Icon Hotel Luton

Trusted for 10 years

The Icon Hotel, near Luton Airport, was formerly two vacant offices purchased in August 2008 for the sum of £1.325m. The prominent buildings built in 1973, formally housed London Zurich PLC and the Luton Chanmber of Commerce. Totally refurbished from the two office blocks to form a single hotel of some 20,000 sq ft, it was built in 4 main stages. The building is owned by CEO’s Franco and Lefi Anacreonte.Phases 1 (lobby, bar & restaurant) and 2 (31 bedrooms in the 5-wing block) were completed prior to November 2009. Part 3 (a further 29 bedrooms, gymnasium and conference facilities for approx 100 delegates) was completed in March 2010. The final stage is a 2,000 sq. ft. glass ‘Sky Line’ room that will offer panoramic views over the roof tops of all of Luton and neighbouring towns. Planning permission has been granted and it is our intention to complete this stage by the end of 2013.The Icon Hotel featured on Channel 4 in late October 2009 (this programe can be viewed via the official Channel 4 website) and in just 24 hours the Icon Hotel website received 29,000 hits.The restaurant, Cappello’s, opened on 27th November 2009 and 31 of the 60 bedrooms were released just 4 days later on December 1st. On the 29th December 2009 the Icon Hotel received its first review on Trip Advisor titled “Greats that’s it” with the reviewer referring to the stay that the “Room was amazing, its so nice to stay somewhere people have a taste of design that is functional”. One of Cappello’s partners is Luton Town Football Club and on 15th December 2009 staged a function for 120 guests with great success. January 2010 saw the Club holding small conferences and booking further accommodation including new signings and loan players.In August 2010 the Icon Hotel opened a further 24 bedrooms for sale which increased the number of rooms available to 55. In December 2010 Cappello’s held a 5 week Christmas events calendar which attracted over 1,000 visitors to the hotel for a variety of lunches, dinners and parties. In March 2011 the hotel was booked out but a large multinational company for 1 week. In time for staging this event, the Icon Hotel completed the development of a further 4 bedrooms, the on site gym and Iconference suite. The event was hailed a success and the company returned in February 2012. In April 2011 Cappello’s opened the terrace with the aim of it being a relaxing environment to enjoy light lunches and cocktails. The year 2011 was a successful year for the Icon Hotel and Cappello’s Restaurant which saw over 12,000 bedroom nights sold and a further 1,000 visitors for the 2011 Christmas calendar of events. September 2011 saw the release of the 60th bedroom.On the 30th May 2012 the Icon Hotel announced that it has received a Trip Advisor® Certificate of Excellence award 2012. The accolade, which honours hospitality excellence, is given only to establishments that consistently achieve outstanding traveller reviews on Trip Advisor, and is extended to qualifying businesses worldwide. Approximately only 10% of accommodation establishments listed on Trip Advisor receive this prestigious award. To qualify for the Certificate of Excellence, businesses must maintain an overall rating of four or higher, out of a possible five, as reviewed by travellers on Trip Advisor. Additional criteria include the volume of reviews received within the last 12 months.Perhaps just as significantly, the month of May also saw the Icon Hotel individually selected by the AA to feature in its publication ‘Britain’s Best Hotel’s 2012 – Perfect Places to Stay’ after receiving a massive 81% during an AA overnight mystery shopper inspection. The inspector referred to this score as being the highest in the local area. Cappello’s Restaurant also achieved a 5 star rating from the food standards agency during the unannounced inspection.