Sandy Park hotel design revealed

This is how new £25 million building will look if plans are approved

A proposed hotel at Sandy Park, home of the Exeter Chiefs, will be a 250-bedroom building that will be operated by Marriott International and branded as a four-star 'Courtyard by Marriott'.

The £25 million development already has outline planning permission, but now Exeter City Council is considering the detail. 

Plans show an L-shaped footprint with a restaurant and sky bar with views out towards the estuary and Exmouth on the eighth floor. One floor above is a rooftop glazed restaurant for 172 covers, described by the applicants as "one of a kind in this area providing a unique dining experience for guests and visitors."

The basement will host a leisure centre with sauna, steam room and Jacuzzi, a gym and fitness suite, and back-office functions such as housekeeping.

The planning application says that the ground floor will have "magnificent views out to the east and south" as well as a reception, bar and lounge, meeting rooms and a "24/7 market place for drinks and snacks."

People will be able to reach the hotel using a new footbridge from Sandy Park stadium. Fewer parking spaces will be available at Sandy Park on match days as a result of the development, and parking restrictions on those days will be extended into the nearby Newcourt residential area, which is still growing as more houses are built between Topsham and Newcourt.

The hotel is part of a £50 million investment in Sandy Park, which in the next two years will also include a new 1,000 seat auditorium on the south stand of the rugby stadium.