The budget hotel giant had been hoping to open the new 126-bedroom London Road branch before Christmas, and while the scaffolding and hoardings started to come down last week revealing the building for the first time, guests won’t be able to check-in for a number of weeks.
A spokesman for Whitbread, which runs the hotel chain, told the Times: “Unfortunately as is often the case with projects, delays push back timings. We expect the new opening date in the next couple of months around early springtime.”
It is not the first time the project has suffered setbacks. The hotel group first submitted plans to convert the old court house in London Road back in 2016.
The development faced stiff opposition it its early phases – with campaigners opposed to the £7million hotel attempting unsuccessful legal action against the Council for what they claimed was an ‘unlawful’ sale of Merevale House, the former family and county court.
The latest addition to the town’s thriving hotel sector, which includes Hotel du Vin, One Warwick Park, Salomons Estate and budget rival Travelodge, is being designed by Kent and London-based On Architecture who describe it as ‘an architectural blend of the vernacular style of London Road in Tunbridge Wells, with modern detailing and construction methods’.
Premier Inn say the hotel will provide around 30-35 full-time ‘locally focused jobs’.
