Set within a picturesque 1000-acre estate, the off-grid hotel boasts 196 rooms, 18 meeting rooms, a luxury spa, two championship golf courses, two restaurants and 10 wedding ceremony venues, not to mention a three-acre vineyard – one of the most successful in the North of England. With more than 20,000 guests visiting Carden Park each year, a significant amount of energy is needed to power its heating, hot water and cooking facilities – so it was vital for the hotel to find a reliable, cost-effective and efficient energy solution.
Carden Park’s General Manager Hamish Ferguson says: “With such a high energy demand, we were spending a fortune on oil so we were particularly keen to find a way to reduce overheads while lessening our impact on the environment. We researched other off-grid options, such as renewables, but LPG just made total sense for us. Not only did it provide the quickest payback period, but we’re now saving 277 tonnes of carbon each year in the process – a key reason we continue to be a Green Tourism Gold Award holder. The switch to LPG has also meant we’ve been able to reduce our system maintenance, resulting in even further savings and minimal disruption.”
Flogas managed the conversion from start to finish, and fitted 10 LPG tanks discreetly underground in the vineyard to ensure they didn’t impact the landscape for guests and visitors. The hotel now receives an LPG delivery once a week, although inbuilt telemetry systems on the tanks automatically monitor volumes and alert Flogas when refills are needed, for full peace of mind.
“Reliability is everything when it comes to our fuel supply,” says Hamish. “LPG is literally at the heart of the hotel and without it, the business would be completely scuppered. This is one of the major reasons we opted for Flogas. Not only do its telemetry systems automatically ensure we never run out of fuel, but its local Wrexham plant means we have complete security of supply.”
Carden Park became an independent hotel in 2014 and is owned by Steve Morgan CBE –founder of FTSE 250-listed construction company Redrow plc. Always striving for excellence, the hotel is currently undergoing a major £4m refurbishment, which will be completed in early 2017. This includes a full revamp of all bedrooms and suites, conference rooms, the main bar and lounge, spa and Cheshire golf course.
Neville Scott, Flogas National Business Development Manager adds: “Carden Park Hotel is a great example of how a straightforward switch from oil to LPG can make a major difference on operations. As a particularly large site, planning was integral for this project, with 420 metres of groundwork to consider. However, Flogas worked closely with Hamish and team from start to finish to ensure that the switch was as seamless as possible. Now, the on-going savings simply speak for themselves, and Carden Park is enjoying a cost-effective, efficient, low maintenance and reliable supply.”
