The University Arms: a Cambridge landmark reopens after a four-year, £80m revamp

Neville Hawcock

AUGUST 6, 2018

Built in 1834, the University Arms spent the first 130 years of its existence as a solid, Regency-style hotel. Late 19th- and early 20th-century additions gave it impressive scale, with turrets to match, but its character remained intact. Given its landmark position — on the main road from the railway station to the centre of town, with a commanding elevation on the broad grass expanse of Parker’s Piece — that was just as well.

Then the 1960s struck, and the University Arms began a disastrous flirtation with Modernism. It ditched the original Regency building and replaced it with a zigzag façade that concealed a car park as well as the entrance.

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Not only has the 1960s addition been demolished and replaced with a classical frontage, but the entire building has been gutted and rebuilt within. The number of bedrooms has risen from 119 to 192, with suites incorporating the turrets on a new upper level. The front entrance has been moved back from the street, allowing more room for pedestrians to walk by. They can also pass through the porte cochère, which is an unashamed (possibly even ostentatious) feature but functional with it: when I visited, as England’s summer heatwave reached its peak, it was a relief to step into its cool shade. It has all the makings of a default Cambridge rendezvous.

Its owners are no doubt hoping that many of those who meet there will head on in to Parker’s Tavern, a new bar and brasserie presided over by Tristan Welch, formerly head chef of Gordon Ramsay’s Pétrus restaurant.