Premier Inn to open its largest hub hotel in the UK – with 693 rooms
PLANS for a new hub by Premier Inn hotel are underway and it’s set to be the largest one in the UK to date.
Whitbread, the owner of Premier Inn, has just received planning permission to build the hotel, which will be located at 5 Strand in London.
The 693-room hotel will be a couple of doors down from Charing Cross Station and within sight of Nelson’s Column and Trafalgar Square.
There is currently a partially demolished office block on the site, which is located opposite the Co-Op on the Strand.
The new Premier Inn isn’t the first hotel development to be proposed on the site – it was previously earmarked for a 200-room Park Hyatt Hotel, with a rooftop bar and restaurant.
Instead, it will now become home to the latest London property under Whitbread’s hub by Premier Inn brand.
hub by Premier Inn is a hotel concept from the company that offers stylish, compact rooms in central locations in London and Edinburgh.
It was launched in 2013 and the first hotel opened in Covent Garden in 2014.
The brand has since grown to 18 hotels across London and Edinburgh.
Other hub by Premier Inn hotels in London are located in Camden, Bank, Clerkenwell, Goodge Street, Kings Cross, Marylebone, Paddington, Shoreditch, Soho, Brick Lane, Tower Bridge, West Brompton, Westmister Abbey, and St James’s Park.
Rooms are designed to be comfortable, convenient, and consistent with Premier Inn, but in a smaller package.
They include a touchscreen control panel for lighting and temperature, 40″ smart TVs, high-powered showers, and beds.
Some rooms have windows, but some are window-free.
The new 16,000 sqm development will feature 13 floors including ground floor space fronting onto the Strand and Northumberland Street.
Mark Anderson, managing director for property and international for Whitbread, said: “Hub by Premier Inn was launched a decade ago in St Martin’s Lane, a few hundred metres from 5 Strand.
“The brand has blossomed into a network of 18 popular hub hotels in Central London and Edinburgh and has become a proven model for bringing our affordable bedrooms into the most central, vibrant, and connected locations for our guests.
“5 Strand is an excellent example of how we think the hub by Premier Inn brand can evolve in Central London. It also shows how we can use Whitbread’s strong balance sheet to acquire the best positioned, most accessible, and high-demand locations in the capital to grow our brands.
“With planning permission now secured we will move quickly to begin construction of the new hotel and deliver a true flagship location for our guests.”
Whitbread recently announced plans for a 207-room hub by Premier Inn property within a “under-utilised” car parking space under The Brunswick Centre in London’s Bloomsbury.
The group said the hotel’s rooms, reception and communal guest areas will feature “cutting edge lighting technology which provides a natural spectrum of light following the human circadian rhythm”.
'I stayed at the largest Premier Inn in the UK...this is what I thought'
Deputy Travel Editor Kara Godfrey stayed at Premier Inn at Gatwick Airport, located just outside the North Terminal…
The Premier Inn hotel is literal steps from the Gatwick shuttle – just take the lift down and cross the road and it is right in front of you.
Celebrating its 10th-anniversary last year, it’s currently undergoing some new room refurbishments.
The hotel is open 24/7, due to its nature as an airport hotel, but has more than 10 self-check-in booths for a speedy rush to your room, although the four very slow lifts leave something to be desired if you are in a rush.
With 701 bedrooms, I ended up in their brand new Premier Plus rooms, found on the ninth ‘quieter’ floor, which was very clean.
I had great views of the airport, so I could watch some of the planes take off.
There is also a Nespresso coffee machine and kettle with chocolates, a large shower with toiletries and towels and a mini-
There is also a Nespresso coffee machine and kettle with chocolates, a large shower with toiletries and towels and a mini-fridge with complimentary water.
Plus unlike many hotels, they’d placed a USB socket near the bed, so you don’t have to worry if you forget your plug.
The rooms weren’t perfect – the WiFi didn’t seem to stretch to the top of the hotel – but they are definitely worth the extra £10 for some added luxury.
The hotel is often full so I had to book dinner and breakfast in advance as it gets busy.
But it has a range of classic comfort food options, including burgers, pizza and curries.
I opted for a lasagne, followed by a brownie with a glass of wine.
They didn’t have everything listed – they were bizarrely out of avocado, French dressing and naans, but there is more than enough to choose from even if your favourite isn’t there.
Like all airport travellers, I was mainly there to get a decent night’s kip and with the black-out curtains and barely any noise seeping through the walls – it passed with flying colours.