Sir Robert McAlpine has started building the £30m Cornwall Hotel Spa and Estate in Tregorrick, near St Austell, Cornwall. The resort is in close proximity to both the Eden Project and the Lost Gardens of Heligan.

The project, designed by bristol-based AWW architects, is a joint venture between developer CMR Leisure and the operator Bespoke Hotels.

McAlpine, the firm that built the Eden Project and O2 Arena, is constructing the resort on 43 acres of Victorian parkland and woods

The project includes the restoration and conversion of a listed 18th century Regency Manor House into a 65-bedroom hotel, including a brasserie, a fine dinning restaurant and bar. There will also be a luxury spa and health club with an infinity edge pool created from an adjacent stable block.

Also on the grounds, there will be 60 detached, two and three-bedroom, buy-to-let, woodland lodges available for self-catered holiday accommodation.

Richard Whitehouse of CMR Leisure, said: "Conservation is at the heart of our proposals. This sensitive approach will ensure the Cornwall Hotel Spa and Estate will be a modern 21st century hotel, whilst retaining the integrity of its historic rural setting."

The hotel is expected to open in December 2009.