Birmingham hotel set for major facelift

A BIRMINGHAM city centre hotel rescued from administration is set to undergo a major makeover. The owner of budget hotel Nitenite has appointed architectural and interior design agency Tibbatts•Abel to conduct the refurbishment.

Tibbatts•Abel, which specialises in hospitality and leisure design, was responsible for the original design of Nitenite when it first opened in 2006. The firm has also worked on projects at venues including Movida, Buddha Bar and Chinawhite.

Nitenite, which was rescued from administration in August by Birmingham-based entrepreneur Harj Mattu, was one of Europe’s first windowless hotels based on the successful Japanese ‘pod’ model, which is intended to offer an 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.   

Lee Alibone, general manager of the hotel, said: “We decided to award the contract to Tibbatts because of their unique and forward thinking design work, which is on par with where we want to take the Nitenite brand. Having worked on the original design of Nitenite the Tibbatts team clearly understand the Nitenite concept and what we are trying to achieve with the new look of the hotel.

“We have ambitious plans grow the Nitenite brand and are looking to open a chain of Nitenite city hotels 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.”

Adam Tibbatts, a director at the design agency, said he had been given an open brief which would allow it to evolve the interior design from its original conception.

“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,” he said.

“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.”  

“The ‘urban’ industrial look and feel Tibbetts have designed for us will appeal to an international audience particularly those who are looking for something different and more interesting than your traditional hotel,” added Alibone.

The buyout by Harj Mattu saved over 20 local jobs, with plans to create more new roles over the coming months.