The CEO of InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), Andy Cosslett, yesterday returned to his home town of Manchester to open the new Holiday Inn Manchester MediaCityUK.

The 218 bedroom hotel, owned and operated by Peel Leisure, is in the heart of MediaCityUK in Salford Quays.  The hotel has good transport links.  It’s a twenty minute drive from Manchester Airport. The new waterside tram station and link road with the M602 also make it easy to reach.

The hotel has a gym and three meeting rooms which can accommodate up to 40 people. Guests can choose to dine in The Green Room Restaurant which serves British food, or the Hub Bar for a light meal.

MediaCityUK, a £650million Peel Media development, is a vibrant waterside community for workers, residents, students and visitors. The first phase of the development is 36 acres (roughly the size of 18 football pitches) and includes office space, a state-of-the art studio building, shops, restaurants, apartments, a five-acre public piazza, and the Holiday Inn.

From 2011, the BBC is relocating more than 2,300 staff to MediaCityUK. BBC Breakfast, Radio 5 Live, Children’s Sport, Learning, and Future Media and Technology will move from London to MediaCityUK in addition to all the BBC’s existing Manchester operations.

Andy Cosslett, IHG’s CEO, said: “I grew up in Manchester.  I’ve lived, studied and worked here.  In more recent years I’ve watched from afar and it’s great to see how the area has been transformed.  We’re looking for 3,000 talented people to work in our UK hotels over the next two to three years and the new Holiday Inn Manchester MediaCityUK will contribute to that number by creating around 70 local jobs, stimulating growth in and around Salford Quays.”

Peter de la Perrelle, director, Peel Leisure said: “It’s great to have the Holiday Inn Manchester MediaCityUK officially opened by Andy Cosslett. The hotel is at the heart of this unique and exciting development, presenting us with an opportunity to provide first class service to the guests who will be visiting and working in MediaCityUK.”

Holiday Inn at Manchester MediaCityUK joins four existing Holiday Inn and three Holiday Inn Express hotels in Manchester. There is another Holiday Inn Express in the pipeline at MEN Arena in the city centre.

Holiday Inn is undergoing the biggest relaunch in the hospitality industry with a £650 million investment across more than 3,300 hotels and 430,000 rooms worldwide. The relaunch means that guests can expect a consistently good experience at all our hotels. The relaunch is 97% complete in the UK with just 10 hotels still to relaunch.