The first major new hotel in Plymouth city centre for 14 years has opened – and bookings are already flooding in.
The Oyo Plymouth Central hotel has been built in the floors above the Poundland and PEP&CO, former Woolworths, store in New George Street, and has been officially opened by Plymouth’s Lord Mayor Chris Mavin.
The hotel’s but it could only open for two weeks, as a soft opening, in December, before the nation was pitched back into a third lockdown.
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It meant staff had to wait until May 17 when the Government allowed hotels to restart their business as Covid restrictions eased.
The first guests at the new Plymouth Central hotel, marketed under the Oyo Hotels label, were a couple who stayed overnight on May 18 – and were treated to a complimentary breakfast.
And already bookings are coming in, particularly for the Spring Bank Holiday weekend of May May 29 to 31.
“Business is really picking up,” said Shane May-Williams, front of house manager. “The late May bank holiday weekend is very busy, we are 90% occupied already.”
The 95-bedroom hotel has opened 54 en-suite rooms and a further seven which share communal bathrooms. The remainder of the shared-bathroom rooms are awaiting furniture to be delivered but will be in operation soon.
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“We are waiting for more beds,” Mr May-Williams said. “All our beds are made to order.”
The Oyo Plymouth Central is the first new hotel in the city centre since Jurys Inn started trading in 2007 and beats the city’s other new arrival, the Premier Inn being constructed just opposite on the site of the former Riley’s Sports Bar.
Family-run property development company Red Lions Estate has invested a “significant sum” into buying 50,000sq ft of floor-space, spread over two storeys above the ground floor retail, and turning what was at one time Woolies’ vast open-plan stockroom into a modern hotel.
Working with Bison Engineering and Construction, the space was turned into 95 bedrooms or varying sizes from singles to those taking up to eight guests.
Plymouth Central has opened with a “skeleton” team of 12, but more jobs will be created as its popularity builds and Mr May-Williams said: “We will increase that number as bookings start to rise and business starts to pick up, it could to to 16 or even 20.”
Red Lions Estate co-owner Kairm Nasser, who was at the official opening, has said the hotel is designed for flexibility, able to appeal to a variety of guests from backpackers to business clientele to families.
Property experts have been saying city centres need to combat the decline in retail by encouraging people to live and stay in them, including in former office space on upper floors.
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Plymouth Central is different from many other hotels in that it has a mix of en-suite rooms and others which share communal bathrooms, though these do have lockable individual showers.
Some rooms have outside views, and some even have a balcony, but others do not, because of the building’s vast internal floorspace, which meant internal walls had to be built.
It has also meant engineers had to create skylights so light can flood in from above in the large breakfast room and a separate lobby area.
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The hotel will serve guests a Continental breakfast, but will not provide other meals, instead signposting people to other cafes and restaurants nearby, in a bid to boost the economy of the city centre.
With eco-friendly LED lighting and air-conditioning throughout, Plymouth Central also has a free, fast broadband connection for guests, with all rooms having a 43-inch smart TV with Netflix, Youtube and internet connections.
And there is even a corridor of 10 “business pods” where guests, or even business people who want to hire space for a day, can work
Red Lions Estate specialises in office space, and had this in mind when it bought the property. But it was then approached by Oyo Hotels, the “word’s fastest growing hotel chain”, which floated the idea of creating a hotel.
Construction began in November 2019 with reduced, socially distanced, teams of builders able to work on the project during the lockdown period.