The biggest story of the week is: The Fattal Group, operators of Leonardo Hotels, has just acquired the Grand Hotel Brighton with plans to invest in the property. The Grand Hotel currently has 201 bedrooms, a restaurant and bar plus 1,200 sq-mt of dedicated meeting and banqueting space across 13 rooms. We will monitor progress.
Staying in Brighton, Staybridge Suites Brighton has just opened with a range of 51 suites over nine floors each equipped with a double-bedded bedroom and a fully equipped kitchen with an on-site fitness suite, a laundry room and a fully stocked pantry open 24/7. Staybridge Suites Brighton is located in Fleet Street, a 2-minute walk from Brighton station.
IHG Hotels has published plans to open a new hotel in London - Hotel Indigo London K West Shepherds Bush. It will be the sixth Hotel Indigo in London and will be one of the brand’s flagship properties due to its individual design. Spring 2025 is its planned opening date. It will have 252 bedrooms and suites, a restaurant and bar, a boutique spa plus business facilities and events suites.
Dalata Hotels has acquired a ‘new finished hotel’ in Finsbury Park, North London. It will be the group’s first Maldron-branded hotel to open in London. The existing hotel has never traded and Dalata is planning a major renovation prior to opening this summer. The hotel has 192 bedrooms plus a ground floor restaurant and bar. It is located next to Finsbury Park station.
Stockton House a former country house in Stockton, Warwickshire has been converted into an office plus conference and events space following the completion of a £1.5m project. Stockton is a small village south-west of Rugby. Stockton House has conference and events space for up to 120 delegates with office space for up to 15 people plus a café.
Another hotel changing hands is The Queens Hotel in the centre of Leeds. It has changed ownership from Aprirose to Pandox. The Queens Hotel has 232 recently upgraded bedrooms plus a restaurant, bar and an on-site gym. It also has 13 meeting and events suites accommodating up to 500 delegates.
Mercure Oxford Hawkwell House, the boutique hotel in Oxford has just unveiled the results of its £3.5million refurbishment. The historic hotel has 77 bedrooms and features a restaurant and bar and three meeting rooms with the largest seating 200 delegates theatre style plus a heated outdoor terrace. Adjacent to the main hotel is Elm House, a 15-bedroom house with private gardens which can be exclusively hired. Mercure Oxford Hawkwell House, is located in Iffley village, ten minutes from Oxford city centre.
Stanwell House in Lymington in the New Forest has just opened a new multi-purpose function room – which is available to small groups of up to 32 delegates for exclusive use. The room has plenty of natural daylight plus state-of-the-art TV and presentation facilities plus fast and reliable wi-fi. Stanwell House is a boutique hotel in the centre of the town with 29 bedrooms plus a restaurant and bar.
WeWork collection in conjunction with Spaces & Stories is offering exclusive access to its Leadenhall Street site in the City of London for the first time. The venue, the site of London’s first monastery, features medieval architecture with modern working spaces. The venue has two floors of meeting space linked by a spiral staircase with an upper mezzanine level and a larger open-plan space below. The venue can accommodate up to 80 guests for meetings, conferences, networking, workshops and product launches. Access-wise it is a short walk from Bank, Fenchurch Street, Liverpool Street and Monument stations.
etc.venues is planning to double the size of its venue at 155 Bishopsgate in London. It is adding 20,000 sq-ft of conference space on the second floor above the existing events space on the first floor. It will have the capacity to seat up to 475 delegates theatre style together with a Galleria and Lounge which will accommodate up to 51 exhibition stands. 155 Bishopsgate has recently undergone a full refurbishment. 155 Bishopsgate is located in the heart of the City of London in the largest pedestrianised neighbourhood in central London and is a short 2-minute walk from Liverpool St Station.
We finish with our favorite story of the week. Karen's Diner will be launching at The Hadley Hotel in New Barnet, London this March. Karen’s Diner is a restaurant chain famous for being rude and insulting to its diners – reputedly ‘an absurdly fun experience’. At Karen's you will be greeted and waited upon by rude waiters and forced to play a variety of games. 12 bedrooms have been allocated to Karen at The Hadley Hotel with the promise of rudeness and a ‘lack of room service’. We could name several venues where guests suffer similar indignities, but they don’t use it as a selling point.