Aven in Preston adds four bedrooms and becomes Aven Townhouse

One of Preston's most talked-about restaurants is starting a new chapter. Aven, the fine dining restaurant at 10 Camden Place near Winckley Square, is taking over the whole building and adding four individually designed bedrooms as it becomes Aven Townhouse.

Aven opened in 2023 and takes its name from its neighbour, Avenham Park. In three years it has earned three AA Rosettes, recognition in the Michelin Guide and a place in SquareMeal's Top 100 Restaurants in the UK.

The restaurant is an intimate 32-cover dining room. Its tasting menus are built around the seasons, using produce from Lancashire suppliers alongside herbs, fruits and roots foraged from the wild.

The four bedrooms above the restaurant have been undergoing a full renovation. Rather than creating conventional hotel rooms, the team wants each one to feel like a continuation of the dining room downstairs, combining the character and heritage of the townhouse with contemporary touches and quality furnishings. As part of the project, No. 10 and No. 11 Camden Place are once again becoming separate properties, with Aven occupying all of No. 10.

Guests will be able to enjoy dinner, head upstairs at the end of the evening and wake to Aven's take on a British continental breakfast, served privately in their room. Staying is not tied to eating, though. Rooms can be booked without dining, and diners can still book a table without staying overnight. The restaurant's website now carries a Book To Stay option alongside table reservations.

The team has also invited Preston to help, through a competition on Aven's social media channels inviting people to suggest four names for the bedrooms that pay homage to the city's history, heritage, people, landmarks or stories, so that each room carries a little piece of Preston.

Aven is led by Chef Patron Oli Martin and Operations Director Alex Blamire, with Head Chef Sean Wrest and Restaurant Manager Samantha Haigh running the restaurant day to day. The restaurant has remained open during the transformation, with most of the renovation work scheduled around opening times.

"When we opened in 2023, our focus was simply on creating the best restaurant we possibly could and trying to give Preston something it could be proud of," said Alex and Oli. "Over the last three years Aven has developed beyond what we initially imagined, and adding the four bedrooms feels like the natural next step."

They added that the aim was to give people another reason to spend time in the city: dinner at Aven, a beautiful bedroom upstairs and breakfast the following morning, all under one roof.