Veriu opens at Sydney’s Green Square

Leading innovator in the apartment hotel and micro-apartment space, Veriu launched its new, state-of-the-art hotel yesterday, in Sydney’s newest urban town centre – Green Square.

The launch marks another welcome addition to the rapidly evolving Green Square precinct, and is Veriu’s fifth property in Australia, joining a stylish collection of boutique and loft-inspired hotels & suites in Camperdown, Broadway, Randwick and Central Sydney.

With Veriu leading the charge in micro-apartment innovation, CEO Zed Sanjana is delighted to offer guests another exceptional property, this time drawing inspiration from a new and vibrant district.

“We’re really excited to be launching another unique micro apartment hotel, our fifth in the Sydney market, in one of the inner city’s most strategically important industrial and office precincts, at the convergence of Alexandria, Rosebery, Zetland, Beaconsfield and Waterloo. The opening of Veriu Green Square strengthens our footing into the micro-apartment hotel space; using clever and innovative design, our apartments can offer our guests great versatility with spaces for sleeping, sitting, a kitchenette and shelving for storage, surpassing the traditional hotel room in terms of flexibility and making it the perfect accommodation option for our core target, the short and long stay corporate traveller. Green Square is a fast-emerging precinct, where we know this hotel will satisfy the growing demand of corporate and leisure travellers searching for boutique, design-driven, flexible accommodation in a location not currently well supplied in terms of hotels and serviced apartments.”

The Veriu Hotels & Suites brand is set to grow exponentially in the next three years, with Veriu announcing its plans for interstate expansion earlier this year. Veriu will launch into Victoria from 2022 with two projects in Melbourne – the first, Veriu Collingwood, in partnership with Gurner TM, followed by Veriu Queen Victoria Market with Melbourne-based developer PDG Corporation. Together, the two Victorian additions will increase the portfolio to about 600 rooms and apartments operating or in development under the Veriu Brand.

Guests staying at Veriu Green Square will have access to the full suite of top-notch offerings and amenities for which the brand has become increasingly synonymous, delivered with its signature quality and innovative style. As with Veriu’s other 4 properties, the hotel features cleverly configured and contemporary spaces, ranging from sophisticated Hotel Suites (including Accessible Hotel Suites for those with limited mobility) to Studio Micro-Apartments perfectly ‘suited and booted’ for longer stay solo travellers, to Family Micro-Apartments designed to sleep four people comfortably.

Veriu Green Square’s appeal is not just confined to the hotel’s accommodation offering. On-site Italian restaurant, Freddie Green’s, is shaping up to become the destination for big flavour Italian dishes made with fresh, locally sourced produce. With a menu designed by one of Sydney’s most respected chefs, James Metcalfe of JRM Hospitality, Freddie Green’s will provide both Veriu’s guests and local residents with a little taste of Italy right on their doorstep.

The new 144-room hotel is built on the original Australian store site of luxury auto trader, Mercedes-Benz, close to the heart of the new town centre. The hotel was designed by award winning architect, Ashkan Mostaghim, inspired by the history of the site, with various elements paying tribute to the luxury car brand and its products.

Boasting a 6 Star Green Star Communities rating from the Green Building Council of Australia, the newly minted suburb of Green Square is expected to undergo rapid expansion in the next few years, with the City of Sydney committing $540 million over the next decade to create world-class community facilities including an innovative new library and plaza, an aquatic centre, a creative hub and more.

Ideally located just two train stops from Sydney Domestic Airport Station, Veriu Green Square also offers direct access to Sydney CBD, only minutes away. With rooms and suites designed to allow guests to ‘live smarter’, not to mention a uniquely cool reception ‘desk’, lobby lounge bar, on-site gym, dedicated workspaces and conference room, the hotel is expected to appeal to both business and leisure travellers looking to settle in Veriu’s latest neighbourhood hotel.

Bookings for Veriu Green Square are now open. To book, visit www.veriu.com.au/greensquare.

Veriu Broadway - Sydney's newest hotel

Sydney’s newest hotel brand – Veriu Hotels– was officially launched last night at the group’s newly opened hotel, Veriu Broadway. Veriu owners, Rhys Williams and Alex Thorpe, highlighted the group’s commitment to providing guests with the opportunity to feel genuinely connected to their city as they prepare to open a number of hotels across Sydney’s inner city precincts.

“The vision for Veriu started way before any bricks and mortar were laid - It started with an idea to create a hotel brand committed to providing guests with an authentic experience of a local urban precinct that we felt passionate about and we wanted to do it in a way that a big hotel brand simply can’t,” said Rhys Williams.

“Living local is very much part of the brand’s DNA and we have incorporated elements into the guest experience to ensure they have every opportunity to experience Sydney’s diverse locations. When we consider giving a visitor the keys to our city we get very excited about putting them in places that we know will deliver.”

Veriu Broadway guests have an array of experiences on offer – all easily explored using the complimentary Dutch style retro bicycles from Sydney brand Lekker bikes (available at all Veriu hotels). From eating dumplings in Spice Alley, to enjoying fine dining at the Tramsheds or taking a walk around Darling Harbour. Active guests can swim at Ian Thorpe Aquatic Centre or gourmets can stock up on fresh local produce at the Fish Markets and prepare a feast in their self-contained apartment.

To further enhance the guest’s connection to the city, Veriu have also tapped guests into their network of hotels in the city through their unique concept called ‘Veriu Connect.’

“Veriu Connect gives any of our guests the opportunity to explore the rest of Sydney by visiting any hotel in our network. They simply show their room key and they will be welcomed by our trained area guide with a drink and given a variety of tips of the best places to eat, drink and explore.”

By the end of 2019 Veriu will have hotels in Camperdown, Randwick, Broadway, Central, Surry Hills, Elizabeth Bay and Green Square, bringing the city to life for any guest with the desire to explore a local area. Using Veriu Connect, a guest can drop into a different Veriu hotel on every day of the week for an entire week and have a totally unique local experience each day.

Complementing the ‘living local’ guest experience and ‘Veriu Connect’, Veriu hotels passionately support the local community, showcasing works from local Sydney and Australian artists in keeping with the surrounding location, and sourcing food and beverage items from locally based suppliers. Furnishings and décor are also produced to create a bespoke environment with no hotel room the same and each hotel reflecting the history of the building and surrounding suburb.

Veriu Broadway’s conversion from the former leather factory warehouse combines both industrial and contemporary style. Rooms on the first three floors have exposed beam high ceilings and polished concrete floors while rooms on higher levels offer fresh modern décor and amazing views of the CBD. Sydney based artist Simon Lovelace has provided art pieces for rooms reminiscent of Ultimo and vintage Sydney streets, while Melbourne based stencil art aficionado Logan Moody has provided the stunning mural in the foyer. A custom made zinc roof –the largest of this style dome in Australia – completes the hotel’s unique look.

Coinciding with the Veriu Broadway opening was the rebrand of two properties - Veriu Camperdown and Veriu Randwick - following extensive refurbishments to bring them up to Veriu standard. More hotels are scheduled to open near Sydney’s Central Station, Surry Hills and Elizabeth Bay over the next year and at Green Square in 2019 in partnership with property fund managers, Folkestone.

Visit www.veriu.com.au for further information about Sydney’s newest hotel brand.

Sydney's newest hotel brand – Veriu Hotels & Suites

Veriu Broadway to open in April 2017

Sydney is set to welcome a new hotel brand – Veriu Hotels & Suites – with the opening of a 64-room serviced apartment hotel, Veriu Broadway, in April 2017.  The hotel is part of a pipeline of five hotels set to open under the Veriu brand by the end of 2018.

Veriu Broadway is an $18 million conversion of a former warehouse space offering self-contained studios, each over 40 square metres, and one and two bedroom split level apartments.  Ideally located close to the International Convention Centre, the hotel will provide 24-hour reception with staff trained as local area guides plus on-site food & beverage in keeping with the precinct's contemporary café and bar offerings.

Veriu Hotels is a fresh new bespoke hotel brand on the Sydney landscape created by property and hospitality specialists Alex Thorpe and Rhys Williams.  Having successfully developed a long stay accommodation business, Furnished Property, in 2002, Thorpe and Williams have now moved into the hotel space to create a portfolio of hotels with a diverse mix of heritage and new developments, all located in Sydney's thriving city fringe locations.

"We have been providing long stay style self-contained accommodation for 16 years under Furnished Property, where we developed a passion for sharing 'local'. We created Veriu because we saw no reason why a hotel brand can't provide that authentic local experience backed up by traditional hotel services, excellent customer service and attention to detail in rooms," says Veriu Director, Rhys Williams.

Veriu Broadway will be the marquee hotel for the brand following its first foray into the market with the successful opening of Veriu Camperdown – a new build all-suite hotel which opened in March 2016.

"Camperdown was our first test and it was amazing to bring the brand to life in such a vibrant area. You only need to look at places like Deus Cafe and Camperdown Commons to see what local business can deliver and we want accommodation to be a part of this," says Williams.

The current network is complemented by a pipeline of hotel developments to take place under the Veriu brand by the end of 2018, including:

Veriu Randwick (35 rooms) opening April 2017

Veriu Central (110 rooms) opening early 2018

Veriu Green Square (142 rooms) opening late 2018

Veriu specialises in operating sites with 20-120 rooms in CBD and city fringe areas with capacity to go larger if the location is right.

"Having some flagship CBD sites supported by a number of smaller satellite local properties in the city fringe is central to our strategy.  We make it happen in areas and buildings where the global brands may be less interested," says Veriu Director, Alex Thorpe.

To date the Veriu model has focused on Lease agreements but both Thorpe and Williams believe one of their strengths is their ability to adapt to all types of development models including potential for franchise or managed hotel agreements in the future.  The group is also open to placing its own equity in development joint ventures with selected capital partners operated by Veriu.  One such partner is ASX listed property funds manager Folkstone Group, which will launch a fund in March to raise $22.5 million of third-party capital to finance the 142-room Green Square hotel development in conjunction with Veriu, slated for a 2018 opening.

In celebration of individuality, Veriu have created a bespoke collection of hotels and suites, each with its own distinct personality and style. All different – and yet all the same in their commitment to providing true and genuine service, a superb location and at the end of the day, a great night's sleep.

"We have seen Sydney emerge as a city of villages and we want to share the uniqueness of Sydney's diversity through the Veriu brand in areas like Camperdown, Broadway, Green Square and Surry Hills. These villages really excite us for the leisure market but equally corporates want these bespoke experiences."

With an authentic local experiences paramount to the Veriu ethos, guests will also receive complimentary drinks and snacks from local area operators and local artists are also engaged to incorporate designs based on the genuine character of the building and neighbourhood.

"Beyond this, we want our guests to move freely through our properties so we have developed a unique concept called "Veriu Connect".  This allows any Veriu guest to drop into one of our other locations, flash a room card and have a complimentary locally sourced drink and ask the concierge about the best places to explore.  You could cover the best of Sydney just by visiting the Veriu network of properties," says Williams.

Guests will be able to discover their surroundings with use of the hotel's complimentary 'explorer bicycles' – a service that will be offered in all future Veriu hotels.  Other complimentary offerings common to all Veriu properties include a welcome drink, WiFi and in-room tunes via Smart TV technology.

http://www.veriu.com.au/