Russells completes £4.6m Glasgow hotel project

Park Inn by Radisson opens its doors to high acclaim

A contemporary new Park Inn by Radisson has opened for business in a stunning Grade B-listed building in the heart of Glasgow city centre. And just days after its opening, the new business was named the Rising Star in the Scottish Hotel Awards.

Trafford-based Russells Construction handed over the newly renovated six-storey building on West George Street following a 12-month programme of works for Manchester-based developer Hotel Land and Development.

Relax in the bar at the Park Inn by Radisson Glasgow

The former Pearl Assurance building, originally designed by 19th century architect Robert Alexander Bryden, had been empty for eight years prior to the restoration. Russells worked closely with Historic Scotland to preserve heritage aspects of the building including the original cage lift, flooring and wall tiling. Externally the red ashlar stonework has been cleaned and the gold leaf detail painstakingly recreated.

The £4.6m project saw Russells provide a full turnkey service for Hotel Land and Development which commissioned the scheme on behalf of Radisson. Russells worked with architect practice 3D Reid, subcontractors and suppliers from across the region to deliver everything from construction works to decoration, bedding and crockery.

Gareth Russell, director of Russells Construction, said the project marked a new level of service from the contractor: “We came to the development with a strong background in bringing heritage buildings back into use and handling major schemes in tight city centre locations, but we also took on responsibility for delivering everything the client would need to open the doors to customers, right down to selecting the cutlery and training staff to use the computers and self check in system.

“Providing an end-to-end service is something many clients now expect from main contractors and having the capacity to take the project from working drawings through to cutting the ribbon will opens new doors for us. What we’ve learned on this project will be shared across the team and will benefit clients on new projects across all sectors.”

Russells trained staff on the self check in machines

The 91-bedroom hotel has a 60-cover restaurant, a bar, two meeting rooms, a gym and internet kiosk, and has created 40 new jobs. The ground floor of the building also houses two retail units one of which, La Tasca, remained open during the works.

Jonathan Conway, director of Hotel Land and Development, said: “We saw the potential of this development and it’s great to see those plans come to fruition, this is a fantastic building. We’re so pleased with the project and the job Russells Construction has done that we’ll be working with them on two more hotel projects which are set to start on site soon.”

Internally, the rooms have been finished in a pallet of red, white and dark grey, with teal and purple highlights. Interior design includes contemporary artwork form local artists, including a chandelier made from milk bottles.

In the very heart of the city centre, the hotel will cater for both the tourist and business sections of the visitor market. It opens just ahead of a busy period for Glasgow, with the opening of the new music arena The Hydro, and preparations well under way for the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

High quality interiors for the Grade B-listed building