VIDEO | GMI completes Keswick Premier Inn 

A 71-bedroom hotel on the site of the former Ravensfield care home is the operator’s sixth in Cumbria. 

GMI Construction has completed the 28,000 sq ft Premier Inn, having been appointed on the £8m job for the hotel brand’s parent company Whitbread, and development partner Premcor. 

Whitbread had a long-standing requirement for a hotel in Keswick and the completion of the High Hill venue adds to sites in Cockermouth, Kendal, Penrith, Whitehaven, and Ulverston. 

Premier Inn estimates the Keswick hotel, which opened this week, will host 30,000 overnight stays a year.

In addition, the operator expects the hotel to generate around £1.8m a year in additional visitor spend in the area. 

Marc Banks, GMI’s North West divisional managing director, said: “This is a quality development that has been delivered to Premcor and Whitbread’s exacting standards and is designed to be very much in keeping with the local area. 

“It’s certainly one of the most scenic locations that we’ve ever built a hotel and we trust it will make a significant contribution to the local economy over the coming years.” 

Designed by The Harris Partnership, the Keswick project forms part of a £20m, three-pronged development push in and close to UK national parks by Whitbread, as the business looks to increase leisure stays at a time of significantly reduced business travel. 

The other two locations are in Porthmadog, on the edge of the Snowdonia national park area, and in St David’s, Pembrokeshire, both of which have full consent. 

Premcor, headed by ex-Urban & Civic directors Rob Lane and Simon Hawkins, is also behind plans for a large Premier Inn hotel on Manchester’s Rochdale Road.