Hotel Owner May 2018 | Page 10

MONTH IN REVIEW MONTH IN REVIEW www.hotelowner.co.uk REGENERATION Andras Hotels to invest £6.6m to regenerate Portrush hotel 1 2 3 HOTEL BRANDS Splendid Hospitality to launch new ‘super budget’ Easyhotel Hotel group Andras Hotels have submitted revised proposals for a £6.6m hotel regeneration project for the former Londonderry Hotel in Portrush. The 87-bedroom boutique hotel will be located on Main Street / Atlantic Avenue in the town centre. Designed by conservation architects, Consarc, the proposals will preserve and restore the grade B1 listed buildings fronting onto Main Street. The site has a long history as a hotel, with the former property first opening its doors in 1895. The hotel ceased trading in the 1980s and the current proposals will bring the site back to its historic use. Rajesh Rana, director of Andras Hotels said: “Our vision is for an attractive, fully functional and boutique hotel that will bring this important site back to life as a hotel and will help to regenerate the Main Street and town centre area. “The proposals are for a boutique hotel with 87 bedrooms, that will go a long way towards helping Portrush and the North Coast meet the growing demand for modern tourist accommodation.” He added: “We are excited to be able to to restore these important listed buildings, and the proposals will pay homage to the site’s architectural heritage by preserving the buildings on Main Street and their important architectural details.” 10 www.hotelowner.co.uk Splendid Hospitality Group has announced its plans to reopen the Rainbows Lodge hotel as a new ‘super budget’ 53-room EasyHotel for Reading in August 2018. Stuart Bailey, CEO of Splendid Hospitality Group, said: “This will be our first super budget hotel with EasyHotel, so we are naturally thrilled at welcoming a new brand to our portfolio. It’s great to be able to bring something fresh and super affordable to business and leisure travellers coming into the Reading area. “We have a highly skilled team of professionals on board to manage all aspects of this project. As part of the project, we have also commissioned an enhanced look for the hotel frontage.” Guy Parsons, CEO EasyHotel, added: “We are delighted to be expanding the EasyHotel portfolio to include Reading. This exciting project takes EasyHotel’s pipeline of owned and leased development projects to 1,150 rooms and 1,857 franchise rooms currently under development.” The new EasyHotel Reading is centrally located on Caversham Road in Reading a few minutes’ walk from the town centre and within easy reach of the railway station and all major road networks. The new EasyHotel Reading will include a reception and small car park for eight cars. All rooms and accessible rooms are air-conditioned, fully heated and feature en-suite showers. 4 5 6 7 8 9 ADMINISTRATION 42 The Calls brought out of administration with new owner 42 The Calls, a boutique hotel in Leeds, has been brought out of administration and will see a multi-million pound investment after it was bought by local entrepreneur Simon Pollard. The 41-room hotel, which entered administration in February 2018, was converted from an 18th century flour mill in the early nineties by its former owner Jonathan Wix. Pollard said his vision is to reignite the brand, rebuild and to develop a “five-star luxury experience to surpass the expectations synonymous with 42 The Calls when it opened 27 years ago”. Pollard’s multi-million pound investment will blend high-end contemporary suites into the footprint of the 18th century corn mill while ensuring the building’s heritage is protected. Pollard said: “I am extremely excited about the future and huge potential of this hotel and look forward to creating something special in support of our long-standing customers. I am of firm belief that I have the ability to reset the vision while reigniting the fundamental, core values of 42 The Calls Hotel. “This comes from having the right capability and balance of ambition to help rescue what has been a diminishing local brand in desperate need of significant investment for some years. I have the vision, foresight and renewed ambition to invest in what will be a very exciting venture.” May 2018