London's Trocadero to house 'pod' hotel
by Martin Nash | 12 Jan 2010
Westminster City Council has granted permission for the construction of a 'pod' style hotel as part of the redevelopment of the Trocadero tourist spot off London's Piccadilly Circus.
The development - by Criterion Capital - will see the creation of 495 en-suite rooms measuring between 12-17sq m (129-183sq ft) and occupying the second to the seventh floors of the Grade II-listed structure. The first and ground floors will house retail and entertainment facilities and the eighth is planned to be a bar and restaurant.
The hotel is being modelled on the capsule-style hotels popular in Japan and which are designed to make as much use as possible of available space in crowded city centres. Westminster Council's Planning and City Development Committee chair, Cllr Alastair Moss said: "The designs for this hotel are a good example that bigger does not equal better, and take into account that when people come to central London with its vast array of attractions and things to do they do not always need or want a large room.
"Most of the 200 million people who visit the West End every year would rather go out than stay in." Work on the project is scheduled to start this year, with completion in time for the London 2012 Olympics.
Westminster City Council has granted permission for the construction of a 'pod' style hotel as part of the redevelopment of the Trocadero tourist spot off London's Piccadilly Circus. The development - by Criterion Capital - will see the creation of 495 en-suite rooms measuring between 12-17sq m (129-183sq ft) and occupying the second to the seventh floors of the Grade II-listed structure. The first and ground floors will house retail
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