A 119-bed hotel at the main entrance to the 750-acre Trentham Estate, north Staffordshire, has been handed over to Whitbread for final fitting-out as a Premier Inn Hotel and is scheduled to open before Easter.

The £10 million hotel has been developed by Trentham Leisure, a joint venture between St Modwen Properties and Willi Reitz, the German wine and leisure entrepreneur.

Mike Herbert, regional director for St Modwen, said: "The hotel is a new facility for the Trentham Estate to cater for the everincreasing number of visitors. It is also a major boost for the north Staffordshire leisure offer which has a shortage of quality mid-range hotel accommodation.

"The new building has been designed as a modern building, but reflecting the historic characteristics of the architecture at Trentham.

"It rises from two storeys facing the main entrance to the estate, to four storeys as the building is angled around the 18th century bowling green which has been retained as a feature of the development."

The hotel, which includes a restaurant and meeting rooms, was to have been a Tulip Inn hotel but following last year's takeover of the Golden Tulip group by Whitbread it will now form part of the Premier Inn Hotel chain.

The hotel is part of the northern section of the Trentham Estate, which includes the Trentham Garden Centre, the Shopping Village and restored Grade ll listed Italian Gardens.