Holiday co-op launches café initiative

May 13 2011

HF Holidays, the country’s largest co-operative holiday operator, has launched a new café brand – at four of its country house hotels around the UK and plans to roll out the scheme to more venues later this year.

Dandelion cafés represent a major diversification from the co-op’s main business of providing walking and leisure activity holidays.

Chief Executive Brian Smith told the News: “Following a strong financial year, we have decided to further invest in the future of our society by developing our new Dandelion brand. We recently announced a 7.5 per cent increase in membership, an increase of over £1 million in member investment in the society, and have purchased a new country house hotel, Dolserau Hall, near Dolgellau in the Snowdonia National Park.”

HF Holidays said the brand has been developed to convey the feeling of the countryside and the outdoors through offering a safe, modern environment with its roots in the tradition of the British tearoom.

Fraser Lord, Head of Hotel Operations for HF Holidays, added: “Our vision was not just to introduce a place for refreshments, which we could already deliver at any of our country houses. We wanted to introduce a place that both holidaymakers and the local community wanted to come to, enjoy, relax and feel part of.”

Further Dandelion cafés are planned at HF Holidays’ country houses over the next 12 months, as well as high street locations.

The four Dandelion cafés currently open are at Nether Grange in Alnmouth, Northumberland; Monk Coniston in the Lake District; Freshwater Bay House on the Isle of Wight; and Haytor Rocks on Dartmoor, Devon.