Dandara, the award-winning property developer, has successfully handed over the Isle of Man’s first Premier Inn hotel to Whitbread, Premier Inn’s parent company.
Situated on Market Street in Douglas, the new 85-bedroom Premier Inn hotel and Thyme restaurant will open its doors to customers on 24 June – with advance bookings currently being taken on the premierinn.com website. The six-storey hotel was granted planning permission in September 2017.
Whitbread worked closely with the Isle of Man Job Centre and University College Isle of Man to recruit 35 new team members to work at the new hotel and restaurant. The new team will shortly start Whitbread’s industry leading training programme and benefit from its ongoing apprenticeship and career advancement opportunities once the hotel opens.
Richard Aldread, (Head of Construction UK and Ireland Regions) for Whitbread, who worked closely with Dandara on the construction of the hotel, said, “It’s always exciting to hand over a brand-new Premier Inn hotel to our operations team. In Douglas, it is especially significant as it’s our first hotel on the Isle of Man.
'To get us to this stage Whitbread has made a significant multi-million-pound investment in the new hotel and restaurant building and we expect it will trade very well given the island’s strong business and leisure economy.
'With the building now complete, we’re looking forward to opening the doors, welcoming guests and bringing a different style of accommodation to the island.”
Contract Manager at Dandara, Len Arnold, added, “It has been a pleasure to work with Whitbread on this exciting new Premier Inn building. Not only has the development progressed extremely well but has been delivered on schedule and ahead of the planned opening later this year.
“As award winners of the Considerate Constructors Scheme, we have liaised closely with site neighbours, hauliers and suppliers throughout this project and ensured minimum disruption to businesses and residents in the area. The extremely tight site has thrown a few challenges at the construction team who have kept the programme on track throughout the build process.
“We would like to thank everyone for their patience and understanding and, once the Premier Inn team is ready, look forward to seeing the hotel open its doors in the Isle of Man.”