will truly reflect the royal address and its locality.

A signature of the hotel collection is the speciality breakfast dish. At Queens Hotel, guests continue to discover more of the hotel’s rich heritage with the ‘Queen’s K-Ration’, which remembers the time when the hotel was home to American servicemen during the Second World War. While on the front line, each would have been issued with a ration pack known fondly as a K-Ration. Today, a rather more indulgent ‘ration’ is served at breakfast.

The hotel’s ornate bar offers an intimate atmosphere for guests to relax and absorb the peaceful ambience and enchanting echoes of a regal past, as they recline in one of the luxurious armchairs and admire the listed solid carved wooden bar, a gift from India to Lord Napier.

As echoed across the MGallery by Sofitel portfolio, here guests can sample the hotel’s signature drink, the ‘Chelspa’. Chelspa was the original name given to the Spa water when it was first bottled for human consumption; this lively cocktail features Cheltenham Brennan & Brown Gin, smashed cucumber and elderflower among its ingredients. In a nod to Her Majesty The Queen’s favourite tipple, the hotel has an impressive gin menu, with more than 30 varieties on offer, from the fruity and floral to the savoury and spicy.

Queens Hotel invites guests to take a tour of the iconic Morgan Factory, where the all-British Morgan Cars are hand built. Couples can choose a two-seater Morgan for a tour around the beautiful Cotswolds before parking up in a local beauty spot to enjoy a picnic or afternoon tea.

Guests can also opt to take an exhilarating ride with a professional Morgan driver and discover just what these cars can do on the open road.