The opening date of The Store hotel in Oxford has been delayed.
Owners Reef Group had hoped to open the hotel - on the site of the former Boswells department store - in late autumn.
Family department store Boswells closed in 2020 and the historic building in Broad Street is being transformed into a 101-bedroom hotel with a rooftop terrace.
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Recently appointed general manager Simon Drake revealed the opening was now expected in November as contractors Gilbert-Ash wanted to ensure they retained as much of the building's history as possible.
Mr Drake was the general manager of the Randolph Hotel in Beaumont Street for about a year until he left in 2019.
Since then he has been a manager at hotels in Soho and Kensington in London.
Mr Drake said: "When I found out The Store hotel was on the site of the former Boswells I knew this was too good an opportunity to miss.
"I see myself as being the caretaker of Boswells' history as well as being the general manager of The Store.
"The date of the opening has been pushed back because of sympathetic construction - there are incredible skylights and floor lights and preserving them has required a redesign.
"As a result the opening date is being put back until early winter and we are now looking at a November opening."
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Mr Drake said there would be no need to compete for guests with his former employers at the Randolph.
"Oxford top hotels run at nearly 80 per cent occupancy - there is more than enough pie to be split between us," he said.
"We will provide a different offering to the Randolph and the Old Bank.
"It will be a trendier, luxury lifestyle experience for the modern traveller.
"I want to open the best quality luxury lifestyle hotel the city has ever seen."
There will be a team of about 70 staff and although senior posts have now been filled, other positions still need to be filled and the general manager is hoping some of the applicants will be former Boswells staff.
While bedrooms on three floors have almost been completed, there is still work required on the ground floor restaurant and on the roof bar.
The restaurant is expected to the called The Treadwell after the historic Treadwell passage which once ran through the centre of the site.
A census of the area has been found from 200 years ago, and black and white pictures, and these will be used to add nostalgic touches inside the hotel.
The entrance to the restaurant will be on Cornmarket but the main entrance to the hotel will be on Broad Street.
A name for the roof bar has yet to be decided.
Mr Drake added: "It is as high as Waterstones' roof and we can look across to Westgate - it will be the place to go in Oxford."
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Andy is the Trade and Tourism reporter for the Oxford Mail and you can sign up to his newsletters for free here.
He joined the team more than 20 years ago and he covers community news across Oxfordshire.
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