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INTERNATIONAL
HOTEL BRAND IBIS CHOOSES NOTTINGHAM,
Sep 2006
Nottingham's
Lace Market Quarter is to get
its first designated tourist
and business hotel.
International
hotel group Accor has confirmed
that its Ibis hotel brand is
to take space in The Pod - Bildurn's
new £25m contemporary
leisure and retail development
on Fletcher Gate which will
provide a welcome addition to
the Nottingham skyline.
The 141-room
hotel will occupy the upper
floors of the 108,000 sq ft
seven storey Pod development.
The rest of the scheme is destined
to be used for upmarket fashion
retail and leisure, including
larger units. The roof will
be occupied by a stunning roof
top bar / restaurant.
The innovative
scheme was designed by award-winning
London architects Benson+Forsythe
who won a £150,000 competition
to create The Pod. Benson+Forsyth
are best known for designing
the spectacular Museum of Scotland,
close to a UNESCO World Heritage
Site in Edinburgh's old town.
This Pod is
a landmark scheme and is now
being heralded as setting new
standards for innovative, quality
architecture in Nottingham.
Construction is well underway
and handover is due in spring
2007 ready for trade in summer.
Ibis is a
worldwide chain that concentrates
on offering competitively-priced
accommodation in popular urban
centres with round-the-clock
reception desks and snack services.
It currently has 44 hotels in
the UK and over 700 worldwide
in 39 countries. The Nottingham
hotel will be its first in the
county, although there are Ibis
hotels nearby in Leicester and
Chesterfield.
Professor
John Heeley, Chief Executive
at Experience Nottinghamshire
commented: "Experience
Nottinghamshire welcomes the
addition of the Ibis brand to
the city's fast expanding hotel
stock. The Pod development of
which it is a part is an imaginative
and exciting one, and we look
forward to its opening next
year. The Team here hope to
be working closely with the
hotel within the context of
our 231 strong commercial membership
scheme which includes 35 of
the county's leading hotels."
The hotel
is being built during a period
of growth in the Nottingham
hotel industry. The Park Plaza
Hotel opened in the city in
2002 and a Jury's Inn and Travelodge
in 2005. Nottingham currently
has 3,000 beds within a 10-mile
radius of the city centre, with
occupancy running at 60-70%
- although during major events
in the city, demand can exceed
supply.
The eye-catching
new scheme will provide a central
focus in one of the most sought-after
parts of Nottingham, linking
the fashion district of Bridlesmith
Gate to the trendy Lace Market
residential Quarter. The Pod's
location opposite a multi-storey
car park and a tram stop on
the city's new tram system also
adds to its appeal.
Ray
Valenti, a partner at Nottingham
commercial agents Nattrass Giles,
who has worked on The Pod since
its inception, was instrumental
in brokering the deal with Accor.
ENDS
For
further PR information contact
Eden PR on 0115 852 4717, fax
0115 950 9175 or contact Kathryn
Harrison, Kathryn@edenpr.co.uk
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