Commercial Case Study: Druidstone House

Stunning views across the Pembrokeshire coastline provide the perfect backdrop to Druidstone House – an informal family holiday hotel – that was established in 1972.

For the last 29 years Druidstone House has been operating ecologically and contributing to sustainable development whenever possible. By running business this way, combined with the hotel’s on-going Good Food status awards, it has become popular retreat all year round.

Since opening, Druidstone House has relied on Calor liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for its cooking, heating and hot water facilities.

The long-standing relationship that Druidstone has had with Calor began when owners, Rod and Jane Bell, had difficulty obtaining more than 25kw of electricity for the 11-bedroom hotel and four holiday cottages.

Jane says: ”We needed a reliable and economical fuel that wouldn’t let us down and that could provide sufficient power for the accommodation and kitchen areas.

“Calor quickly came to the rescue by recommending LPG, which has proven to be cost effective and practical, and has satisfied all our needs and requirements.

In the year 2000, Rod and Jane set about expanding and improving their holiday centre. These improvements included updating the existing cottages, adding more showers and bathrooms and improving the entire kitchen area. Due to these features of the hotel being updated, more gas was required and Calor stepped in by installing two underground bulk tanks to fulfil the increased demand. Both tanks were fitted under a bank of rare wild daffodils, allowing them, and the heather to remain undisturbed.

“We were very pleased that Calor suggested fitting the tanks completely out of sight because it helps preserve the beautiful, natural surroundings and breathtaking views whilst still enabling us to have sufficient power,” Jane adds.”

The installation of the tanks took just two weeks and during this time there was minimal disruption. “We only lost power for one day when changing from old to new” Jane says. Prior to them being fitted, one tank stood at the foot of the hotel’s driveway and Jane was concerned that by adding another tank they would look out of place.

Maintaining the natural surroundings is of prime importance to Rod and Jane. What makes Druidstone so unique is the Roundhouse – Britain’s first eco-cottage that is powered entirely by renewable energy. This unusual form of accommodation is immensely popular and gets booked up throughout the year by people wanting to escape city life. Roundhouse electricity is generated by photovoltaic cells and wind power – enough to run a fridge, computer and the lighting.

To mark the length of Calor’s relationship with Druidstone, the company recently donated a cooker especially for use inside the Roundhouse.

Over the years, Jane has been particularly pleased with the service that Calor’s staff have provided and this is one of the main reasons that she has continued to use LPG. She says: “The staff at Calor, from the driver to the telephonists, listen and respond to the problems we’ve encountered when running our hotel in such an isolated and exposed area, and they have helped us to find the right solutions every time."

Topping up the tanks is a simple and quick process, and refilling normally takes place monthly. The actual process of topping up is very much like re-fuelling a car with petrol – a simple connection from the Calor lorry to the underground tank enables both of them to be filled cleanly and promptly.

Druidstone has two Moorwood Vulcan cookers powered by LPG. Cooking on gas has helped the hotel to achieve the Good Food status, partly because it provides instant ignition and controllability as well as on-going power, even when the winter weather causes frequent power cuts.

Concluding, Jane strongly believes that Calor has always had their best interests at heart. “I don’t envisage us ever changing our supplier, we’ve received such good service from them over the years and have never been let down once, I look forward to many more years of working with them.”