Leading independent serviced apartment operator Staying Cool has given Birmingham a massive vote of confidence by increasing its investment in the iconic Rotunda building, after relocating its headquarters to the city last year.
Staying Cool managing director Tracey Stephenson today announced that the company is opening a further seven apartments next month at the much-loved cylindrical tower, bringing the total from 19 to 26, including three penthouses.
The move demonstrates the company’s determination to be recognised as the top Birmingham-based serviced apartment operator and the first choice for business visitors and tourists with an eye for both style and value for money.
Tracey said: “Staying Cool recently celebrated its third anniversary of welcoming guests to our wonderful apartments at Rotunda. We consistently achieve outstanding occupancy levels and we felt the time was right to increase our presence in the city so that even more visitors can enjoy the Staying Cool experience.
“Birmingham is thriving as a destination for business visitors and tourists thanks to its fantastic range of conference and exhibition facilities, music and arts festivals, shopping malls such as the Bullring and other attractions. We’ve recognised that there’s a growing demand for first class, stylish serviced apartments and we have made the strategic decision to invest further to increase our presence at Rotunda.”
She added: “Despite consistently being a top rated hotel in Birmingham on Tripadvisor, few local people are aware of us, possibly because we are situated at the top of a 200ft high tower! However, we want to make sure that Birmingham people realise we are a local hotel company that they can be proud of.
“As we are investing heavily in the city, we hope that we can encourage even more local companies to support their local, five-star operator – in what is a quintessentially Birmingham building. Guests experience something that is unique to Birmingham, rather than something they can get in any other city centre almost anywhere in the world.”
The company has serviced apartments in Birmingham, Manchester and Barcelona. It received Birmingham’s first ever five star accommodation rating for its one and two bed and penthouse apartments on the top two floors of the landmark Rotunda.
Staying Cool opened in the much loved and iconic sixties cylindrical tower in May 2008 to rave reviews from guests and the media alike. The apartments were quality assessed by Visit Britain.
Creative director Paul Taylor said, “Our approach has always been to distinguish ourselves from the mass-market and the run-of-the-mill. We are fussy about the choice of development, the interior design, the brand of coffee – everything is picked with care and attention to detail, which is why we like Urban Splash developments. We really go to town creating a stylish and comfy home-from-home for our guests. We mix design classics, specially commissioned pieces and recycled or refurbished furniture; there is always an element of individuality in each of our apartments that we hope makes us stand out from the crowd.”
The refurbishment of the former 1960s office block was carried out by multi-award winning developers, Urban Splash, and Glenn Howells Architects.
Glenn Howells recently joined Staying Cool’s Advisory Board, joining Mr & Mrs Smith founder, James Lohan, Bespoke Hotels Chairman, Robin Sheppard and marketing expert, Sue Vanden.
“We are delighted that Staying Cool is expanding at Rotunda,” said Nathan Cornish, Urban Splash’s managing director for the West Midlands. “The Apart Hotel at the top sits perfectly with our design led approach and utilises these apartments beautifully. It adds something special to Birmingham’s tourism offer and visitors get to stay somewhere that is truly unique. From our perspective, it also gives potential purchasers a test drive should they be considering buying or letting.”
Rotunda is a very special development. It is much-loved locally and has been an integral part of the cityscape since the sixties. The apartments radiate from the natural curve of the building. Each has a wall of floor to ceiling glass with fully opening French windows, giving great views of Birmingham some 200ft up. Lucky penthouse guests get their own, large open air balcony on the top floor.
Design-wise the apartments – all named after Longbridge cars from the sixties – combine contemporary cool with swinging sixties style. Lounges feature specially commissioned stylish sofas by fab Brit furniture team, naughtone, in grey felt with bespoke coloured stitching, as well as Pierre Cardin’s colourful 1960s chairs.
Designer Lou Rota has produced Staying Cool versions of her Polymorph chair – an environmentally friendly rework of the Robin Day classic. Staying Cool also commissioned photographer Nick Smith to produce a series of sixties-inspired fashion photos that invoke the decade, to hang larger than life on the walls. Lighting is by Tom Dixon and Artemide. Guests enjoy free wifi, an Apple computer in each apartment, an iPod dock and Gaggia espresso maker with locally produced milk and Fairtrade freshly ground coffee. A range of organic breakfasts and drinks are available to order.