New £25m Newcastle hotel tops out and "breathes new life" into quayside

A £25m hotel development in Newcastle has reached a significant milestone.

The new INNSiDE Hotel, operated by Melia Hotels International, is being built by contractor Robertson, which has celebrated topping out this week.

The seven-storey hotel, which is being developed by Union Property Developments, is located next to the Travelodge, replacing the east wing of the former BT building on Bridge Court.

The £25m hotel will provide 161 bedrooms, as well as a lounge, bar and restaurant, conferencing and meeting room facilities, a fitness lounge and 25 car parking spaces.

Raj Sehgal, director at Union Property Developments said: “It has been a pleasure to work with the Meliá and Robertson teams throughout the various stages of this project, which breathes new life into a substantial vacant building on the historic quayside.

“We selected a great creative design team and highly capable contractor with a proven track record of delivering major developments across the north of England.

“Union are focused on delivering best in class developments and we are proud to bring this transformational project to our home city”.

Garry Fortune, cluster general manager of Meliá Hotels International, said: “We are pleased to be on programme and on budget for our first development in the exciting and vibrant city of Newcastle.

“Both Union Property and Meliá Hotels International continue to explore development opportunities in other cities around the UK, to deliver our INNSiDE brand”.

Garry Hope, regional managing director of Robertson, said: “This is a very complicated site to develop, with a number of complex structures to negotiate, but we have been able to effectively navigate these construction challenges.

“A large team of workers of 300-400 people have been involved from start to finish to get to this landmark stage.

“This topping out ceremony is an important milestone for the scheme and for Robertson, with this being our first project to be delivered for Union Property Development Ltd, and we are on track to complete the project on time.”