Four new recruits have joined Manchester’s first dual-branded hotel as its opening date edges closer.
Christian Bendixen, Martin Sromek, Nathaniel Farrell and Paul Davies are all now on the payroll at the 19-storey Crowne Plaza and Staybridge Suites which will open to the public in early 2018.
The building, containing 328-rooms, sits on Manchester’s bustling Oxford Road Corridor and is the city’s first ‘double pack’ concept hotel or ‘double decker’.
Paul Davies has become Operations Manager of Staybridge Suites after joining from iQ Student Accommodation.
Before that Paul spent three years in two IHG sister properties, the first year as Guest Relations Manager of the Crowne Plaza Manchester city centre and then two years as Hotel Manager of the Holiday Inn Express Manchester City Centre Arena.
Nathaniel Farrel, who has spent four years as a chef in Copenhagen, is now Executive Head Chef at the dual-branded hotel and links up with the team following a spell at Mercure Manchester Piccadilly Hotel. Prior to this he was Executive Head Chef at the Abode Chester and Executive Sous Chef at Hilton Manchester Deansgate.
Joining the Crowne Plaza as Food & Beverage Operations Manager from Holiday Inn Manchester City Centre is Martin Sromek, where he was Operations Manager. He previously worked at Grill on the Alley and Mercure Manchester Piccadilly.
Christian Bendixen, from Denmark, has been named Rooms Operations Manager at the Crowne Plaza. He worked at Hilton Manchester Deansgate most recently and also enjoyed spells at the Radisson BLU Hotel Sea Plaza Dakar, Senegal and Radisson BLU Scandinavia Hotel Aarhus, Denmark.
General Manager of Manchester’s first dual-branded hotel Andrew Fletcher said: “We very much believe we’ve made four fantastic appointments.
“With the opening of the first dual-branded hotel under one roof in the north of England now imminent, we feel we are building a talented team that has solid foundations and a strong can-do attitude that will look after our guests well.”
While the Crowne Plaza will contain 212-rooms over 11 floors, a 120-cover upscale restaurant, seven meeting rooms catering for over 200 delegates and a gym. Staybridge will have 116-rooms on the eight floors directly above and offer a warm, social and home-like environment through a mix of studio and one-bedroom suites.
The dual-branded Crowne Plaza and Staybridge Suites – not something that has been offered to people staying in Manchester before – is situated on The Oxford Road Corridor, an innovation district running south from Manchester city centre that is home to 70,000 students and a workforce of 60,000 people.
