FIVE-STAR luxury hotel Seaham Hall has taken inspiration from some of New York’s most fashionable rooftop bars in a bid to transform itself into the North-East’s hippest venue.

The plans, which include an upmarket cocktail bar, art gallery and Teppanyaki bar serving fresh seafood, are part of a £1m investment programme following new ownership and just some of the improvements which will be made in the next year.

With its spectacular setting on the cliff tops overlooking the North-East coast, there are plans to develop the outside areas, revamp the restaurant and extend the terrace, creating the feel of a trendy rooftop bar in downtown Manhattan.

Newcastle-born managing director Barry Donaghey says the hotel has huge potential.

“It already has a fantastic reputation as a leading hotel and spa and we will be looking to build on this,” he says.

Interior design expert Simon Bartlett has been hired to redesign The White Room restaurant and Drawing Room, which is being turned into a cocktail lounge with a champagne bar and drinks menu.

“The Drawing Room is ready for a total revamp,”

says Mr Donaghey. “It’s going to be somewhere people can relax, have a few drinks and chill out in a safe, upmarket and chic environment.

This is going to be the place to come.”

The White Room will have art deco overtones and original 1920s wallpaper (as used in the film The Aviator). The restaurant will have a new menu and there will be easier access to the terrace, along with the creation of a new courtyard with outdoor seats and heating.

“We’re taking ideas from Manhattan hotels that have got rooftop designs, so people will be able to sit outside comfortably for nine or ten months of the year,” says Mr Donaghey.

THERE are also plans to create a Seaham Hall Gallery. The hotel has teamed up with Washington Green Fine Art, which features artists as diverse as Salvador Dali and Bob Dylan, to host a changing collection of artworks.

There will be an emphasis on local luminaries such as renowned artist Alexander Millar, famous for his iconic Gadgie paintings.

Visitors will be able to see up to 80 original and limited edition pieces and have the chance to buy some for themselves.

“To be able to come to a five-star hotel in beautiful surroundings and see such fabulous art is something people will really enjoy,” says Mr Donaghey. “Seaham Hall has always been recognised for its art collection and we thought we’d build on that.”

While most of the major improvements will not begin until the new year, some are already complete, including the expansion of the gym which has a new weights room, Power Plate and Life Fitness equipment.

One of the main attractions, however, is the Serenity Spa, which was voted Best Spa for Style by The Sunday Times and Best UK Spa Destination by Conde Nast Traveller. It features a 20m pool with massage stations, crystal light therapy, a sauna, hydrotherapy pool, ice fountain, hammam, steam room, outdoor hot tubs and roof garden.

The spa has a range of treatments, from rejuvenating massages and oxygen facials to the hugely popular Elemis Aroma Stone Therapy – where heated basalt stones are placed on key energy points on the body, prompting a feeling of warmth and wellbeing and releasing tension.

The Ozone restaurant, which offers a high quality lunch menu for visitors to the spa as well as dinner for hotel guests in the evening, is also being refurbished, with additional seating and an updated pan-Asian menu, including healthy tapas, noodles and authentic Thai dishes. Among the improvements is the launch of a new Teppanyaki bar, where diners will get a taste of theatre and be able to watch the chefs in action. “It’s a Japanese way of cooking fresh seafood and a fun way to dine,” says Mr Donaghey.

“Everything is made from scratch so we can cater to all manner of dietary requirements and tastes.”

For anyone who prefers a single malt to Japanese sake, there is an opportunity to do a whisky-tasting workshop. Complete with a tour of the hotel’s vaulted cellars, which date back to 1791, guests have a rare opportunity to try Spey Royal Choice, a single malt, distilled under licence from Historic Royal Palaces.

Seaham Hall has historic links with the brand and played a key role in delivering Spey Whisky to the US during Prohibition, when it was rumoured to have been enjoyed by gangster Al Capone. It was also popular with Lord Byron, who got married at Seaham Hall in 1815 and presented his friends with a cask to celebrate.

Despite its colourful past, the hall remained derelict for several years, before it was re-opened as a hotel in 2001 by multi-millionaire entrepreneur and former Sage software director Tom Maxfield, who spotted its potential when he was flying over in his private jet.

Maxfield spent £20m transforming Seaham Hall into a luxury boutique hotel, which has since gained a reputation worldwide and acquired a Michelin star for its restaurant under former head chef, Kenny Atkinson, who has since moved to Rockliffe Hall.

Maxfield sold Seaham Hall and Serenity Spa to the Von Essen Group in 2008. It was originally on the market for £12.5m, but when Von Essen went into administration last year, it was bought by Bristol-based Season Holidays for less than £5m.

Mr Donaghey says he is optimistic about its future. “We are investing a lot of money, we are not going to cheapen the product in any way.

It has got to be something people are going to enjoy and appreciate in years to come,” he says.

“We’re a unique hotel in that we don’t have a huge number of rooms to fill and we have one of the best spas in the world. I can’t make any judgement on what’s happening with the global economy, but I can say, hand on heart, there is light at the end of the Seaham Hall tunnel.”