New opening
Building a community at Chartwell House
Boutique Care Homes has a community-centric vision for its growing portfolio of new homes. The Care Home Environment editor Matt Seex visited the newly opened Chartwell House in Broadstairs, Kent, to find out more
When I first visited Boutique Homes’ Chartwell House care home in Broadstairs, on the Isle of Thanet, Kent, in August last year, it was to attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the launch of the home’s marketing suite. Chartwell House was still under construction at the time, but on that blazing hot summer’s day, the Boutique team told me they were confident that the home would be open by the end of the year.
To Boutique’s credit, despite some challenges, Chartwell House’s construction schedule proved to be robust, and after the briefest of delays (mostly to allow for Christmas to come and go), the home welcomed its first residents at the end of January. Visiting Broadstairs again on a decidedly colder and drizzly day in February, I was delighted to find Chartwell House finished, open, and bustling with activity. It was a real pleasure to take a tour of the completed home and to meet with director of operations Andrew Mangion, project coordinator Rebecca Ruscoe, associate sales & marketing director Carl Roberts, and admissions manager Jude Coveney to discuss not only the construction of Chartwell House and the reasons behind its location in the Kentish seaside town, but also to learn about Boutique’s vision for Chartwell House as a community that offers its residents a new lease of life.
The jewel in Thanet’s crown Boutique Care Homes currently owns and operates three care homes, with Chartwell House being the most recent, and with further
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It was a real pleasure to take a tour of the completed home
properties currently in various stages of planning and construction in Hythe, Kent, Burgess Hill, West Sussex, and Tadley in Hampshire. A completely new build, the three-storey, 78-bed Chartwell House sits on a new development on the outskirts of Broadstairs, conveniently located for the M2, the A299, and Westwood Cross Shopping Centre. When I visited, Chartwell House had already welcomed ten residents, and Boutique expects to reach full occupation within a couple of years, although, as I discovered, it is in no rush to do so. Outside, ample parking is offered, and the home boasts attractive landscaped gardens with a central water feature.
As one might expect from a care home that has only been open for a few weeks, Chartwell House looks pristine and brochure-perfect, inside and out. In
common with the rest of the home, the open plan reception is spacious and bright, incorporating a bistro where residents can join their family and friends for a coffee and a slice of cake while enjoying the view of the gardens through patio doors. The residential wings of Chartwell House lead off from this main hub, which also features comfortable sofas and additional seating. As is the case throughout the home, décor and furnishings are tasteful and elegant, and feature coastal accents. Much thought has gone into the choice of colours, fabrics, pictures, and other items of interest, lending Chartwell House a look and atmosphere that perfectly balances luxury elements with a distinctly homely feel. Each area is carefully distinguished from the next while maintaining a cohesive design overall. One of the ground floor lounges, for example, is designed around an organic theme with a leaf motif, with artwork and chair fabrics bringing the room together to create a calm, distinctive space that still feels very much a
www.thecarehomeenvironment.com April 2023
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