The 202-bedroom site will be the first in a line of mid-market hotels that Quay plans to develop throughout the UK.
It will be managed by Wyndham Hotels, which owns the Ramada hotel brand.
“We have worked exceptionally closely with Wyndham and their professional team and are excited to be developing what we hope will be the first of a number of high quality, mid-market hotel schemes in key locations around the country,” said Rob Tindle of Quay Hotels.
The Newcastle-Gateshead Ramada Encore Hotel will be located in the Baltic Business Quarter, which is at the heart of the area’s expanding business district.
An office away from home
Business guests will be the target clientele, with everything in the hotel geared towards their needs, explained Tindle.
“Business travellers want the kind of quality and service they are used to at a reasonable price.
“They want the ability to turn up and plug themselves back in to their office. Any business user wants to arrive at a hotel and get back to work again very quickly and effectively. The entire environment at Ramada Encore supports that.”
The hotel will include free high-speed WIFI access, a business ‘hub’ working and meeting area, several private meeting rooms and a food and drink offering tailored to business guests.
“It’s the future,” says Tindle. “Business people like that facility, they want us to make it easy for them to operate. Ramada Encore takes the concept to a new level of usability.”
A double room at the “three star plus” hotel will be priced at £60-£70 per night.
Construction at the site started several months ago and is due to be completed by March 2012.
National expansion
Quay Hotels plans to grow its mid-market presence throughout the UK, with Ramada Encore remaining their preferred partner.
The group says it is currently looking at some key city centre sites, and hopes to conclude deals on three to four sites over the next two years.
“From a hotel perspective, the Ramada Encore brand is certainly capable of significant further roll out around the UK and Europe in the all important mid-market hotel sector,” said Jon Patrick, Head of Leisure & Development at Christie + Co, which secured the current deal between Quay and Wyndham.