The latest hotel and conference news items this week, in no particular order, include:
Mandarin Oriental Group has announced plans to open its third London hotel, on the South Bank, in 2028. Mandarin Oriental Bankside will launch with 171 bedrooms and 70 branded residences together meeting and events spaces, four restaurants, a fitness centre, a 25metre pool and outdoor terraces. Mandarin Oriental Bankside will be centred around the railway arches between the Tate Modern and Blackfriars Station in central London. Mandarin Oriental Bankside will join the five-AA-star Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, which opened in 2000, and the shortly to open Mandarin Oriental Mayfair also in central London.
Drumsheds is a new blank space meeting and events venue which has just opened in a disused industrial warehouse in Tottenham, North London. It is a venue which claims to ‘do things a little bit differently’ Drumsheds has four principal events suites - X Room, the main room, has a capacity of up to 15,000 people. It is a blank canvas space fully equipped with a stage, PA systems, power and rigging. Drumsheds is a ‘place without walls, where nothing is fixed’ and can be used for festivals, large-scale entertainment, private parties, fashion, exhibitions, set builds, filming, photography, product launches and brand activations.
New owners of the former Royal Angus Hotel site in central Birmingham are planning to open a new aparthotel on the site this autumn. Aparthotel Birmingham, located in Snowhill, will include 161 studios, 1 bedroom and 2 bedrooms apartments and suites across nine floors. The operators, Switch Hospitality, already manage the Park Regis Hotel Birmingham, Holiday Inn Express Birmingham South and Nite Nite hotel also in central Birmingham.
Wyboston Lakes Resort in Bedfordshire has just opened a new and very different meeting and events space – ‘Sandpiper Bay’. It is outdoors and beside a lake. Sandpiper Bay will seat up to 200 delegates and can be used for meetings, events or team building events. Sandpiper Bay features covered outdoor seating and five beach huts for meetings plus outside catering options which include an ice cream cart and a Volkswagen Camper serving station. Wyboston Lakes is located on a 380-acre site just off the A1 with good access to the M1 and M11 motorways.
The Glenridding Hotel on the shores of Ullswater in the Lake District will become The Ullswater Inn when it reopens this autumn. The hotel, lying in the shadow of Helvellyn, has been upgraded and improved with the total number of bedrooms increasing from 36 to 57.
The Birch Selsdon Hotel has just opened in Croydon. It joins its sister hotel, Birch Cheshunt, which opened in Hertfordshire in 2020. The Birch Selsdon is housed in a 19th century mansion located on a 200-acre site, with 181 bedrooms, two restaurants, three bars, a lido, a wellness space, co-working hubs and creative studios offering a range of activities, including a pottery studio, a screen-printing workshop, an interactive kitchen and a screening room. A lido and tennis courts are set to open in the summer.
Singaporean investors, KOP Group, have just opened Montigo Resorts Somerset. Located in the market town of Shepton Mallet, the hotel is on the site of the former Charlton House Hotel and Spa which was a 28- bedroom country house hotel with a spa, three restaurants, and gardens. New owners have refurbished the property with final upgrades to the existing bedrooms expected to be completed by early 2024.
Chesford Grange Hotel in Kenilworth, is undergoing a multi-million pound refurbishment of its meeting and events facilities, due for completion this autumn. The hotel’s main Kenilworth Suite, which seats up to 700 delegates theatre-style, will have a new interior throughout. The majority of bedrooms at Chesford Grange Hotel have already been upgraded. Chesford Grange is set in 17 acres of grounds, minutes away from the Midland’s motorway network with easy access to Warwick, Coventry and Birmingham.
The Caer Rhun Hall Hotel in the Conwy Vally in North Wales is set to reopen, three years after it closed and following a major refurbishment programme. Caer Rhun Hall Hotel is a Grade II-listed three-storey, late-Victorian mansion. It will open with 32 bedrooms, a lounge bar, breakfast room and events space. Future plans will see the hotel grow to 76 bedrooms with a new restaurant and spa also planned.
The Ebrington Hotel & Spa is a new four-star hotel which has just opened overlooking the River Foyle in Derry, Northern Ireland. The hotel has transformed five buildings in a former military base, a site which includes a landmark clocktower. The Ebrington Hotel & Spa has opened with 91 bedrooms, but this is anticipated to rise to over 150 bedrooms. Facilities also include a Ballroom to seat up to 150 guests and a spa.
Wyndham Hotels and Resorts are opening the first Super 8 Hotel in the UK this month. Super 8 by Wyndham Chester East is opening with 41 bedrooms - the building just having undergone a major refurbishment programme. It is located just off junction 14 of the M56 motorway. Super 8 by Wyndham Chester East will offer a variety of room types all equipped with the latest in-room technology. The hotel includes a bar and restaurant, as well as on-site EV charging facilities.
and finally, The Jolly Good Fish & Chip Hotel is a boutique hotel has just opened in Blackpool. It is Britain’s first fish and chip themed hotel. The hotel has just one bedroom and it will not be possible to stay overnight. The hotel is a pop-up from the team at Gala Bingo where guests can enjoy a portion of fish, chips and peas, as well as a complimentary game of bingo – on 8th and 9th July for one weekend only. It is located on Blackpool’s promenade.