Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide announced the opening of Aloft Liverpool, the second Aloft hotel in the UK.

Set in the 110-year-old Royal Insurance Building, Aloft Liverpool is an adaptive reuse project and will feature 116 loft-like guest rooms. The opening of Aloft Liverpool is the culmination of an £18 million investment project to regenerate and preserve Liverpool's historic Grade II listed Royal Insurance Building. The development has been led by Ashall Property which worked alongside Liverpool City Council and English Heritage to transform this once neglected building into a sleek new, hotel.

"Aloft is enjoying tremendous global growth fueled by the enthusiasm of travelers who want great design and a fresh, fun atmosphere" said Colin Bennett, Area Manager UK & Ireland, Starwood Hotels & Resorts. "Aloft Liverpool perfectly illustrates how we can transform a once derelict, historic building, into a world-class hotel and bring new life into the local area. We are extremely proud of what has been achieved and feel confident that both the local community and visitors to Liverpool alike will embrace the transformation of this much-loved building."

Aloft Liverpool is the fourth Aloft hotel in Europe and second in the UK, with five more slated to open across Europe in the next three years. Part of Starwood Hotels & Resorts company, Aloft Liverpool is managed by Redefine | BDL hotels, the leading hotel management company in the UK managing a diverse collection of branded and private label hotel properties across the UK and Africa.

On January 1, 2014, Starwood Hotels & Resorts was the seventh largest hotel group worldwide in terms of number of rooms, according to the ranking produced each year by MKG Hospitality, consulting firm founded by Georges Panayotis. It had 339,243 rooms in 1,161 hotels. (read our report)