Bournemouth is to get its first ibis Styles hotel.

Ambitious hotel group Nq2 has taken joint ownership of the Hotel Royale with Oceana Hotels in an equal venture.

A £2m refurbishment of the property, in Gervis Road, East Cliff, is shortly to get underway including full air conditioning throughout the hotel.

It will be rebranded as an ibis Styles once the refurbishment is completed, expected by Easter 2021.

The 65-bedroom Hotel Royale, pictured, is now operated by Nq2 Hospitality Limited on behalf of the new joint venture.

The deal, which completed on Christmas Eve, comes less than 12 months after Nq2 took ownership of the nearby Queens Hotel and Spa in Meyrick Road in another joint venture.

The re-styled Mercure Bournemouth Queens Hotel & Spa officially joined the Accor family, one of the world’s largest hospitality brands, in July after a £3.5m facelift.

ibis Styles is also an Accor brand.

Using the tagline ’unique hotels, creative by design’, each hotel has its own unique design, theme and personality.

Nq2 Director Toby Barnes-Taylor MBE said: “We’ve had our eyes on the Hotel Royale for quite some time.

“The location, size and proximity is perfect for us.

“We know Oceana Hotels well and they love what we’ve done here at the Mercure Bournemouth Queens Hotel.”

Janine Powell, Nq2’s Design Director, said the new ibis Styles would appeal to a younger demographic, reflected in the design.

“It will be very different from the Mercure Bournemouth Queens Hotel but also very distinctive,” she added.

Nq2 – which is named after a constellation in the galaxy – was incorporated in 2017.

The Bournemouth-based hotel group is planning to acquire up to a further eight properties over the coming four years in an arc including Southampton, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Winchester.

Toby, who served in the British Army for nearly 19 years leaving in 2011 with the rank of Major, said Bournemouth was undergoing a tourism renaissance.

He pointed to the STR, which provides premium data benchmarking, analytics and marketplace insights for global hospitality sectors.

This had shown Brighton and Bournemouth on level pegging in July and August with some of the UK’s highest room occupancy rates at up to 82 per cent while other locations, such as London, were down to as little as 20 per cent.

“Bournemouth is a highly desirable area with a lot of business coming into the area.

“We’ve had a very positive response with a lot of return business and we’re very confident about the future,” he said.

Janine, who first met Toby in 2011, said that while she joked that her ‘champagne’ designs were carried out on a ‘lemonade’ budget – albeit £800,000 in the case of the Mercure Bournemouth Queens Hotel – the pair worked very well together.

She said: “We specialise in seeing the potential of properties and bringing a ‘Wow’ factor to them.

“I have suppliers all over the world and can bring a totally individual look to our properties.

“This year has been a real challenge, and very stressful at times, but we’re very proud at what has been achieved and looking ahead with great optimism.”

Tim Seward, Chair, BH Area Hospitality Association, pictured right, said: “It’s great news – and another real vote of confidence in Bournemouth – that Nq2 is investing in a second hotel.

“These are challenging times but we share their optimism in the future of both the hotel sector and Bournemouth as a tourist destination.”