The Renaissance Hotel, formerly operated by Marriott, in Reading is to undergo a multi-million pound refurbishment as part of its re-branding as the first UK pentahotel.

The Germany-based brand has been created by the property's owner HPI Holdings, which decided to rebrand the hotel when Marriott's management contract expired.

As part of the refurbishment, which will take place in the next couple of months, the six-floor hotel will acquire 12 more bedrooms, bringing its number of rooms to 206, as well as a new reception and lounge area. The property will also have its 220-capacity conference facilities, bar and restaurant refurbished.

The project has been designed by architect Matheo Thun, who also created the interiors to the 13 other pentahotels in Germany.

A spokesperson for Holdings said: "As the principle commercial hub of the Thames Valley, Reading continues to grow and attract international blue chip investment.  It is already home to Verizon Business, Cisco, Microsoft, Oracle, Prudential, Yell and ING as well as the Chatham Place development, which will transform the west of the town centre with a mixture of retail, offices and public and private housing.“

Philip Cox, general manager of pentahotel in Reading, said: "Our plan is to create a unique destination venue with pentahotels. The local corporate market remains the bread and butter of hoteliers in Reading, however, we believe that after a day of sitting in meetings, corporate clients don’t want a hotel that looks like another boardroom.”