Developer GBI AG is going to thoroughly refurbish the former office building of the Gothaer Versicherung insurance company in Cologne, converting the property into a hotel of the Holiday Inn Express brand. With 323 rooms this will be the largest Holiday Inn Express in Europe.
So far, the Holiday Inn Express Amsterdam Arena Towers, featuring the same number of rooms, has been the sole holder of this “title”. Opening of the hotel by the Foremost Group is expected for early 2017.
“We are very happy that we can implement this project in Cologne’s Altstadt-Süd near the Rheinauhafen jointly with the renowned hotel operator Foremost Hospitality,” says Reiner Nittka, Board Member of GBI AG.
“This attractive area is the ideal location for a hotel,” agrees Hubert van de Loo, MD of Foremost Hospitality.
The building will be fully gutted before renovation. Architect Prof. Gernot Nalbach (Nalbach + Nalbach Architects) in consultation with the Design Committee of the City of Cologne has designed a new facade.
Several developers had a bout in recent years to develop this centrally located landmark in the cathedral city, but to no avail. “Our project development is ideally suited for this property. We have analysed the location in detail, and all the required arrangements are already in place“, Reiner Nittka explains.
GBI AG acquired the property late last year and signed a long-term lease with the Foremost Group. “This is the continuation of a very successful cooperation between GBI AG and Foremost following our joint hotel projects in Nuremberg and Frankfurt,” Hubert van de Loo points out. Foremost Hospitality as a strategic partner of the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) develops a portfolio of 20 hotels of the Holiday Inn Express brand in Germany. Holiday Inn Express with over 2300 hotels worldwide is one of the fastest growing hotel brands for both business and leisure travellers.
The Holiday Inn Express in Cologne will offer a new generation of guest rooms with a new design, an improved layout, higher sound insulation, complete LED lighting and larger beds. It also includes height-adjustable laptop tables, ergonomic chairs, Internet TVs individually usable with personal video streams, as well as premium bathroom fittings. There is also a new design of the entrance and reception areas with individual check-in desks, business workstations complete with PCs plus a contemporary modern Express Cafe & Bar. In Cologne’s Holiday Inn Express also the concept of a food and beverage offer around the clock will be implemented. The staff will prepare hot and cold dishes “à la minute” for the guests.
