Mannin Hotel

Rebirth of the Mannin Hotel

Re-built on the site of the original Mannin Hotel, and designed with a facade to closely resemble the older Victorian building, the new Mannin Hotel has just opened on Broadway in Douglas, Isle of Man, and is already proving popular with guests and the general public alike.

The original plan was to retain the facade of the hotel, but due to the condition of the external walls, the whole building had to be demolished in 2012. Construction of the new building began in March 2013 for entrepreneur and property developer Keith Lord of Mannin Investments, who saw the need for a four star hotel for the Isle of Man tourism industry.

Main contractors for the project were Stewart Clague Services Ltd.

Elizabeth Wells, reservations manager for the hotel commented: “We already had high expectations for the hotel and the building surpassed them. We love it!”

“The hotel is proving very popular with a high level of bookings. There is also a lot of local interest – the curiosity factor is huge and we even get people walking into reception telling us things that we never knew about the building.”

Seamlessly integrated into a Victorian terrace, the 54 bedroom five storey hotel also has a secure underground car park with drive-through check-in window. The hotel features air conditioning in all of the bedrooms, which is a unique feature in the Isle of Man. Underfloor heating has also been fitted in the public areas.

The building frontage features an entrance portico with chandelier, with arched windows to either side on the ground floor, with the upper storeys set back and featuring both sash-style bay windows and flat glazing, with dormers on the top storey. The interior is flooded with natural daylight from a full height glazed atrium.

Elizabeth Wells said: “The ground floor, which is completely open plan, includes a reception, soft seating lobby, bar and restaurant – both of which are open to residents and non-residents alike. Moveable partitions are fitted in all areas, allowing flexibility of space for private functions.”

The restaurant overlooks the Broadway and Villa Marina and offers an extensive selection of homemade dishes from bar snacks to juicy steaks and everything in between, using as much Manx produce as possible. The bar serves a wide variety of drinks, cocktails and bar food.

Elizabeth Wells said: “All of the hotel’s bedrooms feature the latest technology and comforts. These include: free Wi-Fi, ironing facilities, tea and coffee making facilities, high power hair dryers, a fridge, a personal laptop safe and a 32” flat screen LED TV. Bathrooms are Italian tiled and feature both walk in showers and over-bath showers.

“Bedrooms include atrium rooms with private internal balcony overlooking an atrium, and Broadway rooms which are situated at the front of the building overlooking the Villa Marina complex. These rooms are bright and airy, featuring partial sea views.

“The hotel also has 10 family rooms – five of which overlook the atrium, with the other five being situated on the Broadway side. All family rooms have a kitchenette with microwave, crockery and cutlery.”

In addition, there are two designated disabled rooms with full facilities, both over-looking Broadway and featuring some of the best views of the sea from the hotel. Both rooms have fully accessible walk-in wet rooms with grab rails and alarm pulls, and access to the rooms is convenient, from either the car park or main public areas via the lift.

Stewart Clague Services Ltd

Specialising in building services and facilities management, Stewart Clague Services Ltd was formed in 1969.

The establishment has worked on a number of projects with diverse clients including Manx Telecom, GDC Phase 2 – completing the design and build of an extension to an existing data centre; and Isle of Man Government, Laxey Wheel – carrying out a refurbishment and decoration of the world’s largest working waterwheel.

Working recently on the Mannin Hotel, Stewart Clague Services were engaged to design and install the mechanical, electrical and fire strategy services associated with the hotel. A whole range of services were carried out including air conditioning, heating, ventilation, sprinkler system, building management system, power, lighting, fire alarm, CCTV, data, Wi-Fi and telephone.

Gary Crittenden, Projects Director at Stewart Clague Services Ltd, told Premier Hospitality:

“We were delighted to be appointed for such a prestigious project that was always in the public eye from initial demolition to completion.

“This was both an exciting and challenging project for the team and drawing on our experience of working in hotels on the Island for over 40 years, we were able to develop a design that met Keith Lord’s exacting requirements.

“Stewart Clague Services is the largest and longest serving provider of building services/facilities management on the Isle of Man. We pride ourselves on providing a quality installation or service within budget and on time. This is achieved through in-house expertise from call centre personnel, management, project engineers and tradespersons who are qualified to the highest industry standards.”