The scaffolding has almost been fully removed from the entirety of the new building revealing the gorgeous and long discussed Deco flourishes which grace the stonework with permanent sculptural geometric designs. The Merchant logo is elegantly engraved there too. Bespoke lighting will add a magical touch to The Merchant’s night time appearance. Shining silver deco planters with a sunburst design will soon be planted with an elegant choice of plants and flowers to add colour and further enhance the whole effect.

Bert’s Jazz Bar is speeding along at a pace. I can almost hear the music floating out from this elegant space. Imagine yourself sitting on the terrace at Bert’s for our gorgeous Jazz Brunch on Sundays….with Eggs Benedict in front of you, a bloody Mary in one hand and the dulcet tones of our talented musicians reaching your ears. Bliss! 

Just one of many exciting prospects which await you this summer at The Merchant Hotel.

…..Then hopefully it’s worth a small “crick” in the neck! Oh dear! Note to self: Photograph subject matter portrait style or least modify images before uploading….  Not to worry, a true professional in the field of photography (Ms Khara Pringle) is fresh from photographing our fabulous sample room properly! I shall post the very elegant results of her handy work early next week.

Enjoy your weekend!

I have been very lax in my blogging duties! I promise to remedy this with some images of our now complete sample room. I will upload them the week after next as I am out of the country next week.

All bias aside the new design absolutely exceeds expectations (and mine were very high).  The entire management team donned their hard hats yesterday and trooped round the arctic conditions of The New Chapter (I swear it was colder inside than outside). In spite of the cold our spirits were high as we went from the basement spa to the roof top gym. It is very exciting to see everything taking shape so rapidly now. The piece de resistance of the tour was of course the sample room. A hidden gem at odds with its unfinished surroundings, this new room is a suitable homage to all things deco, graced as it is with an Eileen Grey Bibendum chair, bespoke funiture in black and chrome and an array of sumptuous silks and velvets. The first hard hat tour is arranged and I can’t wait to show it all off.

The Hard Hat tours are due to commence very soon. I will be emailing those of you who are signed up to join me in the next week or so.

I still have one or two spaces left for the hard hat tours commencing at the end of this month. Contact me  now  - petra@themerchanthotel.com  - if you are interested joining us.

Its all worth it to see the speed of progress on the New Chapter!

If you are interested in taking part in our very first hard hat tours of the new year, let me know. The first 20 responses I receive to petra@themerchanthotel.com will enjoy a tour followed by a warming cuppa in The Great Room.

Today is a perfect example: things kicked off at 8.30am in the photographic studios of the talented Ms Khara Pringle, for today was the day of the photo shoot for The Merchant’s new spa.  Without letting any cats out of the bag, may I just say that our gorgeous models Jude  Nabney and Rob Rea did a first rate job, as did make up artist extraordinaire Paddy McGurgan. The final shots really do justice to how beautiful, sensual and dare I say sexy, The Merchant Spa will be when complete.

Myself and a trusty selection of my colleagues are already at festive saturation point having spent the best part of last week doing the Christmas decorations for the hotel – hence my terrible lack of blog last week – my apologies.

I must say I never tire of the finished product (it’s hard not to be impressed by a 22 foot real Christmas tree), but working throughout the night to achieve it gets more challenging  each year.

Enough of my ba-humbugging!    The New Chapter of The Merchant is nicely on schedule. The building has acquired half of its windows, the main stair cores are in and internal walls are starting to appear. Behind the scenes there is a continuing flurry of activity from all departments. The most tempting for my money is the delightful list of treatments we will offer in The Spa. This is being drawn up and fine tuned by Spa and Gymnasium Manager Joanne Rodgers.

If you would like to know more on this or any other matter pertaining to The New Chapter of The Merchant Hotel please get in touch.

May I firstly thank you all for the kind comments you have posted. It is very gratifying to hear that you are as excited as we are about The New Chapter of The Merchant Hotel.

If you have any questions that haven’t been addressed by the extension website please leave a comment and I will endeavour to answer promptly.

Today we have been obliged to block Skipper Street to facilitate the moving of the Northern Ireland Electricity sub-station. This is a necessary upheaval which will allow the old building to meet the new, bringing us one important step closer to completion.