Midlands & East Anglia

Prestigious hotel and restaurant opens in Birmingham

The Cube Hotel IndigoA brand new luxury four-star hotel and skyline Marco Pierre White restaurant has opened at The Cube, in the heart of Birmingham.

Marco Pierre White’s Steak House Bar & Grill and Hotel Indigo have opened at the site, boasting an impressive new dining and living experience.

The £13m project began on the Commercial Street site on 4th January 2011. Works included the construction and fit-out of the 1,319m₂ 300-seat restaurant and the 52-bedroom luxury hotel. The project also included the construction of a health club and spa, located on the ground floor of The Cube.

The Steak House Bar & Grill is situated at the top of The Cube on floor 25 and offers 360 degree views of the city. The restaurant features a private dining room, an open-air terrace and Laurent Perrier Champagne bar. Hotel Indigo is directly below the restaurant on the 23rd and 24th floors.

Hotel Indigo is a boutique brand by InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) marrying the intimacy of a boutique hotel with the flexibility of a major hotel brand. The vibrant design of its bedrooms reflects the geometric exterior of The Cube, with themed decoration depicting vivid images of cubes, mosaics, square patterns and bold colours.

DBK Partners LLP was the project manager and was appointed to provide fund and development monitoring services for the project.

Sanguine Hospitality operates both the hotel and the restaurant, whilst its in-house construction company, Denizen Contracts LLP completed the fit out.

Sanguine Hospitality Managing Director Nick Taplin said:

“The scale of our investment and the calibre of venues we are bringing to Birmingham aim to provide a defining shift in how people spend their free time.

“I was astounded to discover that Birmingham did not already have a sky bar or rooftop restaurant, given the range of magnificent buildings in the city.

“We have definitely redressed this now.”

Hotel Indigo is a contemporary boutique hotel and boasts 52 bedrooms, including Executive, Deluxe and Feature rooms.  The Feature rooms are located on the 24th floor and each of the exclusive suites is fitted with a balcony.  All rooms include Cloud 9 beds, flatscreen LCD satellite TV’s, iPod docking stations, air conditioning and complimentary mini bars and wireless facilities. Approximately 100 rolls of wallpaper were flown in especially from Holland to decorate the hotel bedrooms.The Cube Hotel Indigo

The hotel also includes a luxury salon with celebrity hair stylist Adee Phelan.

General Manager Mark Nesbitt said:

“The level of demand has been astonishing.  When I came here I thought the venues would be popular addition to The Cube, but we have actually created a new destination.”

He added: “This is very much the place to be.”

In an event to celebrate the opening of the hotel and restaurant, a glitzy function took place on Thursday 12th January.  Hosted by Marco Pierre White the event included a number of celebrity names on its guest list.

Marco Pierre White said: “I always enjoy hosting these kinds of events as it’s a great opportunity to meet local foodies and restaurant goers. It’s also a good way of gauging feedback about the venue.”

White has worked with Sanguine Hospitality since 2009 and together they have four Steakhouse Bar & Grill’s with a fifth due to open in Newcastle in May this year.

Described as ‘the ultimate experience’, Marco Pierre White’s Steakhouse Bar & Grill is envisioned as the focal point of The Cube and brings Marco’s “affordable glamour” concept to Birmingham.

The final phase of the project included the completion of the health club and spa.  Although it is an exclusive members-only club, it is also accessible to guests at Hotel Indigo.  The club houses a gymnasium which comprises three group fitness studios, a large functional training zone, an 8m climbing wall and a dance studio. In addition, the gym also contains UPTV driven machines, Vibration Training and assorted TechnoGym equipment.  Personal training and personal fitness programmes will be available, whilst members will be granted internet access and complimentary beverages and energy drinks.

The spa comprises ten treatments rooms.  This includes thermal rooms, a vitality pool, a bio sauna, spray tan booth, mud and salt rooms, a steam room and a Laurent Perrier champagne nail bar.  A wooden Kelo sauna is an additional feature of the spa.The Cube Hotel Indigo

The club and spa opened on 1st January 2012.

The Cube Director, Neil Edington, said:

“All three elements bring a huge boost to the city, both for its residents and for tourists visiting the Midlands and we’ve really looked forward to watching it take shape right here in the heart of Birmingham.”

“Marco’s restaurant and the boutique hotel represent The Cube’s crowning glory.

“The Cube has already made a name for itself as an iconic building and landmark destination at the heart of Birmingham, as over the past 12 months our vision for this unique venue has come to life.”

The Cube is a 25-storey mixed-use building, designed by architect Ken Shuttleworth of Make Architects.  It opened on 1st December 2011 and is situated within the Westside district of Birmingham, alongside the city’s The Mailbox.

The development is located near to the M5 and M6 motorways and comprises offices, cafes, retail outlets and a car park, along with the new rooftop restaurant, health club and hotel. The striking design includes a glass clad roof that was constructed using 666 panels.

The Highways Agency was the first tenant to take residence at The Cube, acquiring commercial office space for 3,000 staff.  The Cube also houses nine floors of residential apartments.

Denizen Contracts LLP

Established in 2007 by the Monetier/Sanguine Hospitality Group, Denizen Contracts is an in-house construction company.  The company’s goals are to deliver developments on time and on budget and to always exceed the expectations of its clients.

In 2010, the company featured in the Top 20 national Construction Contract Awards table produced by Barbour ABI.  It was the second time Denizen Contracts appeared in the list within the same year and served to highlight that the company had been awarded £16m in new contracts.

Denizen Contracts LLP is no stranger to working on projects associated with the Marco Pierre White name.  The company has previously worked on a number of fast track schemes to convert existing venues into Marco Pierre White restaurants.  These projects have included Bar & Grill Restaurants in Chester and Bristol and The Swan Inn in Aughton.  Amazingly, work on the Bristol restaurant was completed whilst the site remained open for a twice-daily breakfast and evening meal service.

Denizen Contracts LLP is currently working on a number of additional restaurants across the UK under the Marco Pierre White brand.

 

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