Heathrow T4 announces adjoining hotels
The Arora Group, Whitebridge Hospitality, an LJ Group company, and InterContinental Hotels Group have announced an exclusive agreement with Heathrow Airport Limited, to develop two hotels directly connected to London Heathrow Terminal 4. The two adjoining hotels, Crowne Plaza London – Heathrow Terminal 4 and Holiday Inn Express London – Heathrow Terminal 4, are due to open in 2018.
The new hotels will operate under a franchise agreement with IHG and will be managed by Arora Hotels, a division of The Arora Group. The joint venture is being granted a ground lease for the 1-hectare site.
Crowne Plaza London – Heathrow T4 will feature 300 guestrooms and a range of business and meeting facilities including five meeting rooms and two boardrooms. Meanwhile, the 450-room Holiday Inn Express London – Heathrow T4 will be a next generation Holiday Inn Express hotel, featuring the latest technology, an Express Café and Bar and larger, cosier beds.
The two hotels will be extremely well connected, located within walking distance from Heathrow’s terminals via an air bridge and with direct access to the London Underground, Heathrow Express train service and nearby motorways.
Robert Shepherd, Chief Development Officer, Europe, IHG said: “We’re delighted to be working with Surinder Arora and his team on another exciting development. Dual branded hotel developments are attractive for hotel investors because of the significant cost savings and operating efficiencies; and they give guests a choice of two great hotels in the one location depending on their needs. We’re confident this fantastic combination, coupled with the hotels’ great location will make these two hotels the number one choice for business and leisure guests travelling to and from London.”
Heathrow Airport is one of the world’s leading international airports, serving 75 million air passengers annually. Terminal 4 receives 10 million passengers per year, and is the base for Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways and the SkyTeam Airline Alliance, which counts Air France, Delta Airlines, KLM, Aeroflot and China Eastern Airlines amongst its members.
Surinder Arora, Founder and Chairman of The Arora Group said: “Following the success of the Sofitel at Terminal 5, this exciting scheme presents the second opportunity for us to work together with Heathrow Airport Limited to bring another best in class facility to Heathrow, this time in partnership with InterContinental Hotels Group. We are also delighted to have on board our other key partner, LJ Group with whom we share a common goal of launching an outstanding hotel as well as creating a long term investment opportunity.”
The construction division of The Arora Group, trading as Grove Developments will oversee the project and has already project managed the build of the 453 bedroom, luxury InterContinental London – The O2, due to open later this year and featuring one of Europe’s largest pillar free ballrooms. This scheme also includes The Arora Tower with 100 private residences and will be connected to the O2 Arena, the world’s most visited music venue with over 8.2 million visitors per annum.
