Meininger Hotels has announced plans to create a 590-bed venue in the city centre, scheduled to open in 2020. Designed by architectural practice NORR and backed by investor LGIM Real Assets (Legal & General), the 160-room hotel will sit across five floors of a new building on West George Street opposite the renovated Queen Street train station.
The group, which says it “brings together the best elements of hostel and hotel”, will offer a variety of room types, from classic double rooms through to private multi-bedrooms and single beds within a dorm style room. Public areas will be located on the first floor of the building, including a reception, lobby, lounge, breakfast room and bar as well as a guest kitchen and game zone. At basement, ground and mezzanine levels the scheme will also create around 1,400 sqm of retail space.
It will be the second hotel for the group in the UK, which has operated the Meininger Hotel London Hyde Park since 2006. Meininger Hotels CEO Hannes Spanring said: “Great Britain is a very important market for us and as Glasgow is Scotland’s largest city, it’s the perfect location for another hotel in the UK. The Glasgow hotel is an excellent addition to our portfolio, due to its prime location in the heart of the city centre.”
Project director for NORR Derek Reid, said: “Our design for the building provides an appropriate response to the hotel’s strategic location within Glasgow City Centre’s Conservation Area while capturing the exciting dynamic of the Meininger hotel brand.”
Craig Westmacott, senior fund manager, LGIM Real Assets, said: “We are pleased to be working with Meininger Hotels as it seeks to expand its successful brand into the UK. This site is an excellent location for a new hotel and together with the redevelopment of Queen Street station will bring significant improvements to this key area of Glasgow city centre.”