Premier Inn to launch ‘Floatel'

Whitbread has announced plans to launch its first floating Premier Inn hotel, dubbed the "Floatel".

The budget hotel brand plans to build the floating hotel in Hartlepool Marina during 2009. It will be the first time the chain has built a hotel on water.

Premier Inn claims the planned 54-room hotel will offer the same facilities and comfort as its other 556 budget hotels, but with a waterfront view.

Premier Inn spokesperson Mark Anderson said: "As Britain's leading hotel company, we're always looking for new ways to ensure we have great hotels; wherever they're needed."

The hotel's design means it will rise and fall with the tide, while the horizontal movement will be restricted by piles driven into the marina's base.

The waterfront hotel will be linked to an existing Premier Inn on the quayside by a pedestrian ramp and lift.

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By Gemma Sharkey

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