Northern Irish developer and contractor McAleer & Rushe has completed its second UK hotel for Starwood Hotels & Resorts.
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The Aloft London Excel.
The first was the emphatically successful W Hotel at Leicester Square which has become the location of choice for celebrities. There was more glamour on Tuesday night with the launch party for The Aloft London Excel, at London's ExCeL International Exhibition and Convention Centre. It marked the UK debut of the Aloft brand from Starwood Hotels & Resorts.
The stylish Aloft hotel with 252 loft-style guest rooms was built by McAleer & Rushe on a Design and Build (D&B) contract. It boasts 'industrial' design elements and features, a self-service food pantry and a 'buzzing' bar scene. The architect was Jestico & Whiles.
The hotel follows a 'serpentine' plan with a convex central spine flanked by two concave wings. Its exterior has been clad in thousands of highly reflective stainless-steel shingles to create a shimmer type effect and change color to reflect the surroundings throughout the day.
McAleer & Rushe construction director Martin Magee said: "One of the most fascinating elements of this project in our role as D&B contractor was to help Starwood and the owner to create a brand identity for the UK market because this is the first Aloft in the UK.
"Aloft is already present in the US and the Middle East. But the brand had to be interpreted to suit the UK market. We are delighted that the end result from our design team has been so warmly received.
"The completion of The Aloft now takes the total number of hotel rooms built by McAleer & Rushe to more than 12,000 which is a milestone that few, if any, can match. This latest project is a great show case for McAleer & Rushe's abilities and enhances our strong track record in the hotel sector," Magee added.
The hotel is owned by Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company which owns also Aloft Abu Dhabi which was the first Aloft hotel in the Middle East.
McAleer & Rushe developed and built Starwood's first W Hotel in the UK which opened in February. In September the Northern Irish company sold the stylish 192-bedroom hotel on Leicester Square to Qatar-based investor Al Faisal Holding Company for just under £200m.
Also at the end of September McAleer & Rushe completed a 203-bedroom four-story waterfront Jurys Inn on Gateshead Quayside. It sold the Gateshead hotel the previous September for more than £19 million in a forward funding deal with Aviva Investors.
Source: MJ2 Limited
The stylish Aloft hotel with 252 loft-style guest rooms was built by McAleer & Rushe on a Design and Build (D&B) contract. It boasts 'industrial' design elements and features, a self-service food pantry and a 'buzzing' bar scene. The architect was Jestico & Whiles.
The hotel follows a 'serpentine' plan with a convex central spine flanked by two concave wings. Its exterior has been clad in thousands of highly reflective stainless-steel shingles to create a shimmer type effect and change color to reflect the surroundings throughout the day.
McAleer & Rushe construction director Martin Magee said: "One of the most fascinating elements of this project in our role as D&B contractor was to help Starwood and the owner to create a brand identity for the UK market because this is the first Aloft in the UK.
"Aloft is already present in the US and the Middle East. But the brand had to be interpreted to suit the UK market. We are delighted that the end result from our design team has been so warmly received.
"The completion of The Aloft now takes the total number of hotel rooms built by McAleer & Rushe to more than 12,000 which is a milestone that few, if any, can match. This latest project is a great show case for McAleer & Rushe's abilities and enhances our strong track record in the hotel sector," Magee added.
The hotel is owned by Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company which owns also Aloft Abu Dhabi which was the first Aloft hotel in the Middle East.
McAleer & Rushe developed and built Starwood's first W Hotel in the UK which opened in February. In September the Northern Irish company sold the stylish 192-bedroom hotel on Leicester Square to Qatar-based investor Al Faisal Holding Company for just under £200m.
Also at the end of September McAleer & Rushe completed a 203-bedroom four-story waterfront Jurys Inn on Gateshead Quayside. It sold the Gateshead hotel the previous September for more than £19 million in a forward funding deal with Aviva Investors.
Source: MJ2 Limited
