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London Police Station to become a hotel
Dexter Moren Associates Architects have secured planning consent to convert a Grade II-listed 1960s police station in London into a luxury hotel.
The former Wood Street Police Station in London will be converted into a modern 216-bedroom five-star hotel. Work is scheduled to begin this year with a planned opening in 2023.
Many of the station’s original features will be incorporated into the hotel: The police stables will become a gourmet restaurant, featuring dining booths within the individual stalls. The custody cells will be converted into tasting rooms for an on-site whisky bar. The former assembly hall at the police station is set to be transformed into a grand ballroom. The original vehicle turntable will also be converted - into the hotel’s central bar.
A two-storey extension to the building is planned which will include additional bedrooms plus a basement gym, swimming pool, spa, conference and events rooms and a restaurant.
Wood Street Police Station is located in Wood Street in Barbican – a four-minute walk from the Museum of London and close to St Paul's and Moorgate tube stations.
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Net zero carbon hotel opening in London
Lamington Group is planning to open Room2 Chiswick. It will be London’s first Hometel and the world’s first whole life net zero carbon hotel. It opens in the heart of Chiswick in December.
Room2 Chiswick is expected to be 89 per cent more energy efficient than the typical UK hotel per sq-mt. It will incorporate the technology to achieve net zero throughout both the design and construction stages and throughout its whole lifespan - focusing on reducing the greatest contributor to climate change, carbon emissions and greenhouse gases.
Room2 Chiswick will have 86 rooms each with a kitchenette and access to the cafe and restaurant. The building is inspired by the Arts & Craft movement so expect rooms fitted with bespoke handcrafted pieces from a range of local artists and designers.
Room2 Chiswick will also feature two ‘lab rooms’ to provide data on energy, water use and air quality, as well as learning from guest behaviour patterns. The building has been opened up to university partnerships to test new innovative technologies and interventions to reduce energy and carbon.
Room2 Chiswick is located just off Chiswick High Road in London. It is a short walk from Turnham Green tube station, served by the District and Piccadilly lines.
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Porsche plans to drive the hotel market
You may not be able to afford to drive a Porsche but soon you will be able to sleep in a Porsche – that is a Porsche Hotel.
The Porsche Design Group – a luxury lifestyle brand owned by the car company - has linked up with Steigenberger Hotels and Resorts. They are planning to launch a range of luxury lifestyle brand Steigenberger Porsche Design Hotels. The group plan to open 15 hotels in cities around the world including London.
Details of when and where the hotels will open have not been released. The hotels will however include a minimum of 150 bedrooms, suites and penthouses, a restaurant and bar concept plus a health and beauty facility with a gym.
Steigenberger Hotels current portfolio includes a total of around 150 hotels on three continents, with more than 30 are under construction or in planning. Currently they have no presence in the UK market.
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US Embassy plan move to Dublin hotel
Dalata Hotel Group have announced that the Ballsbridge Hotel Dublin will not reopen its doors following its closure period last year during the COVID lockdown.
Media reports indicate that the US Government will acquire the property with the intention of re-locating its Dublin Embassy to this site. US diplomats have been seeking a new home for the Embassy for around nine years as its work is outgrowing the building on its current site in Ballsbridge.
Dalata Hotel Group will still operate their other two Dublin-based hotels: Clayton Hotel Ballsbridge and Clayton Hotel Burlington Road.
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Lake District Hotel generating its own electricity
English Lakes Hotels and Resorts has installed a water-fed turbine to generate its own hydropower for the Low Wood Bay Resort & Spa. An 860-metre pipe will convey water at up to 79 litres per second to a fully automatic turbine before it flows back into the beck. It is expected to generate a power output of 53kW to 60kW to attain 180MWh to 200MWh of electricity each year, equivalent to powering 50 homes a year.
Tim Berry from English Lakes Hotels Resorts & Venues says the turbine is “already on target to create enough energy for about a third of our electricity needs for the venue”. A key advantage of hydro energy is that energy production is continuous and less dependent on changeable weather conditions.
English Lakes Hotels is a family run hotel group with two Lake District Hotels (The Lowood Bay Resort and Spa and the Wild Boar Hotel) and two North Lancashire hotels (The Midland and Lancaster House).
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Pocotel opens in Glasgow
Pocotel Glasgow City Centre is a new 91-bedroom hotel which has just opened in the centre of Glasgow. It is the first opening of a new hotel branding owned by Bracknell Property LLP which aims to target the small to mid-sized contemporary hotel market.
Pocotel Glasgow City Centre is located in West George Street in the centre of Glasgow, - a three- minute walk from Glasgow Central station.