by Rachel Cranshaw, The Daily Telegraph, February 1, 2017
The Yotel group has announced it is to open a new outpost of its capsule-style hotels in London's Clerkenwell next year.
This will be the first European city-centre hotel for the group, which opened its first ever Yotel in the UK, at Gatwick and Heathrow airports respectively in 2007.
Yotels have since opened at Amsterdam Schiphol and Paris Charles de Gaulle, but the only other city-centre property is in Times Square, New York City, which opened in 2011.
The signature white and silver cabins, dimly illuminated by a purple glow, at Yotel Gatwick Airport
Expansion of the chain is rapidly underway, with confirmed new openings for Singapore, San Francisco, Boston, Miami, Brooklyn and Dubai.
Yotel, which is owned by the same group as Yo! Sushi, is also looking to expand elsewhere in the UK, specifically Manchester, Edinburgh and Glasgow .
Yotel Clerkenwell, which is due to open in late 2018, will feature 212 rooms offering more space and facilities than the group's airport properties, including larger bathrooms, enhanced luggage storage, and windows on the outside world.
The hotel will also have a gym, bar, restaurant, and a guest lounge.
Aesthetically, the hotel will broadly continue the Space Age-esque theme of the existing properties, with a liberal use of white and silver, dimly illuminated in a purple glow.
Yotel Clerkenwell's neighbours include Zetter Townhouse and the area is a popular destination for both business and leisure guests. Clerkenwell is also set to get a boost in 2018 with the opening of Crossrail at nearby Farringdon.
"London has always been at the heart of Yotel and we've always wanted to open a city-centre property there," said Hubert Viriot, CEO of the Yotel group. "It's the most global city in the world," he added.
This article was written by Rachel Cranshaw from The Daily Telegraph and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.