Second Premier Inn coming to Newbury

Budget hotel will replace existing Hilton

Newbury will get not one but two new budget hotels as Premier Inn announces that a second hotel is to be completed in the town by early 2017.

Whitbread, which operates the chain of hotels, said this week that contracts had been ex-changed for the purchase of the Hilton Newbury Centre Hotel at Pinchington Lane.

The company will implement a £10m refurbishment programme when the existing Hilton closes on April 25.

After an extensive refurbishment the hotel will re-open as a new Premier Inn hotel.

The announcement follows the approval at a recent planning committee meeting of a new 100-bed Premier Inn at Newbury’s Park Way.

The head of acquisitions for Whitbread hotels and restaurants, Andrew Eldridge, said: “The Pinchington Lane property is a well-located hotel that we want to rejuvenate and invest in.

“We plan to modernise and upgrade parts of the hotel building and transform it into a quality Premier Inn.

“We see this as a tremendous opportunity and we’re eager to get started with our investment plans.”

A spokesperson for Hilton Worldwide said: “Having operated Hilton Newbury Centre for a number of years, the owner has taken the decision to sell the property.

“Following completion of the sale, it has been mutually agreed that the hotel will not trade under the Hilton Hotels & Resorts brand from April 25 2016.

“In the meantime the hotel continues to welcome guests as usual.”

The existing hotel will close for a brief period while works are carried out before re-opening as a Premier Inn in early 2017.

A manager at the Hilton Hotel said that they would work with customers who had made bookings that were now after the closure date to find them alternative accommodation.