The opening of Adagio Liverpool, which is situated on the site of the iconic Lewis Building in the heart of the city, forms part of Accor’s ‘aggressive’ European expansion plans for the Adagio brand; to add a further 60 aparthotels to the portfolio in the next three years – with the UK key to that growth.
“We are pleased to welcome our extended-stay brand Adagio to the UK,” said Accor’s managing director for the UK & Ireland, Thomas Dubaere.
“Adagio is the third Accor brand to launch in Britain in the last two years, following closely from MGalleryand Pullman and marks another step in Accor UK’s growth plans.”
The Adagio concept
“Accor invests in key, strategically-located cities. Liverpool is a fantastic city with lots on offer for business and leisure guests and the opening of this aparthotel is proof of Accor’s expansion across the UK - not just in the Capital.”
Adagio Aparthotel Liverpool features 126 modern and spacious apartments, all with fully-equipped kitchens and access to hotel services. It is part of the £26m development of the former Lewis’s department store, which is one phase in a wider £160m scheme called ‘Central Village’, being developed by developers Merepark.
Explaining why Liverpool was chosen as the location for the first Adagio Aparthotel in the UK, Adagio’s director for central and northern Europe, Vangelis Porikis, said: “First of all we had the fantastic, maybe once-in-a-lifetime, opportunity to launch our chain of aparthotels in a genuinely iconic building in the heart of Liverpool.
Hospitable city
“I have heard Liverpudlians say ‘Lewis’s was Liverpool’ - that’s how much this building means to the city. So that was a big plus.
“Secondly, Liverpool is a city of the move. The renaissance started by the 2008 Capital of Culture status, the launch of Liverpool ONE and the multi-million-pound investment into the historic waterfront is continuing with this fantastic Central Village development.
“There is a huge demand for accommodation here and we believe we can bring something very different into the mix. With rapid expansion of the sort Liverpool is enjoying comes an influx of semi-permanent workers and residents who are looking for the greater freedom and a longer stay which we can offer with the Adagio Aparthotel.
“The Adagio launch is a combination of a fantastic location in a fast moving city and a helpful developer in Merepark – all supported by an enthusiastic local council and the availability of a great workforce. We are loving being here and can’t wait to welcome our first guests.”
Aparthotel growth
Adagio Aparthotels already operates 90 aparthotels in a number of European cities including Berlin, Paris and Rome. Accor is targeting 150 aparthotels and 19,000 apartments in the world by 2016.
Created in partnership with Accor and Pierre & Vacances Center Parcs Groups, the brand provides two product ranges: Adagio - the upper midscale aparthotels in the heart of Europe’s leading cities; and Adagio Access - the brand’s economic range with aparthotels located on cities’ doorsteps.
Extended stays at Adagio Aparthotels will also be available, based on attractive tiered pricing from fourth night onwards.
Adagio Birmingham will open in 2014 and the aparthotels planned for London, Edinburgh, Manchester and Glasgow (for both Adagio and Adagio access) are ‘in the pipeline’.
ibis Styles Blackpool
Meanwhile, Accor has also just entered into a franchise agreement with Blackpool Central Hotel to open the ibis Styles Blackpool, which will be operated by Focus Management.
The 90-bedroom hotel is situated on Talbot Square, in the heart of Blackpool’s main promenade.
Dubaere added: “It is another important step towards strengthening Accor’s presence across the UK and executing our asset-light strategy. Since the beginning of the year, the number of ibis Styles franchise agreements has doubled, demonstrating the strength of the brand and its attractiveness to potential franchisees.”
Earlier this month, Accor announced that it had entered into a franchise agreement for a new ibis Styles in Enfield, which will have 54 rooms and is due to open by the end of the year.
“Accor in the UK aims to increase its rooms by 10,000 over the next three years, bringing the total to 36,000 rooms in the UK,” Dubaere added.”