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Published: 13 January 2023

Brief summary of some major news items this week include:

A major refurbishment project has completed at The Bond in Birmingham - a fully refurbished Victorian warehouse featuring exposed brick, steel and glass and is set on the Grand Union Canal in the heart of Digbeth. The Bond has seven fully equipped meeting rooms. A full in-house catering package is available. The Bond has parking facilities. It is a short walk from Birmingham New Street Station and Birmingham Moor Street station. Alternatively, delegates can arrive by barge along the canal.

This week saw the opening of the Hyatt Regency London Albert Embankment - the eighth Hyatt-branded property in London. The hotel has 142 bedrooms with a range of executive suites on the 14^th floor with private balconies. There is a restaurant and bar plus a rooftop restaurant and an onsite fitness centre. Five technology-enabled meeting rooms offer 15,273 square feet of events space. The hotel is located at 10 Albert Embankment.

Travelodge, currently operating 79 hotels in London has announced major expansion plans with a search on for an additional 127 hotel sites across the city.

The Selwyn is a new 50 bedroom townhouse hotel which has just opened in the centre of Richmond upon Thames with a restaurant and bar

Plans have been submitted for a new luxury hotel in the South Bank regeneration area of Leeds city centre.  The plan is to build four multi-storey office blocks alongside a 19-storey luxury hotel with a sky bar and extensive leisure space. We will monitor developments.

New Holgate is a new boutique hotel which is opening in the centre of York in March. The Grade 2 listed townhouse formerly traded as Holgate Bridge Bed and Breakfast. New Holgate will have 11 individually designed bedrooms plus a dining room.

Plans have been unveiled to build a 160-bedroom hotel plus retails outlets at Teesworks, near Redcar in North Yorkshire. The hotel has been designed to serve the needs of thousands of construction workers which the authorities anticipate will be coming to the Tees Valley as work gathers pace on major projects in the coming years. We will monitor progress.

Devon’s Burgh Island Hotel set just off the south Devon coastline is about to undergo a major upgrade. The hotel, currently with 25 bedrooms and suites, is set to be extended to accommodate 12 new en-suite bedrooms. A new restaurant is planned. The hotel’s Grade II-listed Nettlefold bar is to be extended to host events and a spa is planned on the ground floor. The developments are part of a ten-year redevelopment plan.

The Insurance Hall, the historic Grade II listed venue located in the heart of the City of London, is inviting event organisers to view its wide range of meeting and events facilities during an open day on Wednesday 18^th January. Check their website for further details.

Hospitality students from a college in Cheshire will take over the running of the Devonshire Fells Hotel in North Yorkshire for a couple of days in February. They will be working under supervision to gain hands-on experience of the industry. The Devonshire Fells Hotel is located in the village of Burnsall within the Yorkshire Dales National Park. The hotel has 16 fully equipped bedrooms and two meeting rooms both with natural daylight and complimentary wi-fi.

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Published: 30 December 2022

A short summary of some of the hotel/venue stories you may have missed amid all the Christmas excitement. 

The Wesley Group opens its second London property at the end of this December. The Wesley Camden Town has 38 boutique-styled bedrooms located in the top four floors of the Camden Methodist Church building located in Plender Street close to Camden Town tube station in central London.

My Bloomsbury Hotel in central London has just completed a full refurbishment and has now been rebranded as the Bedford Corner Hotel, located just off Tottenham Court Road, with 86 new-look bedrooms.

The Bond is a new venue opening in February in Fazeley Street, Digbeth - Birmingham’s Creative Quarter. The Bond is located at the junction of the River Rea and the Grand Union Canal. In the past the building was an Ice Factory, an HP Sauce factory and a bonded warehouse before spending 30 years in dereliction. The Bond comprises five main structures suitable for a range of events including meetings and conferences, screening rooms, pod rooms and a canalside studio with its own wharf. The Bond is located just off the city centre with good access to both Birmingham Moor Street and Birmingham New Street stations.

The proposed plans we reported in our pre-Christmas listing to regenerate Villa Park, home of Aston Villa FC in Birmingham, as a "world-class entertainment venue" have received the green light. We will keep tabs on its progress.

A new Ibis Budget hotel has just opened at Manchester Airport with 262 bedrooms. It is within walking distance of the main terminals and the airport train station.

Joint owners of the Phoenix Hotel in Liverpool have just opened a second venue in the city - Phoenix Pods. The Phoenix Pods is a 32-bedroom site located in a previously derelict factory within walking distance of Liverpool centre and its waterfront.

Plans have been submitted to convert a former Blackpool post office into a new hotel. If plans go ahead the Post Office in Abingdon Street, with its Grade-II listed façade, would also see the addition of a four and five storey extension. The final result would be a 144-bedroom Hotel Indigo and Indigo Suites. We will keep tabs on its progress through the planning stages.

We will be back in the new year with more hotel/meeting venue news. In the meantime, we wish you all a very happy and prosperous New Year.

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Published: 09 December 2022

The Hoxton opens its fourth London hotel on 12 December. The Hoxton Shepherd’s Bush has 237 bedrooms and suites a large open lobby plus a Thai/American dining outlet. ‘The Apartment’ is the Hoxton’s meeting and events space on the ground floor. It is located in Shepherd’s Bush Green a short walk from three underground lines.

The first ‘gaming hotel’ is set to open next year in Cornwall. Game On Cornwall in Penzance will feature an e-sports centre, gaming café, shop, bar and VR space plus seven hotel bedrooms. It is expected to launch in March 2023.

Doubletree by Hilton, Dartford Bridge, has completed a major refurbishment following a multi-million investment which includes a new food and beverage.

Stanwell House opens in the centre Lymington in Hampshire on Friday 16 December following completion of a multi-million-pound revamp. The new look Stanwell House has 27 refurbished bedrooms, a ‘new look’ bar and a speciality sea-food restaurant.

Hotel group Dalata has just opened Clayton Hotel Glasgow City - its fiftieth hotel and its first Clayton branded hotel in Scotland. Clayton Hotel Glasgow City is located in Clyde Street a short walk from Glasgow Central station. It has 303 bedrooms over 16 storeys with a terrace on the seventh floor. There are seven meeting and events suites with the largest seating up to 160 delegates.

Your Apartment group has just opened its largest aparthotel – Your Apartment Milton Keynes. It is  located in North Second Street with parking facilities. The aparthotel has 65 units all equipped with a fully equipped kitchenette, en-suite bathrooms, co-working space and a Peleton gym.

L+R Hotels has announced a launch date of summer 2023 for the Mole Resort, its £25m luxury resort in Devon. Mole Resort will have 58 lodges, each fitted with a hot tub as well as a fully equipped kitchen. A wide range of leisure activities will also be available in the Resorts 125 acres. The L+R portfolio includes Chewton Glen in Hampshire, the Lygon Arms in the Cotswolds and Cliveden House and Spa in Berkshire.

Congratulations to The Retreat at Elcot Park in Newbury which tops the list as  ‘One of the Best Places to Stay 2023’ by The Times and The Sunday Times.

Plus new developments at the planning stage:

Pub group Young’s has submitted a planning application to convert a branch of Lloyds Bank in Farnham into a boutique hotel. The bank is a Grade-II listed building in Castle Street in the centre of Farnham. Plans would see the main ground floor banking hall converted into a bar and restaurant with seven bedrooms and a roof terrace on the upper levels. Further north plans have been submitted for a new 160-bedroom hotel in the centre of Warrington. The hotel would be one component of a mixed-use development comprising four blocks of up to 12 storeys on land currently used as a carpark. Meanwhile, the Grand Hotel in the centre of Swansea is seeking planning approval for a four-storey rear extension to house 42 additional rooms plus a new roof terrace extension and bar. We await further news on all three developments

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Published: 06 January 2023

We start the New Year with a short summary of the new hotels you can expect to see opening  in the UK this Spring. We start in London and continue with the rest of the UK.

Hotels expected to open in London this spring include:

Peninsula London will be a five-star hotel overlooking Hyde Park Corner and the Wellington. It will include 190 bedrooms and suites plus multiple restaurants and bars including a rooftop restaurant and bar. The Peninsula Spa will also provide wellness and beauty treatments and the Grand Ballroom will accommodate up to 650 delegates for a theatre style meeting.

1Hotel Mayfair is expected to open this Spring - overlooking Green Park. It will be the first UK outpost of the 1Hotel brand. Facilities will include 181 bedrooms and suites, a communal lobby bar, restaurants and a garden terrace plus a fitness and wellness centre.

Dao By Dorsett Hornsey Town Hall opens in the restored Grade-II listed Hornsey Town Hall with 68 apartments and suites plus events space, co-working spaces, a cinema plus restaurants and bars.

Ruby Zoe, the second Ruby branded hotel in London opens in Notting Hill in February with 173 ‘lean and luxury’ bedrooms and suites plus restaurants and bars.

Raffles at the OWO will be the first Raffles-branded hotel to open in London. It opens within the Old War Office in Whitehall. Raffles at the OWO will have 120 bedrooms and suites, 85  branded residences plus 11 restaurants and bars. It will also feature a ballroom with a seating capacity of over 600 guests.

The St Regis London is the first St. Regis branded hotel to open in London. It will be located on the site of The Westbury Hotel which has just completed a £90 million redevelopment. It will include 196 bedrooms and suites, plus a signature restaurant, speakeasy jazz bar, fitness centre and a spa.

Mandarin Oriental Mayfair is planned to open on Hanover Square. The Mandarin Oriental Mayfair will include 50 bedrooms and 79 private residences, a restaurant and bar plus an urban spa, an indoor 25-metre swimming pool, sauna, vitality pool and relaxation rooms.

Planned hotel openings in the rest of England include:

Marriott Hotels will launch The Reach at Piccadilly at the meeting point of the Rochdale and Ashton Canals in central Manchester this Spring. The hotel will be part of the group’s Tribute Portfolio collection. The Reach at Piccadilly will have 215 bedrooms, a fully equipped fitness centre plus a restaurant with canal views.

The Treehouse Hotel Manchester opens this Spring on Deansgate with 224 bedrooms and suites, restaurants and bars, meeting space and a gym.

Boutique hotel group GuestHouse will open No. 42 Margate in the former Sands Hotel and Restaurant. 42 Margate will be home to 21 bedrooms, a restaurant, rooftop and spa.

Wildes Chester is set to open in the spring in the centre of Chester.  It will feature 18 bedrooms, a rooftop pool and a spa complete with a nail bar, relaxation area and multiple treatment rooms.

The second Bike and Boot Hotel opens in the Hope Valley in the Peak District’s National Park this Spring – 20 minutes from Chatsworth House. It will feature 60 bedrooms designed to appeal to bikers, hikers and dog owners and will include bike storage and dog grooming.

Barnsdale Lodge in Oakham, Rutland is a new hotel from the Signet Collection. It is in a 30-acre site a stone’s throw from Rutland Water and five minutes from Oakham.   Barnsdale Lodge has 46 individually furnished and fully equipped bedrooms plus a restaurant and bar.

The Tempus, Alnwick is expected to open in early 2023 in the grounds of the Charlton Hall Estate in Alnwick. The hotel is inspired by Lewis Caroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and will feature 15 individually styled ‘Alice in Wonderland’ bedrooms plus a ground-floor bar, restaurant and orangery.

Planned hotel openings in Scotland and Northern Ireland:

100 Princes Street in central Edinburgh will be the first Scottish site for The Red Carnation Hotel Collection when it opens this Spring. It will have 30 bedrooms and suites plus ‘uninterrupted views of Edinburgh Castle’.

The first room2 hometel in Northern Ireland opens in central Belfast late Spring. It will feature 175 bedrooms across nine floors plus a cafe/restaurant, coffee roastery, meeting and work spaces, gym, bar and lounge.

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Published: 16 December 2022

News items you may have missed in all the pre-Christmas excitement:

Hotel Indigo Exeter has just opened following a multi-million-pound major restoration project of the former House of Fraser department store. Hotel Indigo Exeter has104 well equipped bedrooms in three distinct styles plus a restaurant and bar, a rooftop bar and a Spa with four treatment rooms, a gym, a sauna and steam room. Hotel Indigo Exeter is located a 30 second walk away from the Cathedral.

Shiva Hotels have published plans to open a new hotel next summer in London’s Marylebone Lane. It will be called the BoTree. The 5-star hotel will have 199 bedrooms, 29 suites, two restaurants, meeting and events facilities and a fitness suite.

Plans for a new 154-bedroom hotel in the centre of Manchester have been published. The hotel, a Motto by Hilton, would include a first-floor bar and restaurant, a gym and meeting spaces. It would be located on the corner of Laystall Street and Great Ancoats Street.

Also in central Manchester, just off Deansgate, an early 2023 opening is now planned for the new Treehouse Hotel. The Treehouse Manchester will include 216 bedrooms, a bar and restaurant on the 14th floor, a rooftop bar plus meeting and events space for up to 400 guests.

Staying in Manchester, Manchester City Football Club is considering plans to extend its Etihad Stadium. As well as increasing the stadium’s capacity and the stadium’s food and drink outlets, a new on-site hotel is also being considered.

Meanwhile, also in the Premier League, Aston Villa Football Club is seeking planning permission to regenerate their Villa Park stadium in Birmingham. Plans include a new North Stand, as well as enhancing the existing Trinity Stand. The developments will include the stadium’s conference and events facilities. We will monitor progress.

Radisson RED has just opened at North Western Hall in Liverpool. The 10 storey hotel has 201 bedrooms, five meeting and events spaces, a restaurant and bar plus a fitness suite. North Western Hall is located next to Lime Street station. It is a Grade II-listed property which first opened as one of the original British railway hotels in the 1800s.

The Signet Collection has announced an opening date of early March 2023 for its third hotel – the Barnsdale Lodge in Oakham, Rutland. The hotel, located on a 30-acre site close to Rutland Water, will include 46 bedrooms, a fine-dining restaurant, conservatory and a courtyard garden.

The Inn Collection Group has acquired the Grade II-listed Midland Hotel in Morecambe. The Midland Hotel built in 1933 by the London Midland and Scottish Railway and star of several Agatha Christie film and television adaptations now joins The Inn Collection Group’s portfolio of 35 sites across the north of England and North Wales.

Reading Borough Council has approved plans for a new Jurys Inn hotel and aparthotel in the centre of Reading.  The new hotel will comprise 163 bedrooms, which will include 104 aparthotel rooms. Further details and planned opening dates to follow.

Fresh from opening its latest London hotel, the 177-bedroom London Wimbledon Central Travelodge, Travelodge has now announced plans to more than double its presence in London, with the search on for 127 hotel sites across London.

Plans for a major mixed-use scheme in Warrington which would include a 160-bedroom hotel have been approval. The site is currently a town centre car park.

Finally, congratulations to our near neighbour, The Belfry Hotel and Resort in Sutton Coldfield. It is winner of the ‘Venue of the Year’ -   the annual award of the Meetings Industry Association.

We wish all our followers a very happy Christmas and a prosperous, ‘problem-free’ New Year. We will be back in the New Year with a summary of the latest hotel and venue news.

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Published: 02 December 2022

The latest news stories you may or may not have read over the last week - starting in the south and heading north they include:

The Draycott Hotel in London’s Chelsea has been acquired by the Cadogan Group who already own The Cadogan Hotel. The Draycott Hotel dates from the late 1890’s and comprises three red-brick town houses. Plans are afoot to refurbish the 35-bedroom property and transform it into The Chelsea Townhouse.

Plans for two new hotels on the Albert Embankment in central London have been approved. The hotels will be located in a 26-storey and a 29-storey block. Both will operate independently, and both will be linked by a five-floor podium. The two hotels will have nearly 900 bedrooms between them. Further details to follow.

Brentford FC with a wide range of meeting, events and exhibition facilities in London has just joined the Lime Venue Portfolio.

New owners have already begun a refurbishment project at the 32-bedroom Winford Manor hotel near Bristol Airport. This includes a renovation of the existing bedrooms and the addition of several new ones.

Plans have been approved for a new lifestyle hotel in the centre of Chester. The new hotel, in Frodsham Street, will have 162 bedrooms and will feature a top-floor restaurant plus a rooftop balcony overlooking Chester Cathedral. We await details of the hotel operator for this venture plus its likely opening date.

Plans have been published for the redevelopment of the former George Hotel in Huddersfield town centre. They will bring the Grade II-listed building back into use as a hotel. The George Hotel is famous for being the birthplace of the rugby league in 1895. The new-look hotel will be operated by Radisson Hotel Group. The number of bedrooms will increase from the former 60 to 91 with a new restaurant and bar as well as meeting and events facilities. We will monitor progress of the plans and report back.

Into Scotland: Adagio Glasgow Central is set to open at the beginning of December. The aparthotel will have 162 rooms and is situated on the banks of the River Clyde in the centre of Glasgow. It will include a gym, laundry room and guest library. Its design and indoor décor will pay homage to the location’s nautical history.

Staying in Glasgow, the first Motto by Hilton branded hotel in the UK is set to open, also on the banks of the River Clyde in Glasgow, in autumn 2024. Moto by Hilton Glasgow will have 186 bedrooms and suites plus restaurants, bars and meeting and events facilities.

Ruby Hotels has plans to open its first hotel in Scotland - but not until the end of 2025. Ruby Hotel Edinburgh will be located in Princes Street. It will have 300 bedrooms over seven floors and will feature a rooftop terrace, restaurant and a bar.

Finally, Accor Group, operator of Sofitel, Novotel and Ibis hotel brands amongst others has just added the Orient Express to its roster. It is now restoring 17 historic carriages dating back to the 1920’s. The Paris to Istanbul rail service has been synonymous with luxury travel since it was first introduced in the 1920s. The service last ran in 1977 and now Accor is now planning to resurrect the service again from 2025 – so clients can once again experience history combined with ultimate luxury.