THE new Travelodge hotel in Hexham was officially opened this week.

The 69-bedroom hotel, at Hexham Gate Retail Park off Alemouth Road, has created 27 jobs.

On Monday (July 4), Travelodge Chief Operating Officer Claire Good was joined by Mayor of Hexham Derek Kennedy and other local councillors to officially open the new hotel, which is the first branded budget hotel to come to the town.

The new hotel, which is Travelodge's first new-build budget-luxe hotel in the north of England, is part of a £10m redevelopment of Hexham's former nuclear bunker site.

Esh Construction began work at the site, which had stood dormant since its days as a nuclear bunker in the 1980s, in February last year.

The hotel, which began accepting guests on June 13, joins McDonald's and Lidl at the retail park. A 250-space town car park is also due to open this month.

Hexham Courant: The new hotel began accepting guests in June.The new hotel began accepting guests in June.

Claire Good, Chief Operating Officer at Travelodge, said: "We were looking for the perfect location in Hexham, the gateway to Hadrian's Wall and to support the town's regeneration. 

"Hexham has traded really well, and has been full pretty much all of the time since we opened which is great for the local economy. Our research shows that our customers spend double their room rate with local businesses during the stay, which over time, can equate to a multi-million-pound economy boost."

She added: "I think what we're seeing now - post-Covid - is that staycations are probably here to stay.

"There are lots of people who probably had to stay in the UK and now have found that they really enjoyed it, and there are so many beautiful places like Hexham for people to come and explore, but obviously people are very cost-conscious as well, so it's working perfect for us as a budget operator to provide quality, low-cost accommodation. We're expecting a great summer."

Mayor of Hexham Derek Kennedy said: "Hexham and Tynedale have been in need of a good quality budget hotel chain for more than 20 years. It's wonderful that at last, we have that.

"This will be a massive boom for Hexham and the wider Tynedale."

Trevor Cessford, county councillor for Hexham Central with Acomb, added: "This is absolutely fantastic for Hexham."