HOTEL GIANT IHG SIGNS TERMS AT NOTTINGHAM’S ISLAND QUARTER

GLOBAL hotel operator IHG has committed to bring two of its world-renowned brands to Nottingham after signing terms with the developer behind The Island Quarter development.

The UK-based company will be bringing its upscale boutique hotel brand Hotel Indigo as well as its extended stay offering, Staybridge Suites to the city as part of the multi-million-pound scheme that will transform this gateway area of Nottingham.

The 17-storey hotel will comprise 223-bedrooms and suites – 155 located within Hotel Indigo and a further 68 aimed at multi-night business and leisure travellers in the Staybridge Suites, which will include a range of amenities such as a full kitchen and dedicated shared outdoor space exclusively for Staybridge Suites guests. The dual-branded hotel operation will be managed by IHG.

They form part of the latest stage of the development, which will include a further 247 residential rental apartments and an extensive food and beverage area featuring a stunning bar and busy 100-metre long forum for people to meet. There will also be 3,000 sqm of flexible serviced office space, with some 400 desks.

The hotel is the city’s first of its size in nearly two decades, forming part of a landmark tall building.

Guests in Nottingham will experience the same quality of design as in IHG’s recently opened Hotel Indigo in Bath and dual-branded Hotel Indigo and Staybridge Suites in Dundee, as well as the mixed-use elements of its recent IHG dual-branded Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn Express in Warsaw, Poland.

Inspired by ‘the neighbourhood story’ of the city, Hotel Indigo will take design cues from the local area and its bar and restaurant will offer locally sourced ingredients to customers. Meanwhile, the Staybridge Suites will feature a 24-hour fitness room, storage lockers for guests wishing to store items between stays and a communal ‘outdoor living room’ complete with firepit, grilling areas and covered seating. All the suites allow people to enjoy a flexible space to relax, play and work.

Richard Watson of Conygar, said: “The Island Quarter is one of the most significant city centre regeneration schemes in the UK at the moment, and it was vital that the hotel brand which we brought to the development was reflective of that. We are absolutely delighted to have agreed terms with the team at IHG to bring its Hotel Indigo and Staybridge Suites brands to Nottingham.

“This is a very important step for us as we move this development forwards and securing a hugely successful global operator in IHG shows real confidence in the flagship element of the scheme as a whole. These two brands are world-renowned as upscale and quality hotels, which really play a part in the communities in which they are based.

“The hotel forms a key element of this latest phase, which is truly cohesive, creating a range and fluidity of uses that will spread across the whole site. The Island Quarter is a development that Nottingham can be proud of and bringing brands of this calibre to the city plays an important part in that.”

Karan Khanna, Managing Director, UK & Ireland at IHG commented: “We are delighted to be partnering with Conygar to bring the leading global brands of Hotel Indigo and Staybridge Suites to Nottingham as an important part of the regeneration of the Island Quarter. These new properties will add to IHG’s presence in the city, sitting alongside our existing Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn hotels.  As we begin 2021 these new hotel signings show the confidence that owners and investors have in IHG and our potential for continued growth for when travel can finally resume.”

As part of IHG’s long-standing commitment to rigorous cleaning procedures at all its hotels worldwide, it recently introduced additional COVID-19 protocols and best practices, in partnership with industry leading experts Cleveland Clinic, Ecolab, and Diversey, as well as launching the IHG Clean Promise. Once open, the dual-branded hotel will follow IHG’s industry-leading Way of Clean procedures and offer guests the IHG Clean Promise.

Councillor David Mellen, leader of Nottingham City Council, said: “The Island Quarter is a redevelopment site unlike any other in the UK right now and one we are very pleased to see Conygar make progress with. At such a difficult time, it’s great to see confidence in Nottingham reflected in this way, serving as a further reminder that Nottingham is an up-and-coming city and enhancing our programme for regenerating the Southside of the city. We therefore welcome this very significant planning application which our Planning Committee will consider in due course.”

A planning application for phase 1B was submitted in December.