Bespoke Hotels has agreed with developers, Complex Development Projects (CDP) to operate a 1950s-style boutique hotel at the former Coventry Telegraph offices.
Construction is to start at the end of the year, creating 100 bedrooms, a ground floor restaurant and bar, meeting rooms, penthouse suites, and a rooftop bar.
The original features of the building, which include the panelled Board Room and Lord Iliffe’s apartment, will be retained as unique features of the building’s former life. Around 130 jobs will be created when the hotel opens which is scheduled to be ahead of Coventry being UK City of Culture in 2021.
Chairman and co-founder of Bespoke Hotels, Robin Sheppard said, “This is an iconic building charged with much recent history of the City of Coventry with a really strong tone of voice from which we hope to deliver a rich narrative with nods to the 1950s heyday of the building and a cool contemporary twist. This will be a destination hotel with tons of character and a cheeky smile.
Ian Harrabin, Managing Director of CDP, said, “The project is unique and we needed an operator that embraced our vision for something that will be truly Coventry. We took advice from national hotel experts and Bespoke was our first choice of partner.
'We have been working with them for the past six months on the detail of the project and are happy that they share our enthusiasm for Coventry and recognise the opportunity of this unique building.
'We want to create a style of hotel that is not offered anywhere else in the area – a style that is truly bespoke. Their experienced team bring out the heart and soul of hotels with their professionalism, experience, flair and individuality.”
Harrabin continued, “We want to give the city an hotel that Coventry can be proud of and provide a focus for the City of Culture status that has been bestowed for 2021. We have been delighted to have received such strong support from all local stakeholders, not least within the council and are determined to create something special with our chosen award-winning hotel operators.”
Bespoke Hotels currently manages 9,500 hotel rooms across 21 countries from Australia to America.