BLOC Hotels are a UK based

hotel chain A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

. It is noted for the innovative design of its hotel rooms, which are constructed offsite, and then installed in a hotel. The concept was created after BLOC's founders studied

capsule hotel Capsule hotel ( ja, カプセルホテル, kapuseru hoteru), also known in the Western world as a pod hotel, is a type of hotel developed in Japan that features many small bed-sized rooms known as capsules. Capsule hotels provide cheap, basic o ...

s, which are commonly located in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. The hotel chain has properties based in

Gatwick Airport Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after H ...

and

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, with plans for several additions.

Overview and design

BLOC Hotel - Caroline Street - Jewellery Quarter (crop)

The concept is inspired by

ese

s, which focus on creating rooms for guests in small places. The construction technique was implemented by BoxBuild a UK based construction company. Their method of implementation of the hotel was to manufacture each room individually offsite, and then stack the rooms in situ so the hotel exterior could be built around them. The group's approach is to cut costs through effective usage of space while offering good design, quality and style. BLOC Hotels focuses on the sleep and shower experiences of its clients avoiding unnecessary elements, such as the wardrobe. The company's intention is to open its hotels in places where space is at a premium, and where local infrastructure and facilities are good. The company opened its first hotel in the

Jewellery Quarter The Jewellery Quarter is an area of central Birmingham, UK, in the north-western area of Birmingham City Centre, with a population of around 19,000 people in a area. The Jewellery Quarter is Europe's largest concentration of businesses invol ...

. of

in 2011. According to the company the hotel was planned and built in 25 weeks, with the construction of the core structure finished in just 8 days. It has 73 rooms. An extension to the hotel was opened in October 2016 consisting of 35 Apartment style hotel suites. In 2012, the group announced that it would be opening a second hotel, located at the

. Rob Morgan, managing director of the BLOC Hotels, was reported to secure £7 million funding package from NatWest to start construction of the hotel. According to Morgan, the Gatwick hotel would be owned under 99-years lease from the airport. The hotel is in a renovated office block, having four floors, built above (rather than inside) the terminal. It has 245 rooms with most having external windows and opened in April 2014. Guests can control room settings from an app. In September 2016 Birmingham City Council unanimously approved plans for BLOC Grand Central a 270 ft hotel tower to be located opposite Birmingham's Grand Central Station. Construction is due to start in 2017 and will be BLOC Hotels second property in the city.

References

External links

Official website
* {{commonscat-inline, BLOC Hotels Hotel chains in the United Kingdom