De Vere, Cotswold Water Park Hotel

“So how did it all begin?”

When the De Vere Hotel got in touch, they explained that their Cotswold site wanted to expand their offering to families and knew from experience that a play area was a sure way of doing so. However, they weren't sure what that would actually look like in practice. They expressed that a play area surrounded by the natural landscape of the cotswold water park needed to be subtle enough to blend in with its environment yet inspire a love of play and adventure.

We couldn't have agreed more with their sentiments, as we ourselves, being based so close to the Cotswolds, can appreciate that there is a right way and a wrong way to incorporate play areas into natural habitats. Play areas within the leisure industry go hand and hand, especially hotels as they attract families and give them a reason to return as well.

We think this is what won us the job in the end, their team recognised that we have an appreciation for aesthetic harmony coupled with our kit being timber-based. After discussing their requirements and finding out what they wanted to achieve, working together, we had a clear direction for this project.

“What did the brief look like?”

The team at the De Vere knew their customers inside and out and knew that style and substance had to be matched for this to be a success. As such, when discussing the scope of the project, what kind of equipment was appropriate and some simple rule of elimination, we arrived at the crux of the play area — Play trails. 

The purpose of play trails is to create a path from start to finish with each obstacle testing a variety of both minor and gross motor skills. Play trails are a call to adventure, a test of skill, a race to the finish; children and adults alike love play trails because it gives us the opportunity to test our abilities in a creative and safe manner. Also, they are simple, relatively inexpensive and unobtrusive, everything that De Vere’s team needed the play area to be.

The swings were a further addition after they’d realised that their budget was gonna stretch beyond what they had expected. Therefore, the swings became a staple of the design, they are a playground classic after all, always have been and always will be. In fact, from a recent survey of ours, we found that swings are by far the most popular piece of playground equipment. 

“What did the concept look like?”

Our next step was to then mock up some visual designs to help illustrate the space and that means 3-D visual renders produced through CAD.

So, after seeing the renders, a few refinements were made and it was time for their decision. They of course said yes!

“What did their full proposal look like?”

Once they were happy with the design concept, we created a full proposal. This document includes design plans, renders and a breakdown of the quote.  It’s where we really go into the details and you’ll see our conversations come to life.

“How did the big day go?”

From here, it’s clockwork since we build everything ahead of time at our workshop in Salisbury, so come the big day, all we have to do is put the pieces together. Before they knew it, the play trails were assembled and the swings erected — we think the results speak for themselves. 

They couldn’t believe the size and quality of the build, let alone the time in which it took and how integrated it was with the aesthetic of the hotel and scenery. This is a project that really sticks with us for showcasing the breadth and variation a play trail play area can have. Best of all, families love it! 

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