Mr and Mrs Dixon with their two chefs in the dining room. By Winifred Bose

Rosehill House Hotel in Burnley has taken on a new image with the extension of residential accommodation of 20 bedrooms, all with baths or showers, and with six of the bedrooms on the ground floor. Coupled with this new look is an extension of the car park to take up to 60 cars, and the hope of providing a snooker room, a sauna, and solarium in the attic. These would be available for residents and non-residents. Rosehill House Hotel and restraint has been a hotel since the 1960's, and was formerly the home of a cotton manufacturer (Adam Dugdale). It was taken over in 1978 by John Gilpin Ltd, Leeds, and the current changes reflect the youthfulness off the management - hotel manager Bill Dixon and his wife, Alison, have just celebrated their 24th birthdays. It is the young who accept and create change with flair.
Head chef John Chadwick is 26 and was formerly chef of the Spread Eagle, Sawley. Second chef Steven Wilkinson is 22, and formerly worked with John at Sawley and later at the Crest Hotel, Burnley. Both are local lads.
In the bedrooms the décor is modern and relaxing. Half of the rooms have showers, and half have baths, in line with the trend of more people preferring showers. There are single and double rooms, and all have remote control colour televisions and good facilities for making "cuppas". All rooms have plenty of wardrobe space, and curtains, wallpaper and bed linen are all matching and bought from local firm, Coloroll. Each room also has its own electric alarm clock-cum-radio. The AA and RAC rated the hotel two stars before the new bedrooms were created. The six bedrooms on the ground floor will very useful for handicapped visitors. For the first time the hotel has a 24-hour porter. Anew quick-eaters' menu, which can be served at the bar or in the restraint, is what Bill described an upmarket bar snack. An inflation-beater menu will soon be added to the offers too.
Bill thinks they may be reassessed as a three-star hotel, because all they lack to qualify are baths in more rooms instead of showers - though many people now prefer showers to baths. Last year, in the English Tourist Board's magazine, "Where to Stay" Rosehill House was granted five rosettes for meals, four for bedrooms and four for services. This year they have five rosettes for meals, six for bedrooms, and five for services. They are definitely on the upgrade, and some of these gradings can only increase with the supply of laundering and valeting, for this is all they lack, if lack they can be called.