Keswick Hall’s list of acclamations is long and distinguished—Forbes’s Five-Star Award, Golf Digest Editors’ Choice Award for Best Golf Resorts in the Americas, the AAA Four Diamond Rating for Fossett’s restaurant.
But when owners Robert and Molly Hardie decided to renovate the century-old property three years ago, the project quickly escalated. Despite all its acclaim and history, the hotel and restaurant are reopening later this year in a completely reimagined fashion.
“Molly and Robert have had a love of Keswick since Robert was studying at the university,” General Manager John Trevenen says. “I think it’s just a special place to them.”
Keswick will unveil its updated chic late this summer, with a new guest wing—bringing the property to 80 total rooms—an infinity pool and cabanas, red clay tennis courts, and fully reimagined resort grounds. Fossett’s gives way to Marigold, a fine-dining restaurant led by culinary icon Jean-Georges Vongerichten.
The entire guest space has been redesigned from the studs, according to Trevenen—the project was “an undertaking that no one could have imagined,” he says. That means everything—plumbing, electrical, every non-structural item—was stripped from the facility.
The hotel will now offer four signature suites, including the two-bedroom Hardie Suite. The guest rooms are decorated subtly, featuring white, blue, and cream shades, as well as light wood, elegant furniture, beds with Duxiana mattresses, and Frette sheets and bath linens. Each guest room will include a smart television and Lutron lighting, and local photographs will decorate the walls. The Hardie Suite is fitted with a kitchenette built around Viking appliances and a wet bar.
The general design style, according to Trevenen, is to ensure form follows function. Keswick intends to be among the best hotels in the world, he says, and that means service must be at the highest level. Personnel should predict guests’ needs and meet them before they know they have them themselves.
“We have a tagline of redefining the art of American hospitality,” he says. “We are reestablishing a style of hospitality that we think is a little different from what is on offer in other properties. We are trying to do it in a more gentle and relaxed manner.”
Take Marigold, Trevenen suggests. All resort meals, from breakfast, lunch, and dinner during the week to weekend brunches, will be served in the restaurant, a departure from Keswick’s previous approach, which was offering different meal seatings at multiple restaurants. According to Trevenen, the change means the restaurant’s servers will quickly become experts at doing a simple set of activities at the absolute best of their abilities.
“[Molly and Robert] have been terribly good about maintaining the building, the culture, and the DNA within a new structure,” Trevenen says. “It was a labor of love. It might have been easier to start again, but they really wanted to make sure it was given back to the community better than it was before.”