Paris-based Experimental Group acquires Cowley Manor hotel

Paris-based hospitality firm Experimental Group has acquired Cowley Manor hotel in the Cotswolds as its first UK property outside of London.

The hotel has been purchased from Jessica and Peter Frankopan, co-founders of A Curious Group of Hotels.

It is the fourth UK venture for Experimental Group, which owns the Henrietta hotel in London's Covent Garden, the Experimental Cocktail Club bar in Chinatown and La Compagnie des Vins Surnaturels bar in Seven Dials.

Cowley Manor is set in 55 acres of grounds and features 31 guest rooms in the main house and surrounding stable buildings, as well as a spa with indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a sauna, steam room and gym.

Experimental Group will continue to operate the hotel in its current guise but plans to refurbish the venue interior over time and introduce four new types of rooms to the property.

All the existing team will be retained and existing events and wedding bookings will be honoured.

Local chef Dominic Hargreaves has been brought in to create a new menu for the restaurant and introduce open-air cooking during the summer months.

There are plans to hire a sommelier at the hotel to create a specialist wine list, and Cowley Manor will work with local breweries and distilleries to highlight British-made drinks.

Experimental Group was founded in Paris in 2007 by childhood friends Romée de Goriainoff, Pierre-Charles Cros and Olivier Bon, with the launch of Experimental Cocktail Club Paris.

In January it announced plans to open four to five new hotels in London and the countryside following a £292.5m cash injection from private real estate funds managed by Brookfields.

In 2021 it took on the former Roadhouse site on the corner of Covent Garden's Piazza, with plans to relaunch it later this year.