Award-winning Peak District hotel and restaurant reopens after major refurbishment

The Maynard, situated on Main Road in Grindleford, reopened last week after closing to allow for refurbishments to take place.

Customers will be met with new decor and a revamped menu at the venue. Rob Hattersley is managing director of Longbow Bars and Restaurants – who own the hotel – and he said: “We’ve tried to keep the heritage of the building with a slight contemporary edge.

“We’ve decided that we need to make sure the interiors of The Maynard, especially the restaurant, match the quality of the food and service that we’re offering.”

Those visiting The Maynard after the refurbishment will spot a locally-crafted grand oak reception desk, made by Twisted Wood. The restaurant has been overhauled with new ambient lighting, furniture, and quirky animal artwork on the walls.

The bedrooms in The Maynard hark back to a time when the hotel was a popular destination for the touring Australian Cricket team.

Rob said: “The Maynard was the Aussie’s go to place. The Australian cricket team used to stay at The Maynard when they were doing the Ashes at Queen’s Park and at Bramall Lane, and then there was the 1938 team – which is widely considered to be one of the best cricket teams of all time – captained by Sir Don Bradman.

“We’ve got loads of memorabilia, signature cards of all the cricketers, we’ve got pictures of them outside and we’ve even named all of the rooms after the cricketers as well.”

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The Maynard also claimed the East Midlands Wedding Venue of the Year award for two consecutive years – establishing its reputation as one of the Peak District’s premier wedding spots.

As Rob added, however, the venue offers so much more than just weddings – with their locally-sourced menu curated by Head Chef Greg Robinson standing out as a highlight.

“There’s more to The Maynard than just weddings, we’ve got a 120-seater restaurant, we’ve got a beautiful garden and we never ever close the venue exclusively for a wedding. The wedding will take place in the wedding venue and we’ll still run the other operations in the rest of the hotel.”