The hotel is being developed by Collingwood Developments and on completion will be purchased by Morley Fund Management. The property will in turn be leased to Hilton International to manage the hotel.  The project will cost approx £30 million.  The 254-room hotel will feature a 6000 square-foot LivingWell health club, 10 Hilton Meetings rooms and a banqueting suite for over 500 guests.

The name of the hotel reflects the mood in the North East with the joint bid by Newcastle and Gateshead to be the European Capital of Culture in 2008.  The Hilton Newcastle Gateshead is due for completion in September 2003 and is expected to provide over 200 new jobs.

"We have been looking for a key site in the North East for some time and they do not come much better than the one we have found,� commented Wolfgang Neumann, area president of Hilton UK & Ireland.  �Hilton is keen to become an integral part of the local community in both Gateshead and Newcastle and we look forward to opening this hotel in what is a stunning location."