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Published: 14 January 2024

Spotlight on new hotel and meeting room developments in Manchester.

Malmaison Manchester Deansgate is a new hotel opening in central Manchester on 1^st February. It will have 70 bedrooms and suites, a Malmaison Bar and Grill, a rooftop bar and restaurant looking across to Manchester Town Hall plus private events space for up to 12 delegates.

Mollie’s: the motel, bar and diner concept is set to open its third site in Manchester this year. It will open in Manchester’s old Granada Television Studios in Quay Street, central Manchester. Mollie’s Manchester will have 130 bedrooms, a restaurant, cocktail bar and private events space. The top three floors of the seven-storey building will house an outpost of Soho House – the private members club and the first to open outside London. It will feature an outdoor rooftop pool plus a gym. Summer 2024 is the anticipated opening date.

Kew Green Hotels has acquired the Hotel Brooklyn Manchester (plus Hotel Brooklyn Leicester). It plans to convert both properties into voco hotels by mid-2024. Hotel Brooklyn Manchester currently has 189 bedrooms, a restaurant and bar plus top-floor events and banqueting space with three flexible meeting and events suites for up to 180 guests. It is located on Portland Street in central Manchester.

Treehouse Hotels, part of SH Hotels & Resorts group is planning to open - Treehouse Hotel Manchester - this year. It will join Treehouse Hotel London. as its second hotel in their UK portfolio.  It will open in Deansgate on the site of the former Renaissance Hotel Manchester. It will include 224 bedrooms, a restaurant and bar, a ‘play area’ plus first floor events space for up to 400 guests. It was expected to open in 2022 and then 2023 but sometime in 2024 is now anticipated.

Marriott Hotels group will launch The Reach at Piccadilly in central Manchester in 2024. It will have 215 bedrooms, a restaurant, bar and fitness suite. The Reach will form part of the group’s Tribute Portfolio. It will be located at the junction of the Rochdale and Ashton Canals, a short walk from Manchester’s Piccadilly station. A definite opening date awaits publication.

Plans for a new ‘zero carbon’ boutique eco-aparthotel in the heart of Manchester have been revealed. room2 Manchester will be the UK’s ‘first net zero tower’ when it finally opens in Piccadilly in 2027. It will have 185 bedrooms across 31 floors. Each room will have its own kitchenette plus a host of sustainable measures.

Plans to open a Zedwell brand hotel in Manchester have been approved – it will be the brand’s first outside of London. Zedwell Manchester will have 187 bedrooms and will be located in the Royal Buildings next to Piccadilly Gardens in the city.  Zedwell Manchester will focus on promoting quality sleep, positive health and holistic wellbeing – a concept promoted by the four Zedwell-branded hotels in London. Development work has started on site and an early 2026 opening is anticipated.

The Emirates Old Trafford cricket ground in Manchester has launched an extension of its Hilton Garden Inn hotel. The hotel now has 250 bedrooms, including a new top floor with seven suites. The hotel includes two outdoor terraces, a restaurant plus events space - ‘The Edge’ – seating up to 140 delegates for an event or dinner. It joins The Point at the stadium which has a conference and exhibition capacity of 1,200 delegates.  The top floor features seven premium suites overlooking the cricket ground.

W Hotels  - a Marriott International brand - will operate the luxury hotel at Gary Neville's £400m St Michael's development in central Manchester. The hotel will have 162 bedrooms, two restaurants, a spa and a fitness centre. Construction began on-site last summer and early 2027 is the anticipated opening date.

Other new developments in the North-West include:

Liverpool:  The Philharmonic Hotel is a new Grade-II listed 17-bedroom hotel which has just opened in Hope Street in Liverpool’s Georgian Quarter. Some of the rooms have Jacuzzi baths and a kitchen. The site is also home to Thai Fusion Pianos restaurant.

Southport: Work is about to start on the demolition of Southport Theatre and Convention Centre. Taking its place will be a new £73million complex - The Marine Lakes Event Centre  - with a 1,200-seat theatre, 2,400-capacity conference space plus meeting rooms, restaurants and production facilities. Spring 2026 opening is anticipated for the new venture.

Chester: The plans are set to be submitted to Chester City Council this month to create a new 142-bedroom hotel on a prime city centre site – the home of the former Mecca Bingo Hall in Chester. We will monitor developments.

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Published: 14 December 2023

This week we start our roundup of the latest hotel developments in Edinburgh and gradually head southwards.

Heart of Midlothian Football Club in Edinburgh is planning a new 25-bedroom hotel and events space integrated within the main stand at its Tynecastle Park stadium – the  first club-owned and operated hotel inside a football stadium. The hotel will include six dedicated meeting, conference and event spaces. A 2024 opening is envisaged – we will monitor progress.

Also in Edinburgh, hotel operator Meininger is planning to launch a new hotel at Osborne House, a former office block close to the city centre. The new hotel will have a total of 549 bedrooms - a mix of double rooms and multiple-bed rooms. Development work is expected to start in the new year with an opening planned for later next year.

Red Carnation Hotels is planning the launch of 100 Princes Street in Edinburgh in Spring 2024. 100 Princes Street will be located in the former Royal Overseas League building, currently undergoing refurbishment. It will open with 30 exclusive bedrooms plus a restaurant and bar with a centrepiece ‘wine wall’ with over 200 wines and whiskies. The opening has already been delayed from last November. We will monitor developments.

AC Hotel by Marriott Glasgow is a new hotel which opened last month on George Street in the city centre. It has 245 bedrooms, a restaurant, bar and fitness suite plus a 55 sq-mt events suite seating up 40 delegates theatre style. The hotel is a new-build on the corner of George Street and John Street. Although a new-build, it does include the restoration of the 120-year-old Grade A listed, Victorian former city Parish Halls into 22 ‘heritage’ suites.

Before we leave Scotland can we give a special mention to Glasgow Training Rooms. Based next to Anderston Station, a short walk from Glasgow Central station and with a range of hotels on their doorstep. They offer a range of flexible room options seating from 4 to 40 delegates including a computer package with a full refreshment and lunch options available.

Planning approval has now been obtained for the new five-storey, 86-bedroom hotel, we reported last week. It is located opposite the anticipated Eden Project Morecambe. The hotel will include a restaurant and bar. We await an anticipated opening date.

Crow Wood Hotel and Resort located on a 100-acre site in Burnley, East Lancashire has been granted planning permission to build a solar farm with around 2,000 panels in its grounds. Their aim - to become self-sufficient and generate its own electricity. The hotel has 76 luxury bedrooms and suites, a restaurant and bar plus extensive conference and banqueting facilities plus a Woodland Spa. It opened in 2019.

Plans to transform the former home of John Lewis in Williamson Square, Liverpool city centre into a hotel, restaurant and sky bar have been approved. A 175-bedroom 'Mama Shelter' from the Accor Hotel chain will be the operators and the hotel will include a restaurant, bar and leisure facilities, including new external terraces and a sky bar. We will monitor developments.

W Hotels is to operate the new luxury hotel planned at Gary Neville's St Michael's development in Manchester. The new hotel will include 162 bedrooms, two restaurants, a spa and fitness centre and meeting facilities. Construction began on site last summer but an opening is not expected before early 2027.

New Holgate is a new boutique townhouse hotel which has just opened in York. The building itself is a Grade II-listed Victorian townhouse dating from 1846. New Holgate has 12 individually designed bedrooms over four floors plus a restaurant and bar. The hotel also has a small boardroom available for private meetings and events plus an on-site private car park for twelve vehicles. It is located a 15-minute walk from York city centre, York Racecourse and York station.

Plans for a new hotel in Runswick Bay on the North Yorkshire coast in the North York Moors National Park have been approved. The Cliffemount Hotel will be constructed to Passivhaus energy efficiency standards and will include 20 bedrooms plus a pub and restaurant. If it meets the energy efficiency standard, it will become the first Passivhaus-accredited hotel in the UK.

A full refurbishment is currently underway on the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel at the Coventry Building Society Arena. All 121 bedrooms are being renovated with new technology installed in the bedrooms, plus a new-look lobby and restaurant – all set for completion by the summer of 2024. The hotel remains open throughout.

Escapade Silverstone is a new luxury trackside hotel and clubhouse at the Silverstone Racetrack Circuit in Northamptonshire and scheduled to open in spring 2024. It will feature 60 apartments varying between two and four bedrooms - all overlooking the racetrack. It is expected to launch in time for the 2024 British Grand Prix.

Yotelpad, budget hotel group Yotel’s aparthotel brand, is set to open in London’s Stratford before the end of year. It will include 62 studios each equipped with kitchenettes, working and leisure space plus a bathroom. The hotel will include laundry facilities plus a ‘grab and go’ dining area. It is located on Broadway close to the new Elizabeth line connecting with mainline stations, airports and central London.

The Landing is a new 4-star boutique hotel which has just opened on-site at London Biggin Hill Airport. Set to the side of runway 03, The Landing has 56 bedrooms, a small fitness suite, a 66-seat lounge plus a bar and restaurant with views towards London and London Biggin Hill Airport itself. 

Art’otel Hoxton is a new hotel scheduled to open in London in March 2024. It will include 357 bedrooms, a 25^th floor restaurant, a first-floor restaurant plus a ground floor café, bar and outdoor terrace. The hotel will include ten meeting and events rooms. Leisure facilities include an indoor swimming pool and spa plus a skyline gym on the 26^th floor. You will find the hotel in Rivington Street, a short walk from Old Street tube station and a ten-minute walk to the City of London.

Marriott International are launching a new hotel brand to add to their collection - Four Points Express by Sheraton. The new brand is designed for both business and leisure guests and promises comfortable bedrooms, breakfast and complimentary wi-fi at an affordable price. The first Four Points Express by Sheraton will be located in London close Euston, Kings Cross and St Pancras International stations. We will monitor its anticipated opening date.

Aparthotel brand - Native Places – is opening of its latest property in London in January. Native King’s Wardrobe St Paul’s will be the group’s seventh hotel in the UK and fourth in London. It will have 92 apartments, each with a fully equipped kitchen, living and dining areas plus workspaces. The hotel is spread across seven Grade II listed townhouses just behind St Paul’s Cathedral.

room2 hometels has opened a fourth location in Queen Street, central Belfast. room2 hometel Belfast has 175 bedrooms spread across eight floors plus a cafe/restaurant, coffee roastery, four first floor meeting and workspaces, gym, bar and lounge. Room2 Belfast hometel is located in the heart of Belfast’s business district.

Valor Hospitality group is planning a major refurbishment of six of its Hilton properties next year. They include three Double Tree by Hilton hotels in Manchester Piccadilly, Leeds and Chester plus three Hilton Garden Inn hotels in Birmingham, Glasgow, and Bristol – with over 1300 bedrooms in total. Completion of the work is anticipated by September 2024.

Finally, if you are looking to re-furnish your house you could always check out Brighton. The Grand Brighton hotel to be precise. It is to auction off some of its furniture before it embarks on a major refurbishment starting in the early new year. All the bedrooms are being refurbished by the Fattal Group, the hotel’s new owners. The first auction is on 19^th December, and it will include bedroom furniture including beds, bedside tables, wardrobes, desks and chairs. Other auctions will follow in the New Year.

We will be back in the New Year with more hotel and venue news. In the meantime, we wish you, your colleagues and your family a very happy Christmas and New Year.

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Published: 06 October 2023

Starting in London, Broadwick Soho is expected to finally open in November. It will have 57 bedrooms with bespoke furniture and individually selected artworks. It will feature a rooftop bar, a restaurant on the eighth floor, a ground-floor lounge and events space, details of which await publication. It is located in Broadwick Street

10th October sees the official opening of  DoubleTree by Hilton Woking’s new Conference Centre – with eight modern meeting rooms, the largest accommodating up to 350 delegates. All rooms have been refurbished and equipped with modern lighting and AV, stylishly decorated with new carpets and equipped with tea and coffee stations.  It is located in the centre of Woking, half-mile from Woking station.

Moving north, Ennismore has confirmed plans to open the second Mama Shelter branded hotel in the UK in Liverpool, following its launch in London’s Shoreditch. It will be located in the city centre at the George Henry Lee building, formerly John Lewis. Mama Shelter Liverpool will have 175 bedrooms, a rooftop restaurant and bar plus a Sports Bar, a karaoke room, a 10-pin bowling alley and co-working spaces. It is expected to open in 2025.

 Staying in Liverpool, plans have been published to convert Liverpool's former magistrates court into a four star boutique hotel with a bar, restaurant and courtyard garden. The building, which dates back to about 1850 is located on Dale Street in the city centre.  Plans envisage 91 bedrooms created alongside a new build element with 20 bedrooms plus a restaurant, bar, gym, sauna and garden. The former courtrooms would be converted into events space. Full planning permission and listed building consent has been submitted to Liverpool City Council – we will monitor progress.

Moving across to Manchester, Marriott Hotels have signed an agreement with Relentless Developments and Salboy Ltd to bring W Hotels to Manchester. It is planned to open in the city’s St Michael's development in Q1 2027. W Manchester, will have 162 bedrooms and suites, restaurant and bars plus events space. Further details to follow in due course.

Meanwhile further north in Lancashire, plans are progressing to convert the historic Magistrates building in Ormskirk into a hotel with 23 luxury apartments - and with the old courtroom and cells converted  into a restaurant and bar. Further details plus proposed opening date to follow.

Across the Pennines, the new Hyatt Hotel currently under construction next to Leeds station has just reached the ‘topping out’ stage. The 12 storey, 305 bedroomed hotel is expected to open in 2024.

Vine Hotels has announced plans to transform its central Sheffield Cutlers Hotel into an ‘all–suite’ hotel. The refurbished hotel would comprise 27 suites each with a lounge, one or two bedrooms and a private kitchen. If all goes to plan construction is expected to start by the end of the year followed by an estimated 12-month building programme.

In Scotland, Radisson Blu Glasgow has unveiled almost 250 completely renovated bedrooms as part of a £15 million refurbishment project which began in January. The hotel is situated in Argyle Street, a stone’s throw from Glasgow Central station.

Dalata Hotels have acquired a development site on St. Andrew's Square in central Edinburgh and are planning, subject to approval, a 153-bedroom Clayton-branded hotel with a bar, restaurant, gym and two meeting rooms. A mid-2026 opening is anticipated.

Finally we are excited at the news our close neighbour, the Voco St John’s Hotel Solihull, is up for sale – 201 bedroom hotel at a guide price of £25million. What does the future hold we wonder?

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Published: 31 December 2023

We start the latest line up of new hotel news – the first of the New Year – in London

Hyde London City, from the Ennismore Group, will open early 2024. The 111 bedroom hotel overlooks St Paul’s Cathedral and will include a restaurant, a Japanese-inspired speakeasy bar and gym.

art’otel London Battersea Power Station is expected to open March 2024. The 27-storey building will include 357 bedrooms and suites, restaurants and bars, leisure facilities including an indoor swimming pool, meeting and events space and leisure facilities including an indoor swimming pool. The hotel is a 2-minute walk from the Battersea Power Station tube station.

The Star and Garter pub in Lower Richmond Road, Putney is set to return to its original use. It opened in 1902 as a hotel before being converted into a pub. The new look hotel will have 24 bedrooms plus a bistro and bar. Plans have been approved but no opening date published yet.

Miiro is a new Indian-based lifestyle hotel brand planning its first hotel in the UK– Templeton Garden – a 156 bedroom hotel with restaurant and bar in Earls Court London, expected to open in early 2025.

Marriott International is introducing a new mid-market brand in Europe - Four Points Express by Sheraton. Marriott claims the brand will ‘treat the fundamentals with great importance by providing clean, comfortable rooms, breakfast and complimentary Wi-Fi, delivering an efficient and relaxing experience at an affordable price’. The first opening in the UK will be in London, near Euston station, and is expected to open in 2024 with 201 bedrooms.

Z Hotels has plans to open its 12th London property and it will be located adjacent to Leicester Square. It will be the conversion of a five-storey office building on Charing Cross Road into a hotel with between 81 and 95 bedrooms. A late-2024 opening is anticipated.

Hospitality management company Kinsfolk & Co will open its first hotel, The Newman, in London's Fitzrovia in winter 2024. The Newman will have 81 bedrooms and suites, a European brasserie, cocktail bar plus a ‘wellness floor’. Further details to follow in due course.

Sircle London will be the first Sircle Collection hotel to open in the UK. It is expected to open in March on Devonshire Square close to Liverpool Street station and Spitalfields Market. Sircle London will have 70 bedrooms, 11 suites, an outdoor botanical courtyard, a restaurant, a fitness centre and a yoga studio.

Heading north, TreeDweller is the first treehouse-only hotel in the UK. It opens in Cornbury Park, Oxfordshire in March. There will be seven treehouses in the new complex, each encased in timber, glass and aluminium. Each treehouse will include a kitchen, one or two ensuite bedrooms and living space furnished with a wood burning stove plus an outdoor shower on the terrace.

Grand Hotel Birmingham has teamed up with Michelin starred Opheem Gourmet getaway to offer ‘a fine dining experience to remember’. The hotel has recently re-opened in the city centre following a £50 million restoration and refurbishment. The hotel includes 185 bedrooms and suites, plus a Grand Ballroom and eight first floor meeting and events spaces.

Planning permission has been granted for a new Radisson hotel in Hull. It will be the redevelopment of the former New York Hotel site on Anlaby Road. The new six-storey building will include 116 bedrooms, a restaurant, bar, lounge, fitness suite plus conference and meeting facilities. We will monitor developments and advise proposed opening date in due course.

The Aysgarth Falls Hotel in the Yorkshire Dales has gained planning permission to add 14 purpose-built luxury hotel lodges and additional restaurant space alongside its 11 existing hotel bedrooms – with the aim of attracting the corporate market to this particularly attractive part of the Yorkshire Dales. Further details to follow.

Work is set to start on the multi-million pound conversion of an historic magistrates’ court in Ormskirk, Lancashire to create the five-star Ormskirk Court Hotel – an aparthotel with 23 apartments plus car parking. Completion is anticipated in the spring.

Langdale Chase Hotel in Lake Windermere has just reopened with 30 bedrooms and suites following a 12-month refurbishment. The hotel includes the Boathouse, with a balcony and rooftop terrace with views of the lake. The hotel has a restaurant and bar and offers a range of outdoor activities including sailing on Lake Windermere and other water sports, plus mountain biking, clay pigeon shooting, archery and bush-crafts. 

Seaton House is a five-star, luxury boutique hotel opening in St Andrews next summer – right next to the first tee of the Old Course. It will have 40 bedrooms, some with private terraces, plus an all-day restaurant, bar, lounge and gym. It will also boast views across Fife’s coastline as well as the championship golf course.

room2 hometels has opened in a fourth location in Queen Street, central Belfast. room2 hometel Belfast has 175 bedrooms spread across eight floors plus a cafe/restaurant, coffee roastery, four first floor meeting and workspaces, gym, bar and lounge. Room2 hometel Belfast is in the heart of the central Belfast business district.

Dalata, Ireland's largest hotel group, is planning four new hotels in the UK during 2024. These will include new hotels in Brighton and Liverpool and additional properties in Manchester and London. We will advise details and opening dates in due course.

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Published: 06 December 2023

Some hotel and events news items you may have missed over the last few weeks. Starting in London and heading eastwards and northwards it includes:

London’s first Waldorf Astoria property is set to open in Admiralty Arch in 2025. It will include 100 rooms  with a selection of suites, restaurants and bars plus a 320-cover ballroom. Details of meeting/business facilities await publication.

Dalata Hotels group has opened Maldron Finsbury Park, its first property in London. It includes 191 bedrooms and suites, an open plan grill-bar and a fitness suite. It is located in Seven Sisters Road, a one-minute walk from the tube station.

PPHE Hotel Group has secured planning approval to develop a new hotel in existing subterranean space at its Park Plaza Victoria London hotel. The new ‘lifestyle’ hotel, yet to be named, will feature 179 bedrooms and its own dedicated entrance. We will advise opening date when it is published.

Originally scheduled to open this autumn, Sircle Collection now plan to open Sircle London next year. It will be located in Devonshire Square in London’s Liverpool Street. It will include 81bedrooms and suites, an outdoor botanical courtyard and restaurant plus a member’s club, featuring a yoga studio and gym.

Plans have been approved to renovate and extend the existing 404-bedroom Hilton London Olympia Hotel on Kensington High Street London. The hotel extension will be created on a site adjacent to the Olympia Exhibition Centre and tube station and will add more than 500 bedrooms as well as incorporating a roof garden and rooftop bar with views over the surrounding area.

Zedwell Hotels has opened its latest property – its third in London - in Greenwich close to the River Thames. Zedwell Greenwich has 96 bedrooms each offering the group’s windowless sleep concept helping to ensure a good night’s sleep free from extraneous distraction. Rooms include Hypnos beds, cotton sheets, rain showers and ambient lighting.

Congratulations to Church House Westminster. They have won a silver award in the category of Sustainable Venue of the Year at the London Venue and Catering Awards 2023. One of their initiatives saw the conversion of their 74 urinals to a waterless system which has reduced water consumption by 80%.

The Runnymede on Thames Hotel is currently undergoing a complete renovation and is set to reopen autumn 2024 as an adults only hotel with 205 bedrooms, a riverside lounge, two restaurants plus a spa and wellness offering,

IHG in partnership with Zeal Hotels will be opening voco Zeal Exeter Science Park in 2024 – their first lifecycle net zero carbon hotel. It will include 142 bedrooms, a restaurant, bar, gym, gardens plus meeting and events space. Further details to follow.

Travelodge has topped out its new Travelodge Abbey Wood development in Bristol. The 85 bedroom hotel is scheduled to open summer 2024.

The Store is a new hotel opening in the centre of Oxford in February 2024. It will be on the site of Boswells, the city’s oldest department store. It will feature 101 bedrooms, a restaurant, spa, co-working space and a rooftop bar.

The Pig on the Farm is set to open in December 2024. The latest opening – their nineth - from the Pig Hotel group will occupy a 16th century stone-built manor house set in 53 acres of land five miles outside of Stratford-upon-Avon. It will have 35 bedrooms and suites, a restaurant and bar, two lounges and two private dining rooms.

The Grade II-listed former HMP Shrewsbury Prison built in 1793, is set to be converted into a  20 bedroom hotel and restaurant. The prison has featured in past television dramas. The new hotel will include conference facilities and will maintain a contact with its colourful past with immersive activites including ‘Prison Break’. Re-development work has started with an opening expected next year.

Plans to convert a former store in central Liverpool’s Renshaw Street , once the home of Rapid Hardware, into a hotel have been approved. The new hotel will include 20 bedrooms – proposed opening dates and further details to follow.

In Lancashire, existing buildings on a site opposite the anticipated Eden Project Morecambe are set to be demolished to make way for a five-storey hotel and bar. Decision expected in the New Year. 

The Address Collective is planning to open its fifth hotel and first in Scotland early next year.  The Address Glasgow, which is expected to open early next year in Renfield Street, will have 95 bedrooms. Further details to follow.

W Hotels group has just opened its latest project: James Quarter: W Edinburgh.  It includes 199 bedrooms and 45 suites, many with outdoor terraces, a rooftop deck, a spa and fitness centre plus five meeting and events suites with the largest seating up to 28 delegatse.

Back shortly with more updates – thanks for checking us out.

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Published: 28 September 2023

Starting in London, The Millennium Gloucester Hotel in central London has just reopened following a £5million refurbishment. The hotel now has 611 bedrooms, a new gym and three new meeting and events suites bringing the total number to 29.

Christ Church Spitalfields in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets is to relaunch its refurbished venue with a new catering partner -Jimmy Garcia Catering. Meeting space includes the Grand Nave, which seats up to 350 theatre-style with smaller meetings housed in the Crypt.

The Design Museum's new fashion exhibition sponsored by Alexander McQueen, which opened in September, is now available for corporate hire. The Design Museum is located on Kensington High Street and has seven different events spaces.

Raffles London at The OWO opens today – 29^th September in London's former Old War Office.

Marriott have launched ‘Four Points Express by Sheraton’ brand with Four Points Express by Sheraton London Euston, the first expected to open in the UK in 2024 with 201 bedrooms.

In Liverpool, the ACC Liverpool Group operators of the Exhibition Centre Liverpool, M&S Bank Arena and Convention Centre, has achieved its aim to become carbon neutral.

Meanwhile in Manchester the Hyatt Regency Hotel has been crowned winners of the ‘Hotel of the Year’ award at the City of Manchester Awards 2023.

Across the Pennines plans have been lodged for the alteration and extension of the historic Owston Hall Hotel and Golf in Doncaster. The Grade II-listed building was converted into a hotel in the year 2000. Currently it has 32 bedrooms. An additional 23 bedrooms are included in the plans together with expanded leisure facilities. We will monitor its progress.

Room2 Belfast is opening on Queen Street in the centre of Belfast on 16^th October. It will be the fourth hotel in the group and will include 175 bedrooms over nine floors, a café/restaurant, four first floor meeting rooms plus a coffee roastery and a gym.

Three news items from the south-west of England include:

The Number One Bruton hotel in Somerset with just 12 bedrooms is planning to expand. The hotel has taken over its neighbouring pub and plans to add new bedrooms as well as expanding its restaurant and bar operation.

The developer who was responsible for creating the Eden Project in Cornwall, has revealed plans to open a new £30million luxury beachfront hotel in Brixham. Plans envisage a 44-bedroom hotel with restaurant, roof bar, gym, spa and a new beach-side bistro. Again, we will monitor progress

Staying in Cornwall, The Bodmin Jail Hotel has been transformed from a grim 18th century prison into a new boutique hotel with 70 bedrooms, a restaurant and bar. The hotel has two meeting rooms: the original Naval wing seating 80 delegates and The Chapel seating 60 delegates.

Finally, a new nationwide study commissioned by Leonardo Hotels UK & Ireland has revealed that the top 20 sleep inducers in the modern age include listening to a true crime podcast, watching a comedy show or stroking a pet. Counting sheep or mugs of Horlicks do not make the cut.