Sleeperz joins Dundee's £1bn Waterfront development
The group is in final negotiations with the council to build a 120-bedroom hotel - Sleeperz’s fourth in the UK – in a curved concourse above the redeveloped rail station, with panoramic views over the River Tay and into the new Waterfront plaza.
“Sleeperz Hotels is an innovative, fast-growing company with ambitious plans to expand our portfolio of UK lifestyle hotels and is delighted to secure such an exciting development,” said Sleeperz Hotels’ chief executive David Myers.
“Dundee’s waterfront regeneration is one of the biggest of its kind ever to take place in Western Europe and will transform the city as a leisure, tourism and retail destination. Dundee needs to increase its bed stock and visitors to the city will benefit from our distinctive brand of stylish contemporary rooms and ultra-convenient location at affordable prices.’’
Railway hotels
Since opening its first UK hotel in Cardiff in 2008, less than 300m from Cardiff rail station, Sleeperz Hotels has been leading a modern revival of the classic British railway hotel. The company specialises in building stylish and affordable city centre lifestyle hotels, often on awkwardly shaped land, close to mainline rail stations.
The brand offers free Wi-Fi, space-saving furniture, wet rooms and tea and coffee making facilities as standard in every room. A cooked and continental breakfast and an all-day brasserie menu is available in its lounge and bar.
Sleeperz Hotel Cardiff was followed by the opening of a 98-bedroom hotel in Newcastle in January 2012 and the creation of a new ‘rooms-based’ sister brand of the budget hotel called Cityroomz – with a first opening in Edinburgh in May last year.
The Dundee opening forms part of the £1bn Central Waterfront Development – an integral phase in the city's multi-billion pound regeneration of its historic waterfront, which will include the new £45 million V&A Museum at Dundee.
A number of big brands have already taken sites at the Waterfront, which stretches for 8km along the north bank of the River Tay.
Hospitable city
On Tuesday (4 February), Boutique hotel group Malmaison opened a 91-bedroom hotel complete with a restaurant and bar/lounge area; casual dining outfit Nandos and prominent regional bar operator FullerThomson have also snapped up sites, and Dundee’s first five-star hotel, The Custom House, will open there together with a new railway station hotel in 2015.
The secondary streets around the Waterfront have also seen a number of new openings of late - Quirky Coo, Castlehill Restuarant, Lovely Things and Catalan Spanish Restaurant to name a few.
Speaking of this latest signing, Mike Galloway, director of city development at Dundee City Council, said: “We are delighted to have attracted Sleeperz to our waterfront redevelopment in Dundee.
“This new hotel will provide further high quality accommodation for the many hundreds of thousands of additional visitors to the V&A Museum and it will create a powerful new landmark entrance into our city.”
The council has organised a series of roadshows in Scotland and London, and site tours will take place on 20 and 27 February. A special hospitality industry investment hotline has been set up for any businesses interested in finding out more about investment opportunities in the Dundee Waterfront project. The number to call is 01382 433306.
