WORK has been completed to transform a care home into a brand new coastal hotel in West Dorset - after battling through last winter's torrential storms.

The Seaside Boarding House in Burton Bradstock has been refurbished to turn it from a 19-bed care home into a luxury hotel - overlooking Chesil Beach.

Dorset-based builders C.G. Fry & Son Ltd have now completed the internal refurbishment of the building, with the hotel already open for business.

The new venture is the brain-child of business partners Mary-Lou Sturridge and Tony Mackintosh. The duo set up the legendary Groucho Club in Soho in 1985.

"One thing I can say about working with C G Fry & Son is that throughout the building works we didn't have any major fall-outs" said Mary Lou.

"On the day the roofers arrived in October 2013, we were hit with bad storms, the start of the worst weather for 250 years. It was a massive learning curve for all of us and probably the hardest working year of my life.

"We had constant communication throughout the project, site meetings with the architects once a month, as well as Phil Male, Fry's contracts manager and his team every two weeks. These meetings were held off-site which worked really well.

"C G Fry dealt with any problems as they arose and everybody worked well together. It was very much all hands to the deck to get things done. C G Fry came to understand what we were trying to achieve. I wanted everything to be perfect and the quality of the finish was key to the end result."

The former care home has been turned into eight luxurious and spacious bedroom, all with en-suite bathrooms and sea views.

A new terrace was built on the front façade, while a new commercial kitchen and 60 seater restaurant, which will serve classic British dishes, was installed.

C G Fry built a bar in a separate area, which has the original Groucho Club stools taking pride of place - upholstered for a classic look.

Mike Pinney, contracting director for C G Fry & Son, said: “It was a challenging project, in so much as we were working through the horrendous storms at the end of 2013.

"The contracting team pulled together and worked very hard to deliver this fantastic project, and we are absolutely delighted with the end result.

"I want to take this opportunity to wish Mary-Lou and Tony every success with this unique and delightful boarding house located in one of the most stunning areas of Dorset.”