Heritage hotel gives guests 21st century tech as they install EV charging

Abbey House Hotel & Gardens has tied the knot with electric vehicle charging network Be.EV to install 10 EV charging bays at the grade II-listed luxury hotel and wedding venue.

The site is the largest ultra-rapid charging hub on the Lake District’s south coast, and the chargers will be available to hotel guests, the general public, local businesses and NHS workers - all of whom can access them via the national Be.EV network. It’s the largest public charging network in the North West, and boasts an impressive operational availability rate of 99.6 per cent.

On Wednesday, Be.EV and Abbey House representatives and the general public gathered to celebrate the launch of the site, with over 2,750 miles of free charging given away by Be.EV. Drivers who charged their car on the day, or use the site this week, will also be automatically entered into a prize draw to win a free one night stay at the luxury hotel. 

The site contains two state-of-the-art Kempower ultra-rapid chargers and three fast chargers - a carefully considered mix to meet the local area’s increasing demand for EV charging. The ultra-rapid Kempower chargers mean that drivers can charge their EV to 80 per cent in as little as 20 minutes, whilst hotel guests who are staying on site overnight will benefit from access to the fast chargers. 

The site location also brings reliable charging to the 40,000 residents of nearby Dalton-in-Furness and Barrow-in-Furness, and holiday goers visiting the area will also benefit. Abbey House is near Furness General Hospital, allowing blue badge workers and hospital visitors to charge their EVs ahead of shifts or appointments. 

Abbey House selected Be.EV as its EV charging provider due to the business’s all-inclusive support and unique design approach that respects the hotel’s stunning 1914 Sir Edwin Lutyens architecture. The project comes at a time when less than 7 per cent of the UK’s charge points are located in hotels, and with nearly half of EV drivers saying they wouldn’t  stay at a hotel without an EV charger, Abbey House has placed itself at the forefront of the hospitality sector’s charging infrastructure rollout. 

Whilst the project qualifies for local schemes like Low Carbon Barrow and the Zero Carbon Cumbria Partnership, the deal did not draw on any public funding. Instead, the solution was provided by Be.EV at zero cost to the hotel or the public purse, with the charging network also giving Abbey House a share of the profits.

Be.EV will also provide ongoing maintenance of the chargers, which will ensure the site’s longevity and reliability.

Asif Ghafoor, CEO of Be.EV, commented: “Abbey House is a great example of the role hotels can play in the EV revolution, and we’re still in a time when hotels can be a first mover and reap the benefits. Guests and visitors now expect EV charging on site during their stay, and local people need convenient ultra-rapid charging facilities. 

“It’s not just modern sites that can provide high quality EV charging for hotel guests and the local community. Our work with the Abbey House team shows that EV charging can be done well and in keeping with the heritage of a site, and we’re thrilled to have our chargers at such an impressive location.”

Donna Conroy, Sales and Events Manager at Abbey House, explains: “The addition of the EV chargers has and will continue to be such a wonderful facility for our guests and the wider community.  

“To be able to host the chargers on behalf of Be-EV, a company focused on community, the customer and creating a sustainable future, makes us proud to be a part of such a positive move forward…not only that, but to be the largest ultra-rapid charging hub on the Lake District’s south coast is fantastic! The whole process has been effortless and provided us with a wonderful facility that has already received such positive feedback from our guests.”