Major new Trafalgar Square hotel offering spectacular views across London reaches construction milestone
- 691-room hub by Premier Inn Trafalgar Sq. will be one of Central London’s largest hotels
- More than 285,000 guests are expected to stay every year contributing an additional £30 million a year in external visitor expenditure to London’s economy1
- More than 100 jobs will be created on opening, with recruitment focused within Westminster and other Central London boroughs
Value-conscious travellers will soon be able to look Lord Nelson in the eye by staying at a major new hotel that will soon be opening just metres from Trafalgar Square.
Offering 691 guest bedrooms, hub by Premier Inn Trafalgar Square is set to be one of London’s largest hotels when it opens in 2028, providing a new high quality and excellent value option for leisure explorers and business travellers in the heart of Central London.
The hotel is being built by Whitbread PLC, the owner of Premier Inn which is the UK’s number one hotel brand. The development is part of its strategy to grow the popular hub by Premier Inn brand in the heart of the capital and other great British cities.
Rising to thirteen stories, the Trafalgar Square hub by Premier Inn will offer stunning previously unseen bedroom views of Buckingham Palace, the West End, South Bank and St James’s, and put guests within easy reach of the world class culture, entertainment and attractions of Central London.
Whitbread anticipates the new hub hotel will attract more than 285,000 guests every year when it matures, with independent economic research estimating these visitors will contribute £30m in external visitor expenditure to the London economy every year.
More than 100 team members will also be recruited to run the hotel, with Whitbread focusing recruitment for these permanent opportunities within Westminster and neighbouring central and inner London boroughs.
Speaking at an event to mark the mid-point of constructing the new hotel, Mark Anderson, Whitbread’s Managing Director for Property & International, said:
“This hotel is set to be a high-returning investment for Whitbread and demonstrates our confidence in London and our ambition to grow hub by Premier Inn in the capital.
“Trafalgar Square is exactly the kind of location where we want to invest: right in the heart of the city and where our customers want to be. It is sure to be a very popular choice for our city loving hub by Premier Inn guests.
“Reaching this milestone is an exciting moment for everyone involved in the project. When we open, we’ll be bringing a high-quality, affordable hotel to one of London’s most iconic locations, and I’m confident it will become one of the standout hotels in our growing and popular network.”
Whitbread launched its hub by Premier Inn chain of hotels on St Martin’s Lane in Covent Garden – a few hundred metres from the new Trafalgar Square hotel – in 2014. The brand now offers sixteen locations across the Central and Inner London and three hotels in Edinburgh.
Designed for travellers who want to maximise their time in the city, hub by Premier Inn is a compact, design-led urban hotel proposition built around prime city locations, efficient use of space and a technology-enabled guest experience.
Talking to Whitbread’s development team at the topping out event, Howard Dawber OBE, Deputy Mayor of London for Business and Growth, said:
“London is one of the world’s leading destinations for business and leisure, with our hotels, restaurants and attractions central to the capital’s success. The new hub by Premier Inn at Trafalgar Square will create jobs and boost visitor spending, supporting businesses across the West End and strengthening its appeal to visitors from around the world.”
Inspired by the grand heritage buildings on the Strand, the Axiom Architects design of the Trafalgar Square hub hotel includes double vaulted ground floor arches and elegant sections of Portland stone and bronze effect finishes. Improved public spaces will be delivered as part of the development.
A large guest ‘Lounge’ will occupy the ground floor facing onto the Strand with hub by Premier Inn’s Standard, Upgrade and Universally Accessible bedrooms located throughout the hotel.
When it opens, the Trafalgar Square hub hotel will be the second largest hotel in Whitbread’s national network of 842 UK hotels reflecting Whitbread’s confidence in the long-term appeal of Central London as a year-round destination for leisure and business travellers.
Ruth Durston OBE, OC for London Heritage Quarter, added
“More than 40 million people pass through the Charing Cross area every year, drawn by its exceptional transport connections, world-class cultural institutions, public spaces and thriving and diverse business community.
“The new hub by Premier Inn will add to this brilliant offer, bringing more visitors into the area and creating valuable long-term employment opportunities for Westminster and other local residents.
“Seeing the building reach this delivery milestone really brings the investment to life, and we’re excited to see the hotel open and become part of this unique area of London.”
Whitbread is building the Trafalgar Square hotel on a formerly vacant development site it acquired in summer 2022, with building work, including demolition, starting shortly after. The company appointed principal contractor Gilbert-Ash to lead the construction.
Around 60 guests gathered on 4th November at the “topping out” event marking the completion of the 16,000 sq m hotel’s superstructure, including representatives from the project team, residents and businesses, alongside senior Westminster City councillors.
In line with Whitbread’s commitment to reducing its direct Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions to zero by 2040, hub by Premier Inn Trafalgar Square will be powered by electricity generated from low-carbon sources.
Notes to editors
- Turley Economics were commissioned to undertake an economic impact study of the hub by Premier Inn Trafalgar Square hotel. The assessment drew on primary data from Whitbread including 2026 guest spending data.
- Data from STR ranks the Trafalgar Square hub as the second largest Economy hotel in Central London when it opens in 2028.
- Images of the Topping Out event are credited to Chris Dalton Photography
