Premier Inn Opens New £11 Million Hotel in Newcastle (The Gate), the Seventh in the City, Creating 50 Jobs & Three Apprenticeships
The UK’s leading hotel chain, Premier Inn, owned by Whitbread, is set to open an £11 million hotel in Newcastle city centre (The Gate) at the beginning of March, which will be the seventh hotel in the city, in the former iconic, art deco Co-op building on Newgate Street, creating 50 all year round jobs and three apprenticeships.
Around half of the full and part-time positions at the 182-bedroom hotel have gone to those between the ages of 16 and 24 and long-term unemployed and range from receptionists and restaurant team members to housekeeping and maintenance roles.
Major renovation and building work has been carried out by Interserve on the iconic Co-op store, which was built in 1902, operating as a flagship store until almost 10 years ago, then a food only store until 2011 and has remained empty since.
The building has been completely transformed with many of the original features being restored or replaced including, a War Memorial dedicated to Co-op staff who lost their lives in the two World Wars, which has taken pride of place in the reception, an impressive marble staircase and a cast iron arcade.
A stunning period balustrade around the building’s staircase has been recast and the impressive twin towers with copper and bronze clock faces have also been replaced.
Neil Middlemass, Cluster General Manager for Newcastle City Centre, said: “We are very excited to be opening our new Premier Inn Newcastle (The Gate) in such a stunning building, which has been a major landmark in the city for almost 90 years, and we are pleased we have been able to create so many jobs.
“We are delighted that so many of the original features have been retained and restored to ensure the memories they invoke will continue to be remembered and shared for years to come.”
The new hotel, situated in a prime location for the city’s best designer and High Street stores, theatres, restaurants and bars, will feature a 143-seater Thyme restaurant and all bedrooms will showcase the company’s latest high-spec, modern design with a 40″ flat screen TV, a luxury king-size Hypnos bed and self-service check-in facilities.
The opening of Premier Inn Newcastle (The Gate) is part of Premier Inn’s expansion plans that will see the company extend its current number of bedrooms UK-wide to 85,000 by 2020.
Issued by Michelle Brown PR Ltd, for further information, please contact:
Michelle Brown/ 07920 406674/ michelle@michellebrownpr.com
About Premier Inn
Premier Inn has been named the UK’s top rated hotel chain for 2015, according to the Which? UK Hotel Chains Report and with over 700 budget hotels and more than 60,000 rooms across the UK and Ireland, our customers are never far from a great night’s sleep. Our hotels are in more locations than any other UK hotel brand for the ease and convenience of families, couples and business travellers alike.
All our bedrooms feature en-suite bathrooms, a luxurious Hypnos bed, TV with Freeview and free WiFi. A bar and restaurant is situated inside each hotel or adjacent, offering a wide range of food choices including an all you can eat ‘Premier Breakfast’ from only £8.75 with kids eating free.
Customers who book direct through the Premier Inn website are able to exclusively enjoy Saver Rates. These rates are exclusively available through premierinn.com – terms and conditions apply. Premier Inn is also open in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, India, Thailand and Indonesia.
Last year (2014-2015), over 80% of Premier Inn hotels achieved a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence – which recognises the accommodations, attractions and eateries that make perfect trips possible.
Premier Inn is Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity’s biggest corporate supporter and we have already raised £5 million of our £7.5million fundraising target with work already underway on a brand new Premier Inn Clinical Building at the hospital. The funds raised go towards supporting the care of some of the sickest children across the globe.
