Budget hotel chain Premier Inn has unveiled plans for its innovative ‘Floatel’ (floating budget hotel) - a first for the British budget hotel industry.

Britain’s largest budget hotel chain aims to build the ‘Floatel’ in Hartlepool Marina during 2009. It will be the first time a budget hotel has been purpose-built on water.

Premier Inn chiefs say that the planned hotel will offer the same quality and value of its other 556 hotels - but with the added benefit of a waterfront view.

The ‘Floatel’ is needed because there is a growing demand for additional hotel accommodation in the Hartlepool Marina area but little viable building space on-land. The new hotel will have 54 bedrooms, each able to accommodate two adults and two children under 16, and will feature ensuite bathroom, TV and Internet access, as is standard in all Premier Inns.

Guests will avoid the risk of sea sickness because the hotel’s special design means it will float vertically with the tide; while the horizontal movement will be restricted by sleeved piles driven into the marina.

And anyone arriving late at night wouldn’t need a boat trip in order to check-in: the waterfront hotel will be linked to an existing Premier Inn on the quayside by a pedestrian ramp and an external platform lift.

The proposed development would contribute to both the re-development of the area, and the creation of 25 jobs. In addition to this, it is also planned to use the area underneath the new Premier Inn as additional space for the local University.

Premier Inn’s Property Director, Mark Anderson, says, “As Britain’s leading hotel company, we’re always looking for new ways to ensure we have great hotels; wherever they’re needed.”
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