THE Maison Talbooth country house hotel at Dedham is to undergo a £1.5million transformation to make it one of the most luxurious facilities of its kind in the country.

THE Maison Talbooth country house hotel at Dedham is to undergo a £1.5million transformation to make it one of the most luxurious facilities of its kind in the country.

An outdoor swimming pool complex, including a sun terrace, a hot tub, a treatment room and a covered barbecue area, plus a tennis court are to be created alongside the hotel building which will itself gain three extra suites.

The existing Milton suite will be converted into a beauty business, with a total of three treatment rooms, and a new breakfast/dining room with views across the Stour valley will also be created.

Maison Talbooth was created by the late Paul Milsom in 1969 to complement the nearby Le Talbooth restaurant business and was one of the first country house-style hotels in the country.

Mr Milsom's son, Paul, who is now managing director of Milsom Hotels & Restaurants, said that, although the hotel was still recognised by leading guidebooks as among the best, substantial investment by other operators in the sector meant that now was the right time for a new investment to take it “back to the top of the league”.

“Put simply, the redevelopment at Maison Talbooth aims to create one of the finest small country hotels in the UK,” he said. “All the current intimacy, luxury and quality will be retained but added to the mix will be some very exciting leisure and dining facilities.

“In fact there will be little reason to leave the hotel, which will be even more attractive for house parties that have become such an important part of our business.”

Colchester Borough Council granted planning permission for the scheme last year but the start of the work, to be carried out by local building company Hills of Colchester, has been delayed until this October, once the 2007 summer season in over.

As the scale of the work involved would inevitably cause disruption for guests, Maison Talbooth will close on October 1 with reopening scheduled for April 2008.

Besides Le Talbooth and Maison Talbooth, Milsom Hotels & Restaurants also owns the nearby milsoms restaurant with rooms and The Pier at Harwich.

n When Gerald Milsom purchased the Maison in 1969 a surveyor told him that the roof needed replacing - news which reputedly deterred a rival bidder - but it has, in fact, lasted a further 38 years.

Now, however, the building is to be completely re-roofed as part of the refurbishment project but then, as Paul Milsom observes, “it has done quite well!”