Luxury at the touch of a button is the aim of Absoluxe in the heart of Kirkby Lonsdale, writes Sue Riley
The Absoluxe Suites are four beautiful rooms in a Grade II listed building which take visitors to the four corners of the globe, but with state of the art technology at their fingertips and fantastic bathrooms and hot tubs. And that's no surprise as the initiative is the brainchild of two South Lakes businesses, Majik House and Aquajade.
Tim and Carol Burrow, of Majik House, and Zuzana and Philip Armstrong, of Aquajade, realised years ago that a lot of their customers were the same people. So, on a culinary trip to Lyon, they put their heads together and discussed how they could pool their skills and work together. After more than a year of building, painting, installing and plumbing, the £850,000 Absoluxe Suites are the result. Each room is both luxurious and stylish, designed by artist Sally Proctor whose mixed media artworks also grace some of the walls.
At the top of the building there's the Columbus room complete with a telescope looking out to the scenic Barbon hills; the Parisian with its romantic feel and freestanding copper bath; the Orient inspired by the Far East and complete with its own hot tub and then the largest suite, the Oasis which has an African theme with private hot tub, lounge, dressing area and bedroom with en-suite.
Each room has its own wi-fi code, huge TVs and wonderful bathrooms with toiletries by Cumbrian brand, Bath House. Then there's the blinds which work at the touch of a button, phone charger points by the bed, the mood lighting and great sound.
'We did some research and wi-fi is now the third utility, you have to have it and it has to be free,' said Carol Burrow. But Absoluxe is so much more than a place to stay with great connectivity - there's acoustic blocks in the floors to reduce noise, when you leave there's a Goodbye button (it's Au Revoir in the Parisian suite) which switches off all the electrical items; and the lighting really does transform each room from day to night.
Then there's the beds with 400 Egyptian thread count sateen sheets and choice of three types of pillow. The team at Absoluxe has tried to think of everything, which has had an unexpected spin off: 'When we go away now we have had to take a step up as we want it to be equally as good as we have created here!' said Carol.
They also provide complimentary parking, drinks, nibbles and breakfast, either a basket of continental goodies delivered to the room or a short wander to the Sun Inn, is included. We opted for the Sun Inn option and thoroughly recommend it.
'We have four different suites so the hope is people will come back and stay in another room,' said Carol. The rooms opened in April and so far people have travelled from Yorkshire, Bolton and Manchester to stay. Of course, one of the attractions is its location - Kirkby Lonsdale frequently appears in the Sunday Times list of the best places to live, with its array of cafes, shops and restaurants.
'We wanted it to be right in the heart of Kirkby Lonsdale so people can walk outside and things are just minutes away,' said Carol. Although if you fancy going to a country pub, Absoluxe has organised a free taxi service to the Lunesdale Arms in Tunstall a few miles away.
'We wanted to touch all the senses. We are all looking for the wow factor and hopefully we have ticked a lot of the boxes. We are being told it's completely unique,' said Carol. And why Absoluxe? Absolute Luxury, of course. u
The Oasis suite is the most expensive at £450 a night. To check prices and deals go to absoluxesuites.co.uk
