THE construction and fit-out of Sandown's Premier Inn is complete — and the hotel will open in November.

The new Premier Inn hotel and Cookhouse and Pub restaurant is in prime position on Sandown Esplanade, with 100 bedrooms.

The chain hopes to employ 60 local people to work at the site, and will soon be recruiting.

Geoff Cook, senior project and programme manager for Whitbread Property, explained: "Principal contractor Carter Lauren has done an excellent job of constructing an attractive new hotel and restaurant building that will bring vibrancy and footfall to Sandown Esplanade year-round.

"The task of opening is considerable in normal times. Working in a different way under Covid-19 restrictions means the task takes longer as the team works to open the hotel in a socially distanced and safe way.

"We will also be opening the hotel with Premier Inn’s enhanced hygiene promise, Premier Inn CleanProtect, in place to help guests stay with confidence.

"Considering these new ways of working, we plan to hold off opening until the end of November. The new hotel and restaurant building will be made secure and managed by an on-site security team until then.

"Over the past few weeks, many people have written to me enquiring about the new jobs on offer. We expect to employ approximately 60 people at the busiest times of the year and are especially keen on attracting Sandown residents, and those out of education, employment or training, to join us.

"We recruit new site teams through local branches of the Job Centre Plus and via whitbreadcareers.com. I expect job vacancies will start to be advertised through those channels in October."