New-style railway hotels planned
A new generation of individual hotels for railway towns and cities across the UK is being expanded.
The first Sleeperz hotel has opened in Cambridge and a second is due to be unveiled in Cardiff next summer, followed by properties in Manchester and Newcastle.
The hotels are being built on land owned by railway infrastructure company Network Rail and will offer “limited service” to guests.
Work on the £4.5 million, 75-room Sleeperz in Manchester – located opposite the Fairfield entrance to Piccadilly Station – is to start in September with the hotel due to open late next year. With six floors, it will sit on a wedge of land between the station and a railway viaduct.
Rates at the 25-room Cambridge hotel, which opened in 1997, start at £39 a night including breakfast, rising to £59.
Network Rail commercial property director John Pike said: “We are continually striving to maximise value from our property portfolio and we are delighted to be working with Sleeperz in identifying suitable sites for this new chain of railway hotels.”
The hotel company’s chief executive Barrie Munn said: “The rooms must be clean but not clinical. The hotel must respect individual privacy but invite its guests to be part of the hotel community, albeit a transient one for the guests.”
Report by Phil Davies
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