UK: The first boutique lifestyle hotel by Best Western called Sadie Luton will open in Bedfordshire on Friday 1 July 2022.
Following two years of delay as a result of Covid-19, the 87-bedroom Sadie Luton will open this week. The project involved a multi-million-pound refurbishment of an existing building.
Local artist Jignesh Patel, who has appeared in the Guinness Book of Records five times, has hand painted over 120 canvases to hang in the guest bedrooms. The art reflects the connection to the millinery industry in Luton, and other nods to the local area include light fittings in the style of hats to represent the heritage of the own’s hat making past.
The opening signifies a new conversion and development segment to the Best Western portfolio. In the last few years, BWH Hoel Group GB has added over 120 new hotels to the collection, including additions to the luxury five-star upscale brand WorldHotels.
Tim Rumney, CEO of BWH Hotel Group GB, said: “This is an exciting new segment for Best Western, a boutique lifestyle brand with conversion opportunities, which is attractive to investors and owners as well as guests who want a highly individual, photographable, and shareable backdrop to their stay. It is a great achievement by the whole team to bring this to market, but particularly Ali Mussani, director of Centro Hotels Ltd, who bought into this new concept and has brought the hotel to life, despite the setbacks caused by the pandemic.”
Ali Mussani, the hotel’s owner, added: “From the word go I was convinced with the potential of the new upscale brand from Best Western. I was hooked with the whole boutique concept, as I come from a high-end interior and design background. It was a difficult journey through the pandemic, suffering with the shortage of materials and labour, but the journey has been well worth it to end up with a fantastic product like we have. Hopefully, this hotel will be a case study and set a benchmark for future developers.”
Mark Stanley, head of hotel development and member services at BWH Hotel Group GB, said: “The Sadie Luton hotel is the springboard for many more new build and conversion projects in the pipeline over the next few years, as BWH strengthens its presence in the boutique lifestyle sector. The appeal of non-prescriptive design, individuality with a strong localisation is something we look forward to exploring more with developers and investors alike as we work towards our second opening in this segment in early 2023.”
