Hotel news starting in London and the South-East and then moving north:
The new St Regis London is scheduled to open in Mayfair in mid-2026. It will include 195 bedrooms and 64 suites, a signature restaurant, a jazz bar and library plus a private dining room for up to 18 guests with butler service. Leisure facilities will include a gym and two spa suites with plunge pools plus saunas. The hotel will be located at the corner of Conduit Street and New Bond Street.
The former Corus Hotel Hyde Park which closed in September 2025 for a major £42m renovation is set to reopen in late autumn 2026 as Hyde & Seek Hotel. It is now part of the Tribute Portfolio, one of Marriott Bonvoy hotels portfolio. The hotel with 209 bedrooms and suites will include an all-day food and drink concept, gym and fitness studio plus a range of meeting and events suites. It is located at 1 Lancaster Gate, directly opposite Hyde Park in central London.
Strand Palace Hotel has just unveiled a £2 million meetings & events renovation – including 12 new meeting and events spaces, bringing the total on-site events spaces to 16. The programme marks the next phase of the hotel's overall £55 million refurbishment programme. The hotel is located on the Strand, in the heart of London near Covent Garden and Trafalgar Square.
The Zetter Bloomsbury is set to open in February 2026 in central London. It is housed in a row of Georgian townhouses close to the British Museum - with 68 bedrooms, a restaurant, bar and a gym. The hotel will have two meeting and events suites.
Sofitel London St James in central London has unveiled six redesigned signature suites by Paris-based interior architecture studio Pierre-Yves Rochon (PYR). Four ‘Prestige Suites’ are now open with the final two ‘Flagship Suites’ launching in January 2026. The result is ‘a stunning collection of suites that embody both French sophistication and British eccentricity’.
Drey is a new hotel concept set to open close to London’s Earls Court station later this year. It will be a 125-bedroom hotel with minimum staffing so guests check-in online, enter via keyless access and manage their stay through a dedicated app. Vending machines replace the traditional lobby bar and restaurant. The concept is designed to reduce the guests’ hotel bill.
London Beckenham Travelodge has just opened with 72 bedrooms on Beckenham High Street close to train, tram and bus connections into central London. There are now over 80 Travelodge hotels across London.
Great Hallingbury Manor Hotel in Bishop’s Stortford has reopened following a refurbishment. The new-look hotel includes 50 bedrooms and suites, a new restaurant, bar and lounge plus dining and private events spaces.
A restored 17th Century limestone building in the centre of the Cotswold town of Broadway has just reopened as the ten-bedroom boutique-styled House of George hotel complete with a fine-dining restaurant.
Visitor attraction, Drayton Manor located near Tamworth in Staffordshire has announced a major investment in its conferencing facilities. It has refurbished its largest meeting room: the Tower as well as the conference facilities in the Hamilton Suite. The Tower Suite will accommodate up to 450 delegates for conferences, exhibitions or award ceremonies. The Hamilton Suite will accommodate up to 180 delegates for a meeting with breakout space available in the Victoria Lounge. Drayton Manor Hotel has 150 bedrooms plus an on-site restaurant and bar.
The Bear gastropub in Tattenhall, Cheshire is opening eight boutique hotel bedrooms in December following a major refurbishment.
The Hampton Hotel is a Georgian townhouse pub-restaurant opposite Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh. The new owners have plans to reopen the venue as a ‘whisky experience’ hotel with six bedrooms.
Group News:
SmartRental Group is about to launch Malacuna – a new hostel which ‘redefines the traditional hostel experience for the modern urban traveller’. The branding is already well established across Spain and Portugal. The group is planning openings in Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham.
Malacuna Manchester will be located the city’s Northern Quarter with 37 rooms and 132 beds plus a restaurant and bar.
Malacuna Liverpool opens in the city centre with 90 bedrooms and 362 beds plus a restaurant, bar and events space.
Malacuna Birmingham opens close to Snowhill Station in the city centre with 39 bedrooms and 126 beds plus a restaurant and bar.
All three are expected to open in the New Year. Dates to be advised.
Accor has launched its new Emblems Collection in the UK - their flagship property will be: Lucknam Park Hotel & Spa Emblems Collection. ‘Each hotel in the Emblems Collection celebrates unique, character-rich properties that reflect the soul of their destination, from grand heritage mansions to contemporary architectural icons and serene nature retreats’ – claim the group
CHS, meeting and events industry professionals are planning to combine their existing Birmingham and Leeds events to create one super-show in Manchester next year. The new event will see visitors and exhibitors from both shows arrive in Manchester on the 30 September.
And finally: Britannia Hotels have been named the UK's worst hotel chain for the past 12 consecutive years. It was ranked last out of 52 hotel chains by consumer group ‘Which’. Yet the group appears to go from strength to strength. It currently operates 64 hotels throughout the UK with 10,000+ bedrooms, a wide range of conference and meeting facilities and an extensive refurbishment programme in operation.