Inside Roker Hotel's grand ballroom after £500,000 transformation at Sunderland institution

Roker Hotel’s ballroom has had a major makeover, from its grand chandeliers to new flooring, as part of a £500,000 investment in the venue.

New owners, Seaton Hospitality, took over the seafront hotel six months ago and the new look ballroom, which was unveiled at the weekend, is phase one in giving new life to the landmark site.

Both the ballroom and its accompanying lounge have been given a full transformation to bring it up to date whilst honouring the heritage of the Victorian room.

New additions include new soundproofed windows, a full air con and new heating system, recovered dance floor, new carpets and furnishings and 200Mb internet, with its chandeliers taken down and cleaned and a new look lounge, which can be booked separately to the ballroom.

The new look was designed by Pulp Studios Design House, who are behind a number of other stylish new additions in the city, including Keel Tavern in Keel Square.

Lex Adair, design and marketing manager at the hotel, said: “It was really important for us to make the ballroom really modern, whilst also paying respect to the fact that this is a Victorian room. The period features and stunning embellishments have always been there, but have often been missed, so we’ve really brought them to life.

“We’ve kept the essence of the room, whilst taking it up a level to create a premium wedding and event venue. There’s nothing of this size and level in the city.”

The hotel is almost fully booked for weddings this year, with only a few dates remaining for 2024, and wedding and event manager Rebecca Reah said the weekend’s unveiling was a great success.

“Everybody’s jaw dropped when they saw it,” she said. “A couple of brides who have already booked their weddings cried when they saw it, with happiness. They can see the passion that’s been injected into the project.”

The ballroom holds up to 350 people, with the lounge holding a further 50-60 people. As well as weddings, the space is used for charity balls, conferences, live music nights and more.

Future investment at the hotel under the new owners, with MD Raman Sanghera at the helm, include converting the former basement distillery into a venue and improvements across the rooms.

The Victorian hotel has stood guard over Roker since the 1840s when it was then known as The Roker Baths Hotel, so named because the owner pumped sea water into the the building to provide hot and cold showers and steam vapour baths for guests.

Over the decades, the hotel, a fine example of an old spa hotel, has become a seafront institution welcoming countless hotel guests, diners, wedding couples, conferences and events through its doors.

Owned by Tavistock Hospitality for 20 years, the hotel was put up for sale last year after Tavistock decided to scale down its operations, with its Poetic License Distillery no longer based on site.

New owners Seaton Hospitality retained all jobs at the hotel as part of the take over.