AN enormous hotel, which will have a total of 327 bedrooms, is coming to the North-East as work is set to begin within the next few weeks.

The Accor group is set to open its Novotel and ibis brands under one roof on Gateshead's Quayside by 2024.

Gateshead Council has welcomed confirmation of the region's first "dual brand hotel," describing it as a "completely new offer" to the area.

The Northern Echo: The Novotel section with the ibis area pictured to the leftThe Novotel section with the ibis area pictured to the left

The Novotel part of the site is set to feature 187 premium bedrooms, offering customers a gym, a restaurant with views of Newcastle, and a raft of conference facilities.

The hotel group said this part of the site will provide customers with an "elegant and modern" venue, saying it will have state-of-the-art amenities not seen across its existing sites.

The Northern Echo: The planned lobby at the Novotel part of the Gateshead siteThe planned lobby at the Novotel part of the Gateshead site

Meanwhile, the budget variant of the brand, ibis is set to feature 140 bedrooms, which will be split over a connected 14-storey building.

Accor said this part of the site will be aimed at providing accommodation to corporate, leisure and family customers at budget prices.

The Northern Echo: What the new ibis offering will look like What the new ibis offering will look like

Part of the new £260m NewcastleGateshead Quays regeneration scheme, the mega hotel is set to join the likes of the already approved Gateshead Arena.

Sir Robert McAlpine has been appointed to deliver the new scheme, including the arena, with construction expected to start in Spring for an anticipated opening in 2024.

Philip Lassman, VP Development at Accor Northern Europe, said: “This is an excellent opportunity for Accor to be part of an area which has such strong character and identity.

"Gateshead Quays has undergone a huge transformation in the last fifteen years and is now considered a thriving cultural destination with over one million visitors a year, making it an exciting regeneration scheme to be part of.

“Our dual branded hotel is a fantastic prospect for Gateshead and Newcastle."

Confirming this is the first of its kind for the North-East, Mr Lassman said the new site will bring a "significant" amount of investment and jobs to the area.

He said: "It will be the first ibis branded hotel in the area and this will be just our second new-look Novotel concept hotel in the UK.

"The new development will not only be a feat in terms of creating a cohesion to the whole quayside location but it will also bring a significant amount of new investment to the area including job creation.

"We are working closely with Ask:PATRIZIA and Gateshead Council to deliver a high quality development which will bring significant economic benefit, providing domestic and international visitors with a superb city centre location.

"By bringing both the Novotel and ibis brands to the city we are catering for anyone visiting the area, no matter what their budget.”

The hotel will be built adjacent to the new 12,500 capacity international Arena, Conference and Exhibition Centre which was approved by Gateshead Council last year.

It is thought the NewcastleGateshead scheme will create around 2,000 new jobs, attracting more than 338,000 extra visitors.

Sheena Ramsey, Chief Executive of Gateshead Council, said: "This is another major milestone met for the Quays project.

"We're pleased to have secured Accor's Novotel and Ibis brands for the complex bringing a completely new offer to NewcastleGateshead, this will be the first dual brand hotel in the region with a physical link between the hotels and the conference centre for major events."