Hilton spends £20m turning restaurant and bar areas into airport style lounges
Hilton is spending £20m on a programme to convert the food and beverage areas at 16 of its UK hotels into airport style executive lounges in a bid to attract more corporate guests.
Known as The Space, the executive lounges appearing at the 16 Hilton-branded hotels owned by Igal Ahouvi and partners, will offer flexible and bookable meeting zones with wireless and bluetooth connectivity.
They will also serve a 'super foods' menu to help corporate guests boost their productivity during meetings.
The first Space to launch will be at Hilton Newbury North in March, which will become the first of its kind on the UK motorway network.
Simon Vincent, area president of Europe for Hilton Worldwide, said: “As hoteliers, our focus is on delivering exceptional guest experiences, and we are thrilled that Mr Ahouvi is helping us achieve that goal with this investment programme. It will radically improve the quality of the hotels, and in the new lounge concept, we’re demonstrating innovation aimed at enhancing that guest experience.”
The hotels
Work is expected to be completed on all 16 hotels by 2011, with the refurbishment of London Gatwick Airport's restaurant and lobby already finished.
The other Hilton hotels geared up for refurbishment, include Hilton London Gatwick Airport, Hilton London Olympia, Hilton Aberdeen, Hilton Dunkeld, Hilton Strathclyde, Hilton Basingstoke, Hilton Bristol, Hilton Bromsgrove, Hilton Coventry, Hilton Dartford, Hilton Newbury Centre, Hilton Newport, Hilton Southampton, Hilton Swindon and Hilton Edinburgh Airport.
