The quirky Nitenite ‘pod’ hotel has appointed architectural and interior design agency Tibbatts•Abel to undertake the refurbishment of the city centre hotel who were responsible for the original design when the hotel opened back in 2006.The hotel was one of Europe’s first windowless hotels based on the successful Japanese ‘pod’ model, offering affordable city centre accommodation within a compact space. The rooms were created to emulate the feel of a cabin aboard a luxury yacht, with all 104 bedrooms fully air conditioned and equipped with 42-inch plasma televisions and hi-tech control panels.
Tibbatts won the Nitenite contract following a competitive four way bid process. The first phase of the hotel refurbishment, which will see a complete transformation of the hotel lobby area, is set to be completed by the end of October.
General Manager of the hotel Lee Alibone said: “We have ambitious plans grow the Nitenite brand and are looking to open a chain of Nitenite cityhotels across the UK over the next few years. It is really important that we get the look and feel of this hotel right, as the Birmingham property will be used as a blue print for future projects.”
Director of Tibbatts Abel, Adam Tibbatts, said: “We are really pleased to be working on the Nitenite project once again and to see the hotel is moving forward with the demands of the market place. The new management team at nitenite gave us a very open brief allowing us to autonomously evolve the interior design from its original conception to a new-look and feel that will appeal to today’s customer.
“The first phase of the refurbishment will see a complete transformation of the lobby area moving away from the current polished finish, to a more ‘urban’ and ‘industrial’ look and feel. We are stripping back the fixtures and fittings to expose the underlying features of the building and replacing the original furniture with quirky statement to create a point of difference for the hotel and take the brand forward. The design concept is a combination of what we have seen in other up and coming hotels in popular cities like New York and Tokyo, and more locally Shoreditch, London.
General Manager Lee Alibone added: “The ‘urban’ industrial look and feel… will appeal to an international audience particularly those who are looking for something different and more interesting than your traditional hotel.
“The new design and added features will only further enhance our offering and customer experience when staying at the Nitenite hotel.”
Nitenite Birmingham was one of Europe’s first ‘pod’ hotels with more than 100 windowless rooms. The hotel was put up for sale in August 2011 after its parent company, Nitenite Holdings, entered administration.
The hotel was brought out by Birmingham based property and hotel entrepreneur Harj Mattu, who has existing hotels in the UK and new hotels under development, in March 2013. The buyout has saved over 20 local jobs, with plans to create more roles over the coming months.
