Situated within the Grade II-listed Royal Insurance Building near to the Liverpool ONE shopping centre, Aloft Liverpool will feature the re:mix lounge, W XYZ bar and re:charge fitness centre. It follows in the footsteps of the first UK Aloft hotel in London’s Docklands,which opened last year.
“We are delighted to debut our first Starwood hotel in Liverpool,” said Roeland Vos, president for Starwood Hotels & Resorts in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. “We see great opportunities to grow our Aloft portfolio in markets such as the UK where there is a strong demand for affordable yet stylish, cutting-edge hotel brands.”
Guestrooms will feature the brand’s signature high ceilings, oversized windows and platform beds as well as large walk-in showers. For meetings and presentations, the hotel will offer five creative spaces equipped with the latest audio-visual hardware.
Ross Morrow from BDL Management, which will operate Aloft Liverpool, said: “The mid-market design concept is a good fit for our portfolio, which currently comprises a range of global brands and independent properties from the budget Holiday Inn Express to the luxury five-star Grand Jersey property.
“We look forward to working closely with our partners, Ashalls, Ingenious, Liverpool City Council and Starwood, to bring this exciting project to fruition and be part of what is set to be an exciting future for the Aloft brand.”
Right brand, right time
Aloft was the second new Starwood brand to open in London within a year, following the launch of the W brand in the UK with the opening of the W London Leicester Squareat the end of 2010.
At the time of the launch of the first UK Aloft hotel, Starwood’s senior vice president Michael Wale had indicated that more Aloft hotels would indeed be opening in other major UK cities.
“Aloft is the right brand for the right time,” Wale told BigHospitality. “It has shaken-up the traditional and rather boring mid-market hotel category by delivering urban-influenced, modern and vibrant design and an energetic guest experience at an affordable price point.
“We would love to bring more Aloft hotels to the UK and see cities such as Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester being able to support an Aloft.”
Incidentally, Wale is soon to become Starwood’s new European president. He will take over on 1 June when Vos, who took the helm of the EAME region in 2001, will take up a consulting role with the American company.
That appointment comes at a crucial time for the hotel giant as it looks to increase its European portfolio by 30 per cent over the next five years. Fifty new hotels are expected to open, nine of which will launch this year.
Aloft Liverpool is expected to open 'mid-2014'.