The four-star hotel next to Cambridge Park will now be known as ‘The Duke’.
The rebranding is part of a refurbishment being carried out by the Little Big Group, which bought the hotel last year and has now added it to its hotel portfolio.
The new name is just one of the changes being made to make the establishment more welcoming and contemporary.
Group managing director Charlie Walker said she wanted to bring the hotel to a new generation.
‘But we want to achieve that while remaining faithful to the many people who have visited the hotel in the past and still return as guests,’ she said.
‘The trick is finding that balance behind making everyone welcome and still being high-end.’
The hotel closed on 1 January following its New Year’s Eve party and immediately embarked on a six-week refurbishment intended to see a reopening in time for Valentine’s Day.
‘It’s hugely ambitious and it’s been all hands on deck,’ said Ms Walker.
‘Staff are either here mucking in or on holiday. There are things like the weather outside our control, but fingers crossed we will be reopening in time for Valentine’s weekend, to put some shine on what can be a depressing month.’
The primary focus of the refurb are the public-facing parts of the hotel – the reception, bar and restaurant – as well as giving the outside a coat of paint.
Gone are the black and white rooms and colonial-inspired decor.
Rather than using a designer, the new look has been created in-house.
‘Everything we do at Little Big could fit under the heading “boutique”.
‘We want to create an atmosphere of real warmth and there will be a playful mature colour scheme,’ she said.
‘My mum and I went for an amazing shop in Paris in September for the accessories and they are all on-island and ready to be fitted to create that boutique, cocktail townhouse vibe.’
The 73 bedrooms will be tackled in a second phase in the future.
Although The Duke is one of Guernsey’s largest hotels, it is not the biggest hotel in the Little Big Group, beaten by the Peninsula’s 90 rooms.
‘The Duke is a very different four-star to the Peninsula,’ said Ms Walker.
‘It’s a little more upmarket, rather than being by the beach, you could be in a quaint corner of London.’
The Duke stands on the site originally occupied by what is generally accepted to be Guernsey’s oldest hotel, with an establishment known to be there as early at 1815.
The hotel was originally named after the Third Duke of Richmond, Charles Lennox, who as Master of the Ordnance commissioned a famous map of the island of Guernsey in 1769.
‘A lot of the staff have been here a long time and are really excited to see the transition to the new era,’ she said.
‘We want less of a dress code and more of a feeling of being welcome to all.
‘That’s what the new name is about, we want to acknowledge the hotel’s heritage but move it forward.’