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Published: 30 November 2022

Carden Park Hotel in Cheshire has announced plans for a £750,000 makeover of the hotel’s reception and bar with a completion envisaged for March 2023.

Roseate Hotels has bought Dunstane Houses in Edinburgh. The Dunstane Houses dates from the mid-nineteenth century. The Houses are situated in Edinburgh's West End with 35 bedrooms and suites set across two villas. Roseate Dunstane Houses will join two existing hotels in the UK – Roseate House London close to Paddington station and Roseate Villa Bath.

Zeal Hotels have unveiled plans to build a new sustainable hotel at Exeter Science Park alongside the M5 motorway and less than a mile from Exeter Airport. The hotel will have 140 bedrooms and suites plus meeting and events rooms, a restaurant, a bar, a gym, gardens plus numerous car charging points. Building work is expected to start in the first quarter of 2023, with the hotel opening in the second quarter, 2024.

Crest Hotels has acquired the formerly independently owned Metropole Hotel and Spa in the spa town of Llandrindod Wells in Powys, Wales.

New developments from Travelodge include a major Rotherham development that is set to provide a new hotel plus a cinema and restaurants. Building work has just started on The Forge Island project which will feature an eight-screen cinema as well as a 69-bedroom Travelodge. Travelodge is also planning a new 113-bedroom hotel expected to open next year in Chiswick, west London

Aparthotel brand Locke has announced plans to open its sixth property in London in summer 2023. It will be a transformation of the former NH Kensington hotel. Locke Kensington will include 121 apartments, a bar, restaurant, co-working space, meeting areas and private gardens. Locke Kensington will join existing Locke aparthotels including: Kingsland Locke, Buckle Street Studios by Locke, Locke at Broken Wharf, Leman Locke and Bermonds Locke.

Sorry the summary is late this week – we will try and do better next week

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Published: 11 November 2022

Some of the news stories you may have missed during the week include:

Plans have just been approved for a new hotel in the centre of Chester. It will have 162 bedrooms and suites over four floors and will feature a rooftop restaurant and balcony plus a gym and meeting and events facilities. We will monitor its progress and report further news when we have it.

The Lowry Hotel Manchester plans to open a ‘technology spa’ in November – the first of its kind in the UK. The new spa will feature four treatment rooms, a space with loungers, fitness studio and a brow and lash bar. 

Malmaison Manchester Deansgate will open April 2023. It will be the second Malmaison in the city centre following Malmaison Manchester Piccadilly.  Malmaison Manchester Deansgate will have 70 bedrooms, a Chex Mal Brasserie, a rooftop bar plus a terrace and events space.

The refurbishment of Travelodge Wincanton hotel in Somerset is now complete. It is one of 60 properties in the budget hotel’s portfolio currently being upgraded with a new 'budget-luxe' design. The budget-luxe design features include a number of sustainable initiatives including new carpets made from recycled fishing nets, low-energy lighting, motion sensing controls and aerated showers and taps. Wincanton will be one of the first Travelodges to be upgraded to the new budget-luxe premium look.

L+R Hotels has announced a completion date of May 2023 for The Mole Resort in Devon. The Mole Resort is set in 125 acres on Exmoor near the River Mole. The resort will include 58 new lodges plus hotel rooms and dining facilities. A range of indoor and outdoor activities will feature swimming, fitness classes, golf and tennis.

The St Kilda Hotel in Llandudno has just been acquired by the expanding Inn Collection Group – its third property in Wales. St Kilda Hotel dates from the mid nineteenth century. It has 60 bedrooms and is located on the resort’s central promenade.

Staying in Wales we finish this roundup with a animal story with a difference. Next summer will see the opening of the first boutique hotel for dogs. It is the Cwtch Animal Homestay Cwmbran. The Homestay will feature twelve individually designed guest suites each with a doggy lounge and a TV. Communal areas will feature a pool and a spa plus an indoor play area. The site’s existing Cwtch Animal Homestay adventure park features climbing frames plus obstacle courses for dogs. Human guests will definitely not be welcome. Men will just have to stay in their existing doghouses.

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Published: 30 October 2022

A brief summary of some of the hotel/conference venue stories you may have missed during half-term.

Construction work has just started on a new 221-bedroom hotel behind the Metropole on Brighton’s seafront. The new hotel will be operated by the Maldron hotel group. The new hotel is being built on the site of the former Metropole conference centre. It will include a restaurant and bar. Details of meeting and events facilities await publication. A 2024 opening date is envisaged The site also includes the 323-bedroom Hilton Brighton Metropole which is currently undergoing refurbishment.

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A new multi-purpose events centre is planned in Southport. If approved the new Marine Lake Events Centre would include a 1,500-capacity theatre as well as exhibition and conference facilities. It would replace the existing Southport Theatre and Convention Centre, which closed in 2020.

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A new hotel, bar and restaurant is set to open in Alnwick in the grounds of Charlton Hall Estate in Northumberland.  The hotel - The Tempus - will have 15 bedrooms, each with a design inspired by the Alice in Wonderland. The hotel will also include a restaurant and bar. It is set to open in early 2023.

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Great London Hospitality has announced it will rebrand as the 'Clermont Hotel Group' this autumn. The rebranding, which marks the culmination of £90 million worth of investment over the past four years.

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Proposals have been published for a new 150-bedroom hotel in central Manchester hotel. If approved it will operate under the Motto by Hilton brand. The location is on the corner of Great Ancoats Street and Laystall Street, between Piccadilly, Ancoats and the Northern Quarter. Plans envisage a 150-bedroom hotel housed in a 20 storey building. A planning application is expected later this year and assuming no hiccups the construction could begin in spring 2023.

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The Inn Collection Group has begun refurbishment work on three Lake District hotels: The Wateredge Inn, The Waterhead Inn and The Angel Inn. All three will have new restaurants and bars plus refurbished bedrooms, whilst maintaining the fundamental character of the buildings.

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Marriott has just opened their first AC Hotel brand in Scotland on the banks of the River Ness in the centre of Inverness. The four-storey AC Hotel by Marriott Inverness is the largest hotel in the city with 191 bedrooms and suites, a restaurant and bar, leisure facilities and one meeting room to seat up to eight delegates.

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Finally, we are hearing very good reports regarding D&D London’s first Birmingham venture - Orelle Restaurant. Orelle is located on the 24th floor of 103 Colmore, the city’s tallest office building lying at the heart of the city’s business quarter.  As well as stunning views across the city, Orelle also features an all-day cafe and terrace with 88 covers and a standing capacity of up to 150 as well as a 12-seater private dining room – for meetings with a difference. Oh! and the food is excellent as well according to our spies.

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Published: 17 November 2022

Art’otel London Battersea Power Station has announced a planned ‘soft opening’ on 12 December with an official launch planned for 21 February 2023.

AC Hotels by Marriott have just opened their first hotel in Scotland. The four-storey AC Hotel Inverness is located in Glebe Street on the banks of the River Ness. It has 191 bedrooms, an all-day restaurant with 90 covers, a 24-hour fitness centre and a small, fully equipped meeting room for up to eight delegates. 

The Caterer Magazine is reporting that Sircle Collection, a European hotel and restaurant operator, is planning to launch its first UK hotel in east London. It will be an 80-bedroom development close to Liverpool Street Station. Further details to follow.

The Eldon Chambers, a historic Grade-2 listed building located on Newcastle’s Quayside, is to be redeveloped into a new boutique hotel. The new hotel, a three storey building, will have 26 bedrooms, a restaurant and a bar. The building dates back to 1833. Most recently it was law offices but the building has now been derelict since 2016.

Staying in the north-east, The Inn Collection Group will be rebranding the Park Hotel in North Tyneside next year as the Tynemouth Castle Inn following completion of a multi-million pound refurbishment. The art-deco building overlooks Longsands Beach.

Molo Hotel Group is planning to open new hotels in Manchester and Liverpool next year. They will join a group whose portfolio includes Courtyard by Marriott London Luton Airport, Hotel Indigo Liverpool Ropewalks, Holiday Inn Express Cambridge West, Courtyard by Marriot Edinburgh West and Courtyard by Marriott Inverness Airport. The new hotels will be the Holiday Inn Express Liverpool Ropewalks which is due to open in the spring and The Reach at Piccadilly in Manchester which will also open next year.

EasyHotel group has unveiled an ambition to more than double its size to 100 hotels by 2026. It currently has 42 hotels in 10 countries with over 20 in the UK from London to Liverpool.

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Published: 04 November 2022

Some of the venue news stories you may have missed over the last week include:

 All Jurys Inns in the UK are set to be rebranded as Leonardo Hotels. The first three on the list are: Jurys Inn Edinburgh is set to become Leonardo Royal Hotel Edinburgh; Jurys Inn Cheltenham will become Leonardo Hotel Cheltenham and Jurys Inn Oxford will be renamed Leonardo Royal Hotel Oxford. The transitioning of the remaining Jurys Hotels in the UK will be taking place from the end of October through until the end of December 2022.

The Greenway Hotel and Spa a boutique16th century manor house located on an eight-acre site in Shurdington near Cheltenham has begun a major refurbishment of its 21 bedrooms. It is set to be completed by early next year and the hotel will remain open throughout.

Boutique hotel operator, GuestHouse Hotels, is planning to open its fourth property - No. 42 Margate - in spring 2023. The hotel will feature 21 bedrooms plus a restaurant, rooftop terrace and a spa. It will join No. 15 Bath, a 37-bedroom Georgian townhouse in the centre of Bath and No.1 York in the same group.

The Hobson is a new hotel set to open shortly in the centre of Cambridge. The Hobson was formerly Hobson House and before that a Victorian Police Station. The Grade II-listed building has now completed a total renovation. The Hobson will be a five-star hotel with 56 suites with a breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea served in a glass enclosed courtyard. The Hobson is a Rogue City Hotel and is located in St Andrews Street on the banks of the River Cam in Cambridge.

x+why, the flexible workspace specialist has just opened its second Birmingham site in the city’s tallest office building - 103 Colmore Row.  The site includes 31,500sqft of flexible workspace across the first, second and third floors which includes meeting rooms, events space, break-out areas as well as private offices plus an eighteenth-floor lounge and bar with unrivalled views across the city.

Let’s finish with something totally different – it regards the Ambassador Theatre Group. Their portfolio includes many of the world’s most historic theatres and music venues, from London’s West End to a range of regional venues across the UK as well as overseas in USA and Europe. With their shows they are offering a private room for companies to entertain their guests for the evening with catering and drinks plus VIP seats to watch the show. It sounds like an interesting and unusual way to entertain clients.

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Published: 22 October 2022

The major story of the week is the reopening of Battersea Power Station in London. The art-deco, Grade-II listed building with its enormous chimneys is a London landmark but had been derelict for decades before completion of a £9billion regeneration. Battersea Power Stion is now a shopping centre and food court with its own tube station. The first new hotel to open will be art’otel London Battersea Power Station opening this autumn. The hotel will be located within Battersea Roof Gardens with164-bedrooms, a range of meeting and events facilities plus a skyline destination restaurant and bar. Leisure facilities will include a rooftop swimming pool, as well as a gym and a spa.

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Now we have three hotel stories from Scotland:

Operators of the Irish-based Address Hotels group are opening a hotel in Glasgow. The group has acquired the recently refurbished former Pocotel hotel in West George Street in the centre of Glasgow. It will be renamed The Address Hotel Glasgow. The six storey Address Hotel Glasgow has 91 bedrooms, a restaurant and bar plus meeting rooms and a fitness suite.

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The new Hoxton Edinburgh is set to open in Edinburgh’s Haymarket summer 2023. It will have 211 bedrooms and suites in the main hotel building and across  10 joined-together Georgian townhouses. Hoxton Edinburgh will include a restaurant and bar plus a range of event suites. More details to follow.

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Cameron House Hotel on the banks of Loch Lomond in Scotland is set to open its new extension – the Lomond Wing. The wing has 68 new bedrooms, a 700 sq-mt ballroom and events suite which can seat up to 300 guests plus a loch facing terrace.

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The Dilly Hotel in London’s Piccadilly has been acquired by the Fattal Group – operators of the Leonardo Hotels brand.

The Dilly Hotel has 283 bedrooms and suites, a restaurant and basement bar, an indoor swimming pool and squash courts. 894 sq-mt of events space includes seven events suites and four breakout rooms. 

A decision on whether the new owners will change its name has not been published yet. It opened as The Piccadilly Hotel in 1908, and in recent years it became a Le Meridien Hotel before emerging as The Dilly hotel.

Millennium Point in the centre of Birmingham is setting out its stall to attract last minute end of year meetings, catch-ups and interviews. Millennium Point is equipped with 11 versatile events spaces – the largest seating up to 95 delegates. They range from outdoor networking spaces to one of Birmingham’s biggest screens.  Millennium Point is a short walk from both Birmingham New Street and Birmingham Moor Street stations.

Formerly Wolverhampton Civic Hall, the building is now reopening as The Halls Wolverhampton in June 2023 following completion of a major multi-million-pound refurbishment programme. Whilst primarily hosting leading music and entertainment performers, The Halls Wolverhampton will also host business events and conferences. The Halls Wolverhampton is located in North Street in the city centre.

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Plans have been published to convert Denton Hall, a country house in Ilkley, West Yorkshire into a hotel. The Grade I-listed main Hall plus the Grade II-listed former Stables and Coach House are currently used as a training centre. The new hotel, if approved, would feature 27 bedrooms plus a reception, restaurant and bar, a gym and meeting rooms.

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Hardwick Hall Hotel near Sedgefield in County Durham has published plans to add an extra 35 bedrooms to its existing 50+ rooms, as well as adding a new luxury spa and health club. If successful building work will start late 2023. The £13million plan envisages 33 premier rooms, with Juliet balconies on the upper level using existing buildings in the grounds which have been derelict for some considerable time. Hardwick Hall also has four fully equipped meeting and events suites accommodating between four and 350 delegates.