Gloucester City Council signs landmark deal to bring Hotel Indigo to Gloucester

Gloucester City Council has signed a deal with IHG Hotels & Resorts for a 131-bedroom Hotel Indigo at The Forum development in the heart of the city centre.

The deal sees the city welcome its first international upscale hotel brand as an anchor occupier in the £107 million project, which is being developed by the council in partnership with Reef Group.

The Forum is part of an ambitious programme of regeneration underway in the city centre and a central part of the council’s King’s Quarter regeneration, which will deliver two acres of pedestrianised public space.

This includes the £5 million transformation of King’s Square, which was officially launched in April 2022.

The Hotel Indigo brand, part of IHG Hotels & Resorts, has hotels in cities all over the world including London, Berlin, New York, Hong Kong and now Gloucester.

Each Hotel Indigo is unique and aims to celebrate the local neighbourhood, telling the stories of its people and traditions, as well as featuring work by home-grown artists and serving locally sourced ingredients in its food.

Hotel Indigo Gloucester will offer a restaurant, conferencing facilities and glamorous roof top cocktail bar, as well as access to The Forum’s state-of-the-art digital innovation hub, 9,000 sq ft gym and car park.

On the ground floor there will be another restaurant while the hotel will also feature stylish spa-inspired bathrooms with all internal rooms boasting views onto a bespoke private courtyard.

The fashionable new hotel will sit alongside 135,000 sq. ft. of Grade A office space currently under construction by Kier Construction and will be due for completion in summer 2024.

Councillor Richard Cook, leader of Gloucester City Council, said: “The deal with IHG Hotels & Resorts is of huge significance for Gloucester because it marks the arrival of the city’s first upscale hotel brand. By taking space at The Forum, this international hotel group is signalling its confidence in The Forum and in Gloucester’s future as a destination for business and leisure visitors.”

Esther Croft, development director at Reef Group, said: “This signing demonstrates the transformative potential of The Forum. The arrival of the city’s first upscale, branded hotel will unlock further regeneration opportunities in the city, for example, large conferences and top-level rugby events. Gloucester will finally be able to offer the world-class accommodation these high-profile events demand.

“We are hugely excited to partner with IHG Hotels & Resorts and put our city on the map, providing one of the most digitally connected and cyber-secure developments in the country right here in Gloucester as this visionary project continues to unfold.”

Mrs Willemijn Geels, VP Development Europe, IHG Hotels & Resorts said: “I’m really excited to be partnering with Gloucester City Council to bring Hotel Indigo to Gloucester. As one of IHG’s luxury & lifestyle brands, Hotel Indigo is continuing to grow in popularity and set to double its global presence in the coming years. As a brand focused on celebrating the uniqueness of a local neighbourhood, I am confident Hotel Indigo Gloucester will be a great addition to the city.”