Member Article

Carden Park Welcome New General Manager Paul Bayliss

Following the announcement that after over 20 years of outstanding growth, results and development with Hamish Ferguson, the iconic Cheshire venue are delighted to announce that he will be handing over the reins of Carden Park Hotel – Cheshire’s Country Estate to Paul Bayliss MBE this Autumn. Ferguson will be leaving the hospitality industry altogether for fabulous role as Executive Director (Commercial) with The PGA.

This has been a difficult decision for Ferguson and his family who live on-site among the 1000 stunning acres of Carden Park. He was part of the original team planning the opening of the hotel in 1996 and has seen the venue evolve into one of the area’s largest venues for leisure and business guests, most recently awarded Cheshire’s best Large Hotel of the Year in 2015.

As a member of the original team in 1996 the achievements, accolades and reputation for excellence have always been central to Ferguson’s way of doing things, winning awards is nothing new to ‘Team Carden’. This along with a real focus on long term consistency, creating one of the UK’s finest luxury resorts, is a fine testament to 20 years of dedication and commitment at the highest level.

This is what Hamish Ferguson had to say about his decision to move onto pastures new:

“This has been an incredibly hard decision for me to make along with my wife and family. My children have only ever really known Carden Park and the team here but at this stage of my life it is a case of now or never, and so I feel it is the right time to place this much-loved venue into the very safe hands of Paul Bayliss. Paul and I have worked closely together previously and I am confident that the next phase for Carden Park will be a hugely successful one. I look forward to my completely new and exciting challenge at the PGA but will obviously be sad to leave the team and many friends I have made in my time here at Carden.”

Paul Bayliss’ most recent post was as Regional General Manager for two of the most outstanding Owners Only Holiday Home Parks in the UK where he was working in North Wales looking after Plas Coch and Brynteg. Prior to that he spent 7 years in Manchester, first of all as Resident Manager of The Midland Hotel and then taking stewardship of Cottonopolis’ largest hotel, The Macdonald Manchester Hotel and Spa as well as its sister boutique residence, The Townhouse.

For two years during his time in Manchester he was also Chair of the city regions Hoteliers and Venues Association leading an organisation boasting Europe’s largest hotel and venue membership of over 5000. A high profile position within the industry that on occasion took him to Parliament to work on behalf of the North and the hospitality profession as a whole. He won a Scholarship through The Master Inn holders and attended what is considered to be the best General Managers Programme in the World at Cornell University.

Most importantly Paul’s introduction to luxury hotels was as Deputy GM to Hamish in 2007 at Carden Park for a highly successful two years. Prior to that he worked for AstraZeneca joining them as their Food Service GM straight from the British Army rising through the ranks from apprentice Chef and departing some 24 years later on a Commission in 2006 to see if, as he describes it, ‘he could cut it in civi-street.’

About his appointment to General Manager of Carden Park, Paul said:

“It was probably the easiest decision I have had to make in my career. I said when I left Carden for my adventure into Manchester that if Hamish ever decided to leave then I’d love to be the one to take it on after him. I was very, very lucky and got a head start in hotels as DGM at Carden in 2007 as it’s a fabulous resort with amazingly loyal and passionate staff and most vitally I got myself a master class in the art of hotel management from someone who is quite rightly acknowledged as one of the best GMs in our industry. The timing was perfect back then but I feel even more fortunate now because of the amazing opportunity I’ve been afforded. I’m so pleased to be back and ready to take this superb resort forward.”

Following the announcement in 2014 that the resort would go independent, a £5m refurbishment was planned to enhance Carden’s already established reputation for service delivery and fantastic amenities. Significant improvements have been made to the 196 bedrooms, public areas, golf courses and spa as well as conference facilities and hotel suites. This programme of work will come to fruition over the next few months, ensuring that on both a regional and national level this immaculately presented luxury resort will continue to lead its field.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Laura Young .