CHOICE LOCATIONS

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Published: 02 December 2024

A new conference centre is currently under construction as part of Olympia’s £1.3 billion redevelopment in central London. Set to open in late spring 2026, the conference centre will include an 850-seated capacity auditorium, eight breakout rooms, boardroom, business lounge and a private hire bar and restaurant. The 3,000 sq-mt of space is designed for a variety of events from theatre-style conferences to award ceremonies. It will also be connected to the existing four exhibition spaces for larger event configurations. It will have its own dedicated entrance on Hammersmith Road.

Operators of Zedwell Hotels have acquired another site in London to add to their expanding hotel portfolio.   The latest new site is at One Princes Street in the City of London, close to Bank Station and St Pauls Cathedral. The building, a Grade II-listed building dating from 1931, will join existing Zedwell Hotels in Tottenham Court Road, Piccadilly Circus and Greenwich plus new properties planned in Knightsbridge, Park Lane and Victoria. More details to follow.

Travelodge has acquired an office building in St Pauls, London with plans to convert it to a Travelodge hotel with 95 bedrooms plus a restaurant and café. Early 2027 is the anticipated opening date.

Dalata Hotel Group have announced plans to open a new 4-star Clayton hotel to be developed on the Tower 42 Estate in London. The hotel at 20 Old Broad Street, EC2 is in the heart of the City of London, a 5-minute walk from Liverpool Street and Bank Stations. It will include 154 bedrooms and suites, a restaurant, bar and gym. An opening second half of 2028 is anticipated.

Indian-based Oberoi Hotels and Resorts is planning to open its first hotel in the UK in London’s Mayfair; part of the area’s South Molton development. Opening is planned for the end of 2027. More details to follow in due course

The July is a new accommodation concept which combines apartment living with hotel amenities. The July is set to open in London next summer. It will include 116 apartments for both short and long stays plus a restaurant and bar, a gym and wellness centre plus meeting facilities. We will monitor its progress and report back.

Z Hotels are set to open a new 95-bedroom hotel in London’s Leicester Square. It will be the group’s 12^th hotel in the capital and 15^th across the UK. The hotel will have a bar and restaurant and will feature the group’s commitment to promoting low-carbon technologies to improve energy efficiency. Further details await publication.

Ruby Hotels have opened their third London hotel. Ruby Stella. It is located in Eyre Street Hill, Clerkenwell, a short walk from Farringdon station. The hotel has 153 bedrooms and features a ground floor courtyard terrace, bar and lounge

Finally in central London, The Corus Hotel Hyde Park, located at 1 Lancaster Gate, is set to undergo a major refurbishment. The hotel, with 388 bedrooms, will see all public spaces ‘reconfigured’, a new central courtyard added and with a new food and beverage options introduced.

Hilton Woking has opened in Victoria Square in the centre of Woking. It has 189 bedrooms and suites and extensive events facilities, including Surrey’s largest hotel ballroom seating up to 609 delegates theatre style. The hotel also features a 22nd floor LOFT Sky Bar. It is located in Victoria Square a short walk from Woking Station with direct train links to London Waterloo.

Young’s Pubs have opened the Teller’s Arms in Farnham in Surrey this October. Formerly a bank the new hotel has nine boutique bedrooms, an all-day dining space, a bar, expansive roof terrace and meeting and events spaces.

Home Grown Hotels, parent company of The Pig Hotel chain, have submitted plans to convert the Grade-I listed former visitor attraction Groombridge Place and Gardens located in the village of Groombridge, southwest of Tunbridge Wells, into a 56-bedroom hotel, complete with a 122-cover restaurant and a spa. The Pig at Groombridge Place is scheduled to launch in 2026. Further details to follow.

The Grand Hotel Brighton has completed its £16.2 million refurbishment.  All 205 bedrooms and suites have been refurbished.  The work has included the hotel’s public areas, alongside the introduction of a state-of-the-art gym and luxurious spa. 

New owners have taken over The Pelican – a pub in Chew Magna in Somerset that was first established in 1615. They plan to add 10 luxury bedrooms with an opening planned for Spring 2025.

Leonardo Hotel Exeter has opened newly refurbished conference and meeting facilities, following a major refurbishment. All seven meeting rooms have a new décor, new lighting and air conditioning plus the latest AV equipment. The largest room will seat up to 90 delegates theatre style,

The former Hotel Brooklyn alongside Leicester Tiger’s rugby football stadium in Leicester has now rebranded as voco Leicester. The hotel has 191 bedrooms and suites meetings and events space to accommodate up to 150 delegates plus its own bridge to the Tigers stadium.

Albrighton Hall Hotel & Spa near Shrewsbury has become the latest member to join Radisson Individuals grouping. It joins a growing collection of independent hotels by Radisson Hotel Group. Albrighton Hall Hotel & Spa is located one hour away from central Birmingham and is surrounded by 15 acres of landscaped grounds. It has 87 bedrooms and suites, a restaurant and bar, a spa and fitness suite plus meeting and events spaces for up to 530 delegates.

Plans and funds are in place to renovate the George Hotel located on the Station Gateway in Huddersfield and to rebrand it as the first Radisson RED Hotel in Yorkshire and Humberside. The £20 million project will increase the number of bedrooms from 60 to 91. The hotel will also feature ground floor meeting and events space plus a 70-seater restaurant and bar. The hotel closed its doors in 2013 and is now targeting a 2027 reopening.

The Stock Exchange Hotel in the centre of Manchester has joined Marriott’s Autograph Collection. Former footballers, Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville’s GG Hospitality group opened the hotel in the Grade II-listed former Stock Exchange building in 2019. It has 40 bedrooms and suites, a restaurant and bar and is available for exclusive private hire.

Heading to the north-east, Bespoke Hotels are planning to open Bailiffgate Hotel in Alnwick in April 2025. It will be located in a former high school in the heart of the town overlooking the entrance to Alnwick Castle. The hotel will include 48 bedrooms, suites and apartments, a bar and restaurant plus private dining space.

Finally in Scotland, plans have been lodged to convert Edinburgh One, a currently empty Edinburgh city centre office block, into a new hotel, bar and restaurant. Located at 60 Morrison Street in the centre of Edinburgh, the hotel would be operated by Dalata Hotels under the Clayton Hotel brand. It will have.256 bedrooms and suites, a restaurant, bar and gym plus meeting facilities. We will monitor developments.

Hopefully we will be back in the New Year with an outline of the new hotels and venues which are expected to open in 2025. In the meantime, we wish you all a very happy Christmas and a prosperous, problem-free New Year.

Details

Published: 28 October 2024

We start our November roundup of hotel and conference venue news in London as usual then we head south before going north with group news at the tail-end:

Dalata Hotel Group has just opened its second Maldron branded hotel in London - Maldron Hotel Shoreditch - with 157 bedrooms and suites, a restaurant and bar plus a fitness centre. It is located in Paul Street, around ten minutes from Liverpool Street station.

The Zetter Bloomsbury is set to become the group’s third London hotel when it opens as anticipated in September 2025. It will join The Zetter Marylebone and Zetter Clerkenwell in the group. It will include 68 bedrooms and suites, a restaurant and a gym plus a tree-lined garden terrace and outdoor restaurant. You will find it in Montague Street, close to the British Museum.

Belgravia Police Station is likely to be a third site for The Other House – a group with two boutique apartment hotels in London. Plans have been approved to convert the currently vacant building in Buckingham Palace Road in central London into a 206-bedroom hotel with meeting and events facilities plus a bar, gym and restaurant. We will monitor developments.

CitizenM London Olympia is a new hotel which will form part of the £1.3 billion regeneration of Olympia’ existing exhibition halls. CitizenM London Olympia is expected to open next year with 146 bedrooms plus three societyM meeting rooms. It will be the fifth CitizenM in London. Developments at London Olympia itself will see the addition of a new 4,000-capacity music hall plus 30 new bars and restaurants.

Also scheduled to open next year in London is a new hotel and leisure development in Canary Wharf. The development includes a 78-bedroom House of Gods Hotel with a rooftop bar, a music venue and events space. It joins two other House of Gods Hotels in Glasgow and Edinburgh.

The Runnymede on Thames Hotel has just reopened under the Warner Hotels banner following a major refurbishment of the site. The hotel now has 205 bedrooms and suites including 25 new bedrooms featuring riverside balconies, two new restaurants, a new spa plus an entertainment venue called the Late Lounge.

SeaSpace Cornwall is a new lifestyle aparthotel which has just opened with 56 studios and apartments (with plans to increase to 72 in 2025), in Porth, close to Newquay in Cornwall. 

Twenty bedrooms have undergone a complete refurbishment at Carden Park Hotel in Cheshire with a fresh new décor plus new in-room facilities including a Nespresso coffee machine, Chromecast interactive TVs and air conditioning. Renovation works on 40% of the hotel rooms are expected to be completed by spring 2025.

Plans to build a new five-storey 80-bedroom hotel with a spa and bar, close to Everton Football Club’s new stadium in Liverpool, have been approved. Further details to follow.

The Principal York has officially rebranded as The Milner York. The hotel opened in 1878 as the Royal Station Hotel, a stone’s throw from York station, and later became the Royal York Hotel. In 2015 it became the Principal York. The transition to The Milner York has involved a refurbishment bill in excess of £2million. The hotel now has 155 bedrooms and suites, 11 meeting and events suites with the largest seating 480 delegates.

The Rabbit Hotel & Retreat in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, part of the Galgorm Collection, is to launch 17 new bedrooms which are part of a new courtyard accommodation block. Opening in December they will complement The Rabbit’s existing 33 bedrooms.

Group news:

Immersive Hospitality Management (IHM), a group which has recently rebranded from Corus Hotels, will open its first property in November under its sub-brand Imerso Hotels. It is the Buckinghamshire based country hotel, Burnham Beeches with 80 bedrooms and suites, restaurants and bars, leisure facilities including an indoor pool plus a range meeting and events suites with the largest seating150 delegates theatre style.

Change of ownership – formerly under private ownership, The Vineyard in Newbury (famous for the size of its impressive wine cellar) has been sold to Apex Hotels and will join the group’s country house collection. The Vineyard is a 5-star country house hotel with 49 bedrooms and suites plus five meeting rooms. The California is the largest room seating up to 160 delegates.

The four-strong Sleeperz Hotels portfolio in Cardiff, Dundee, Edinburgh and Newcastle upon Tyne are to be rebranded under the Four Points Flex by Sheraton brand. The hotels are due to complete the rebrand in 2025.

We have outlined details above of a second Maldron branded hotel to open in London - Maldron Hotel Shoreditch. Maldron Hotels has also revealed its ambition to become the largest four-star hotel operator in all major cities in Ireland and regional UK by 2030.

Zedwell Hotels group has published expansion plans which will see of the brand opening in York, Manchester and Edinburgh city centres. Currently the group operate three Zedwell properties – all in central London. We will monitor and report future developments.

 

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Details

Published: 30 September 2024

We start our latest news round up in London as usual before heading west and further north. The Montcalm Marble Arch in central London is re-opening in Spring 2025, following a two-year closure for a full renovation. It will have 150 bedrooms and suites, a signature restaurant and bar plus meeting and events space including a 400sqm ballroom plus a subterranean spa with a plunge pool, wellness facilities, fitness suite and four treatment rooms.

Irish hotel group, Staycity has secured three new development sites in London - in Stratford, Blackfriars and Vauxhall. They will add 644 bedrooms to the group’s portfolio. Further details to follow in due course.

The Runnymede on Thames hotel, now part of Warner Hotels group, reopens next month following a complete renovation. It will have 205 bedrooms - some with riverside balconies, two restaurants and extensive leisure facilities. It will have eight meeting and events suites with the largest seating 150 delegates theatre style. It is located in Egham, close to the M25/J13 and 10 minutes from London Heathrow airport.

No 124 Brighton opens on Kings Road in Brighton in October. It is a Regency-style hotel with 32 bedrooms and suites, a range of dining options, a meeting room for 12 guests plus informal meeting space throughout the hotel including the Courtyard.

The former Looking Glass pub next to St Nicholas Market in the centre of Bristol is to be developed into a three-storey boutique hotel: The Mary Le Port Hotel. Opening date is awaiting publication but their website promises “nine opulent boutique hotel rooms” in a “beautifully restored building”.

The Feathers Hotel in Woodstock in the Cotswolds has reopened following a multi-million-pound renovation. The hotel now includes 17 individually designed bedrooms plus six feature suites. The hotel also features a new brasserie restaurant with displays of artwork by local artists plus a new courtyard bar.

Our near-neighbour, The Belfry Hotel & Resort in Sutton Coldfield, is extending its already extensive and impressive meeting and events facilities. The new Masters Suite with 852sqm of versatile events space is due to open in September 2025. Designed for conferences, product launches, mini expos and banquets, the suite can also be divided into smaller spaces. Further updates to follow.

It is all happening in Manchester: Treehouse Hotels group opens its second UK property in Manchester next month - Treehouse Hotel Manchester located on Deansgate in the city centre. It will include 224 bedrooms and suites, two restaurants, a fitness suite plus seven meeting and events suites with the largest room seating up to 400 delegates theatre style.

It is still at the planning stage, but a new aparthotel is being lined up for a site in central Manchester. The site is located at 12-16 Piccadilly, close to Manchester’s main train station. The site is a Grade II-listed former Union Bank building and plans would see it converted into a room2 providing 251 bedrooms and a range of amenities. Watch this space.

Plans have been published to convert New Century House in central Manchester into a lifestyle hotel. The Grade -II listed building was formerly the headquarters of the Co-Op. Plans outline a 196-bedroom hotel with a rooftop restaurant and bar plus meeting and events facilities. Further details to follow.

The Dakota Hotels plan to build a new hotel next to Manchester Airport has been approved. The hotel with 154 bedrooms will form part of the Mix Manchester development – a new airport-based science, innovation and manufacturing campus. Further details to follow in due course.

We don’t often have news from Northern Ireland but this month we have two news items:

Yotel hotel group has announced plans for a new hotel in Belfast. It will be a new-build hotel located in Shaftesbury Square in central Belfast with an opening expected in late 2026. The hotel will have 165 bedrooms, restaurant and bars, leisure facilities and a range of meeting and events suites.=

DoubleTree by Hilton Derry-Londonderry is set to open in 2025 marking the brand’s debut in Northern Ireland. It will include 158 bedrooms and suites, a restaurant and bar, seven meeting rooms plus a wellness club with a swimming pool. We will advise a precise opening date when it is published.

In Scotland, redevelopment work has begun to convert the Jenners Building, a local landmark in the centre of Edinburgh into a 90-bedroom boutique hotel across its upper floors with cafés, bars, restaurants plus meeting and events spaces below. Work is not expected to complete before 2027.

Plans for a new hotel near the banks of the River Clyde alongside the SWG3 arts and concert venue in the centre of Glasgow have been approved. The hotel will have 142 bedrooms, two restaurants including a rooftop bar and restaurant plus co-working space. Further details and planned opening date await publication.

Finally, congratulations to The Dorchester Hotel in Mayfair. It has been named “Hotel of the Year – London” at the 2024 AA Hospitality Awards.

Details

Published: 14 November 2024

Indian-based Oberoi Hotels & Resorts are planning to make their debut in London with a new luxury hotel in London’s Mayfair district. The property, located at 40-46 Brook Street, will serve as a flagship boutique hotel offering the brand’s signature design and service. Construction started in November 2023 and the project is expected to be complete by the end of 2027.

Upgrading work is about to start on the Holiday Inn on Cromwell Road in Kensington, London. It is set to become a Forum Hotel with all 900+ bedrooms and public areas refurbished. Part of the plans include a new rooftop extension with a panoramic bar and restaurant plus a luxury spa, pool and gym. The job is not scheduled to complete before 2027.

GuestHouse Hotels has just opened its fourth property - No. 124 Brighton. The hotel occupies an historic building yards away from Brighton beach and seafront. The hotel includes 32 luxury bedrooms and suites, a restaurant, a lounge and terrace plus a courtyard described as ideal for events.

Late autumn 2025 is the anticipated opening date of the new Hotel Gotham Bristol in the city’s historic former Guildhall building which has been closed since 2010. The hotel will include 75 bedrooms and suites, a restaurant, a rooftop terrace bar, a spa plus meeting and events facilities. We will monitor developments.

Here in Birmingham a new Radisson RED Birmingham Edgbaston Stadium hotel is planned for the city’s cricket stadium and home of Warwickshire County Cricket Club. The proposed hotel will feature 146 bedrooms, including 85 with pitch-facing balconies. Eighteen of the pitch-view rooms will be fully convertible into hospitality spaces. The hotel is expected to open in 2027.

A new hotel is planned for central Manchester. It will be in the 76-storey ‘ Viadux Phase Two’ development scheme  located between Manchester Central Conference Centre and Deansgate-Castlefield Metrolink Station. The hotel will be accessed from the ground floor. It will have 160 bedrooms and suites plus a restaurant and bar. Further details await publication.

Carden Park Hotel in Cheshire has started a £6.5million refurbishment package of all its 197 bedrooms. Twenty rooms have been refurbishment already and 40% are expected to be completed by spring 2025.

Dalata Hotel Group, operators of the Clayton Hotel and Maldron Hotel brands, has announced ambitious plan to increase the number of bedrooms and suites under its brands from 12,000 to 21,000 bedrooms by 2030. The group is also aiming to become the largest operator of four-star hotels in all major cities in Ireland and regional UK by 2030 with a growing presence in London and Continental Europe. The group currently operates 57 mainly four-star rated hotels.

Dalata has just acquired the Radisson Hotel Dublin Airport and plans to rebrand it as a Clayton Hotel in 2025.

Staying in the Irish Capital, Sofitel Dublin Airport is a new 412-bedroom hotel currently under construction with an opening planned for late 2026.

Details

Published: 14 October 2024

The mid-month additions to our regular news feed are as follows – taking our usual route from south to north.

Formerly The Four Seasons Hotel London at Ten Trinity Square, it has now relaunched as Four Seasons Hotel London at Tower Bridge. Meeting and events facilities remain the same. The rebrand follows the launch of a series of new guest experiences, including a three-hour private river tour down the River Thames.

Hyatt Hotels has opened its first Park Hyatt branded hotel in the UK.  Park Hyatt London River Thames is in Nine Elms close to Battersea Power Station in south-west London - with views of the River Thames and the Houses of Parliament. It has 203 bedrooms and suites, a restaurant and bar with a Cantonese restaurant opening later this year. There is a fitness centre and an indoor pool. The hotel has just over 14.000 sq-ft of meeting space including a ballroom plus a major meeting room which will subdivide into seven smaller spaces.

Dalata Hotel Group has just opened its second Maldron branded hotel in London. Maldron Hotel Shoreditch has 157 bedrooms and suites, a restaurant and bar plus a fitness centre. It is located on Paul Street, around a ten-minute walk from Liverpool Street station.

Village Hotels group have started construction work on a new development in Eastleigh, in Hampshire along with the continued construction of a Basingstoke property.

Estelle Manor in Oxfordshire are to launch Fallow House next February - a 500 sq-mt events space on their estate. It will be a two-storey building with three meeting rooms – the largest seating 70 theatre style plus two bars, a dining room and a 99sq-mt Grand Hall. We will monitor developments.

The PIG Hotel group is opening its ninth property this December. THE PIG-on the farm is a mid-16th century listed stone-built Manor House set in 53 acres of land located five miles from Stratford on Avon. The hotel will include 35 bedrooms and suites in the main house, the outbuildings and garden area. There will be a restaurant in the main barn with a terrace plus two private dining rooms. It will also feature three Shepherd’s Hut treatment rooms, overlooking the grounds.

Aparthotel Native Manchester at Ducie Street Warehouse is increasing the number of its units from 166 to 193. Native Manchester includes an all-day bar & kitchen, events and meeting spaces, a fitness area, a lounge, terrace and a mini cinema.

Moving across to Liverpool, plans to bring a Motto by Hilton hotel to Liverpool, which would be located above the Cavern Club, have secured planning permission. Plans indicate a 283-bedroom hotel, with a restaurant and bar and events space including a cinema room. We will monitor its progress. 

Staying with Hilton, DoubleTree by Hilton Sheffield City has just opened next to Bramall Lane stadium in the city. It has 155 bedrooms, a restaurant, bar and fitness facilities. The hotel has five meeting and events suites with the largest room seating up to 250 delegates theatre style.

More news from Village Hotels. They are planning a major investment which will see upgrades to over 50% of its UK hotels – work incudes upgrades to bedrooms, meeting and events facilities and to the group’s leisure facilities. The first phase is expected to start in Spring 2025 with properties in Manchester and Solihull first to receive the treatment.

Existing Marriott Hotels in Cardiff, Dundee, Edinburgh and Newcastle upon Tyne are to be converted to a new midscale brand - Four Points Flex by Sheraton. The hotels are due to complete the rebranding exercise in 2025

Finally, congratulations to the Parkgate Hotel in Cardiff - part of The Celtic Collection. It has been awarded Hotel of the Year for Wales by the AA, just three years after opening.

Details

Published: 17 September 2024

The mid-month additions to our regular news feed are as follows.

The latest ‘Pig’ branded hotel has just opened - Pig in the Cotswolds. It sits on the former site of Barnsley House, 4 miles from Cirencester. The hotel occupies a 17th century property within historic arts and crafts style gardens, with a restaurant, bar plus a spa and sauna.

Hyde London City hotel has just opened with 111 bedrooms, a restaurant and bar and with meeting and events space. It is located at 15 Old Bailey, a building originally known as the 'Spiers & Pond Hotel'.

Chelsea Football Club is to sell the Millennium and Copthorne hotels next to its Stamford Bridge stadium to comply with Premier League rules. Ascott Limited will take over management of the 232-bedroom hotel and rebrand the properties as its first Lyf Hotel in the UK by the end of 2025.

Plans have been approved by Bristol City Council for a new 234-bedroom Dalata Maldron hotel adjacent to the Floating Harbour and the Mead Reach 'Cheese Grater' bridge in Bristol’s Temple Quarter. A Room2 aparthotel with 168 rooms is also part of the proposed project. No anticipated opening dates have been published yet.

In Manchester plans have been published to redevelop the site of the former headquarters of Greater Manchester Police in Stretford. The scheme will feature a hotel and new commercial, leisure and community facilities. We await further developments.

Plans to redevelop the Mill House Hotel in the Cotswolds village of Kingham have been approved following a lengthy planning process. Plans envisage a new restaurant, alehouse, bakehouse and demonstration barn at the 38-bedroom hotel, although the developers have to ensure that “protected and priority species and habitats are safeguarded”.

Crewe Hall Hotel in Cheshire has completed its £1million+ refurbishment project. As well as new bars and upgraded bedrooms the meeting and events suites have also been refurbished and facilities enhanced. Crewe Hall Hotel & Spa, part of The QHotels Collection, is a 17th-century Grade I-listed hotel set in extensive grounds in the Cheshire countryside close to the M6J16 and Crewe Station.

Hotel du Vin York, situated on The Mount in York, has completed a £900,000 refurbishment package - designed to blend old-world charm and modern luxury. It is part of the group’s overall £11.5million  plan to revamp all its 19 properties.

Glasgow Training Rooms is not a new venue, but it does offer excellent meeting space, training courses and video conferencing facilities with fully equipped rooms to accommodate up to 40 delegates in Glasgow’s city centre….and they have asked us very kindly to ‘mention them’ in our news updates.

Staying in Glasgow, plans have been approved for a new 142-bedroom hotel to be built at the corner of Eastvale Place and Sandyford Street on Glasgow’s waterfront. The hotel will include two restaurants, two bars, co-working spaces, a gym, a movement studio and a rooftop terrace. Details of meeting and events facilities plus an anticipated opening date await publication.