Visitors to the island’s first Premier Inn are welcomed by a sign that declares: ’Welcome to the Land of Nod.’

The new multi-million pound six-storey hotel, with 85 bedrooms and Thyme restaurant is open for business.

Even as the formal opening celebrations were taking place a customer walked in off the street to book a room.

There had been reports in the UK national press a few days previously about ’subdued’ trading for the giant budget hotel chain.

It appeared Brexit jitters had been blamed for a downturn in bookings .

And Alison Brittain, chief executive of parent company Whitbread, was reported in the Telegraph as saying: ’We think this will be a pretty subdued year.

’We may well have another subdued year, next year. I can’t predict how long it will go on for.’

But it was all smiles as the hotel, opposite Marks and spencer, officially opened its doors.

Thirty five jobs have been created including manager Mark Rossiter, 35, and his number two Jake Tooth, 26.

Both men told Business News they have both worked together in island hospitaity before and get on great as a team.

Simon Ewins, managing director of Premier Inn UK, had stayed the night in the hotel, along with members of the Whitbread team, before the grand official opening on Thursday.

And he took in an early morning walk on Douglas seafront posting a picture on Twitter and reporting: ’Early morning stroll ahead of official Isle of Man opening today. Another Premier Inn opens in a new territory, bringing new guests to this lovely market.

’Good luck for the future to our team here.’

Mr Ewins told Business News the problems reported in the UK press were ’cyclical’ and the company was a great success story.

He welcomed guests to the opening and said: ’Having had a stroll this morning around the bay it was an absolutely beautiful experience.’

But he added he had never seen so many jellyfish in all his life.

He said: ’Premier Inn, we believe, is a force for good, and we as a management team, and the 20,000 people that work in Premier Inn are building what we hope to be a future national treasure.

’It’s a unique business with a very smart commercial model, which means we do things very differently to most other hotel operators on the planet let alone within Britain.

’We distribute our product directly which means we don’t pay commissions to online travel agents.

’That means we are able to divert our own cash into maintaining our product, driving the quality of our estate and growing our estate.

’It is for this reason that we can come to market in places such as the Isle of Man.

’We believe in setting a standard for the budget hotel sector and we are very proud of our budget credentials.

’A new Premier Inn opens on average every two weeks.

’We open between 25 and 40 hotels a year.’

The largest one, near Heathrow airport, has 700 bedrooms and the smallest, in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, has 17 rooms.

Mr Ewins said the hospitality sector is ’where dreams come true’ and ’We are thrilled to have brought a latest generation Premier Inn hotel to the Isle of Man.

’The new hotel represents a significant multi-million-pound investment into the island, has created quality new jobs and diversifies the choice of hotel accommodation for leisure and business visitors.’

Mr Ewins spoke of loyal customers who made a point of travelling to places where there was a Premier Inn.

And he was sure that the place would prove popular with locals too.

Minister for Enterprise Laurence Skelly MHK said: ’As we look to continue to establish and promote the island as a quality visitor destination we are committed to significant investment in our visitor economy. It is fantastic to see such a well-known and respected brand support our confidence in the visitor and business economy.’

Dandara managing director Seamus Nugent said it had been a pleasure to build the hotel.

Premier Inn has more than 800 hotels and Mr Ewins said expansion plans include Germany.