A MAJOR step towards the completion of Wivenhoe House at the University of Essex as a luxury hotel linked with a training school has been reached with the hand-over of the keys to general manager Stephen Mannock.

The Edge Hotel School, the UK’s first hotel school based entirely in a fully operational commercial hotel, will welcome its first students later this month. Students will earn a one-year foundation degree or a two-year BA Honours degree from the university.

Wivenhoe House has undergone a �10million refurbishment and will offer 16 bedrooms and suites, with bookings being taken for August 1 onwards, and a fine dining Signatures restaurant, open to non-residents. A contemporary garden wing with a further 24 bedrooms and a brasserie will open in September.

Mr Mannock said: “This is a significant day in the development of Wivenhoe House and the Edge Hotel School. I am looking forward to showing staff and prospective students around the stunning interior.”

Wivenhoe House is a Grade II-listed 18th Century country house, which was once painted by Constable.