‘Village Urban Resort’ opens it’s doors at Crewe Toll

Free fitness open weekend 24 & 25 January

The ‘Village Urban Resort’ at Crewe Toll will finally fully open for business next week after lengthy delays. The hotel and leisure complex, built on the former Helix House site, was first expected to open in Spring last year.

Parts of the operation, including the gym and leisure complex, opened opened earlier this month and work is now complete on the hotel itself – bookings can be made from 19 January.

Original owners The De Vere Group sold off its Village Urban Resort hotel brand to an American private equity company last November. An affiliate of KSL Capital Partners acquired De Vere’s group of 25 UK hotels – and three under development in Edinburgh (Crewe Toll), Glasgow and Aberdeen – for a sum believed to be around £485m.

The Village Urban Resort boasts a wide range of top quality facilities:

‘Located in the heart of the capital city, our hotel in Edinburgh is perfectly situated for those looking to see everything that the city has to offer. After a long day of sightseeing, Village Edinburgh boasts some of the finest facilities in the city to help your relax and recharge including rejuvenating spa treatments at our Viva Urban Spa. Worked up an appetite? Why not grab a bite to eat at one of our in-house restaurants?’

Facilities include:

Premium ‘Upperdeck’ room upgrade
Beauty Spa
‘Hub’ meeting and events facilities
Sealy Posturepedic bed TV with satellite channel
Desk, lamp, telephone
Hairdryer and ironing board
Tea & coffee making facilities

The website goes on to say:

Our Edinburgh hotel has been designed to provide comforts akin to its magnificent surroundings. Attractions to suit the whole family are close by, from the thrilling attractions of Edinburgh Zoo and Deep Sea World, to the excitement of Murrayfield Rugby Stadium.

Free Fitness Open Weekend 24 & 25 January

Come along for free and see what Village Health & Fitness has to offer you. There’s a whole host of events for all the family featuring exercises from all around the globe. There’s a world of fitness out there and you can sample it for free at Village! Activities include: Themed studio master classes, family fun and face painting, sports supplements tasters, exclusive spa massage offer and unbelievable joining offers.

The last (village urban) resort for Helix House?

HelixHse — HELIX HOUSE has lain empty for eight years

Organisers expressed satisfaction at the levels of interest shown during two consultations exhibiting the De Vere Hotels group’s plans to build a new ‘Village Urban Resort’ at Crewe Toll. De Vere representatives displayed plans at Morrison’s on Ferry Road on Friday afternoon and again at the site of the proposed development on Saturday and said that the public reaction was ‘very positive’.

De Vere’s plans for the former World Markets WM Helix House building include a 120 bedroom hotel, a health and fitness club including a 20m indoor pool, a restaurant and bar and a Starbucks Coffee House – all under one roof. A customer and guest parking area for up to 270 vehicles is also included in the plans.

De Vere is likely to apply for planning permission next month and, if succesful, the Village Urban Resort would open in 2014.

Is a ‘Village Urban Resort’ a good thing for the area? Is Crewe Toll the right place? Would you use it? Let us know!

Have your say on Crewe Toll hotel proposals

Hotel group De Vere are offering local residents an opportunity to see plans and to comment on proposals for a new ‘village urban resort’ at Crewe Toll.

De Vere will be holding two public consultation events on the proposals in advance of submitting a formal planning application. These will be held at the Morrisons store on Pilton Drive from 1400 until 1800 on Friday 7 September and at Helix House itself between 1000 and 1300 on Saturday 8 September.

Last week, plans were unveiled for a new £20m hotel with business and leisure facilities on the site of the empty office building at Crewe Toll – which will create approximately 130 new jobs.

Earlier this year the De Vere Group unveiled plans to open 15 new Village Urban Resorts to add to the existing two dozen it successfully operates across the UK. The North Edinburgh proposal includes a 120 bedroom hotel, a health and fitness club (including a 20m indoor pool); business and conference facilities; a restaurant, bar; and a Starbucks Coffee House.

Robert Cook, Chief Executive of De Vere Village Urban Resorts said: “De Vere is delighted to announce the selection of Edinburgh as a location for a new Village Urban Resort. Edinburgh is a high priority location for us and we are very excited to be bringing this concept to the city.

“The selected site is prominently located in north Edinburgh – the redundant office building on site, Helix House, has been vacant for many years and is becoming something of an eyesore. Our new Edinburgh Village Urban Resort will be a positive landmark building in this prominent location.”

A customer and guest car parking area with 270 car parking spaces will also be included within the development.

Ian Kettlewell, Associate Director at national planning consultancy Nathaniel Lichfield & Partners, which is guiding the scheme through the planning process, said: “This exciting new development will regenerate an important and prominent site; removing a building which has been vacant for a number of years. The new Village Urban Resort will create 120 new jobs, which will be accessible to local residents, offering significant training opportunities and provide a boost to the local economy, as well as further jobs during the construction phase. This development will not just provide a hotel for visitors to Edinburgh, De Vere Village Urban Resorts are high quality, attractive leisure destinations for business users, leisure travellers and the local community.”

The site is located on a major route in north Edinburgh with good linkages to Leith and the city centre and as such the urban resort will benefit from excellent transport links by public transport, car, cycle and on foot.

Areas of public realm comprising high quality hard and soft landscaping will be provided, along with clearly-demarcated pedestrian walkways to ensure safe and easy movement onto, and throughout, the development.

Should planning permission be granted, it is anticipated that construction would start next year with the new De Vere Village Urban Resort opening to the public in 2014.

Those pre-planning application public consultation details again: Morrisons store on Pilton Drive from 2 – 6pm this Friday (7 September) and at Helix House itself between 10am and 1pm on Saturday (8 September).

De Vere are keen to raise awareness of its plans and provide an opportunity for public comments.