Starting in London our latest listing of new hotel and venue developments includes:
Budget hotel brand Yotel Hotel are opening their first aparthotel, Yotelpad, in Europe at London Stratford in June with 62 fully equipped pads each including a kitchenette.
From 1st May The Biltmore Mayfair Hotel in London will end its partnership with Hilton and become an independent hotel. The 307-room hotel was formerly Millenium Hotel London Mayfair prior to a £50m redevelopment in 2019.
K West Hotel in London’s Shepherd’s Bush is about to undergo a £45m refurbishment and expansion to include all 231 bedrooms. It will reopen around mid-2025 as a Hotel Indigo-branded property.
The art’otel Hoxton has just opened in London. The 27-floor hotel includes 357 bedrooms and suites, a restaurant, bar and gym plus two Banksy Originals preserved and on display. Later this year a range of meeting rooms on the 24th floor will be opening with the whole floor available for up to 300 delegates.
Four Points Express London Euston is a new mid-market hotel brand and the first to open in the UK. It opens this summer in the renovated County Hotel on Upper Woburn Place within walking distance of Euston, Kings Cross & St Pancras stations. It will have 201 ‘modern, stylish’ bedrooms, a restaurant and bar and an onsite Caffé Nero.
The Orangery at Kensington Palace in London is reopening this May following a seven-year renovation project. The space will be available for private hire for dining and drinks receptions for up to 200 guests.
The former Best Western Burns Hotel Kensington in London is set to reopen this summer as the boutique-styles Ellen Kensington with 105 bedrooms following a full refurbishment.
Fulham Football Club’s new Riverside stand is one component in a major redevelopment of the stadium’s Riverside Stand which will increase capacity at the Craven Cottage ground by 8,000 and will also add a spa cafe, a bar and restaurant plus conference spaces. The development is expected to open during the 2024/25 season.
It is not a new venue but it is unusual. Sky Garden is located in the heart of the City of London and spans three storeys at 20 Fenchurch Street – The ‘Walkie Talkie’ building - 155 metres above the City of London. Sky Garden has four event spaces and restaurants available for conferences, receptions or dinners.
Moving down to the South-West:
A topping out ceremony has just taken place at the new 142-bedroom voco Zeal Hotel at Exeter Science Park. Official opening is planned for January 2025.
PoB Hotels has added two properties to its collection: The Montagu Arms in Beaulieu in the New Forest with 33 bedrooms and suites and Homewood Hotel & Spa near to Bath with 31 bedrooms and extensive leisure facilities.
The Francis Hotel in Bath is to begin a £13 million refurbishment in July. The project will include the renovation of all 98 bedrooms and suites plus the introduction of a new Brasserie Restaurant and the addition of a thermal spa with three treatment rooms.
The historic Haselbury Mill, a 21-bedroom hotel near Crewkerne in the heart of Somerset is on the market. The hotel also includes a pub, restaurant, tithe barn plus events spaces for up to 250 delegates. The building dates back to the days of William the Conqueror and features 14-acres of landscaped gardens, a river and a lake.
Chelsea Parkfields, formerly Parkfields Country House near Ross on Wye in Herefordshire, is shortly to reopen as a dedicated conference venue. It includes 27 bedrooms plus seven conference suites with the largest seating up to 90 delegates theatre style. Extensive outdoor spaces and gardens are an added attraction.
In the Midlands:
The Belfry, here in Sutton Coldfield, is about to start a multi-million-pound expansion and renovation project. Due for completion Autumn 2025, the project will feature a new flagship 852sqm events space designed to accommodate 648 guests for banqueting and up to 920 delegates for a conference. We will monitor this development at this, our close neighbour, and report progress in due course.
The Baloci is a new Indo-Persian hotel expected to open this November on the site of The Edgbaston Hotel which closed in Birmingham last year. Baloci will have 20 bedrooms plus a fine dining restaurant serving Iranian, Turkish, Afghan, Persian and Indian food plus a cocktail bar. We will check out progress and report back in due course.
In the North West:
A full refurbishment of all 285 bedrooms at the DoubleTree by Hilton Manchester Piccadilly, has now been completed.
June 2024 is the official opening date for the new Maldron Hotel Manchester Cathedral Quarter. It will open in the centre of the city with 188 bedrooms and suites, a restaurant, bar and a gym plus two ground floor meeting rooms seating 12 and 16 delegates.
The new Treehouse Hotel Manchester is now expected to open on Deansgate in central Manchester this summer. It is the second Treehouse property in the UK following Treehouse Hotel London which opened in 2019. Treehouse Hotel Manchester will include 224 bedrooms plus some unusual features including a wooden art installation with an invitation to guests to carve their names and experiences.
Plans have been approved to transform the Garrick building in Southport town centre into a ‘theatre spa hotel’.The Grade 2 listed, art deco building on Lord Street was created in 1932 but has been empty since 2020. The new development will include 100 bedrooms and suites, 12 apartments, a restaurant and bar plus a gym and spa. Plans would also see the existing events auditorium converted to a new theatre space.
In Scotland:
Red Carnation 100 Princes Street, the group’s first hotel in Scotland, has just opened with 30 bedrooms plus a restaurant and bar in Edinburgh’s former Royal Overseas League building.
Apex City of Edinburgh hotel in Grassmarket is undergoing a £2.9 million refurbishment of all existing 122 bedrooms as well as adding three new bedrooms. All due for completion in early May.
The Amsterdam-based,The Social Hub, has opened its first hotel in the UK in Glasgow’s Merchant City. It includes 494 bedrooms ranging from student accommodation to extended-stay rooms plus a gym, restaurant and bar with meeting and events spaces as well as an auditorium.
New owners of Mar Hall Hotel, Golf and Spa Resort at Bishopton near Glasgow and overlooking the River Clyde, are planning a £15million investment to expand and upgrade the hotel. Plans include the addition of new woodland lodges, an upgrading of the spa facilities plus an overall refurbishment of the hotel. We will monitor developments.
Finally, some Group News:
Marriott International has announced plans to add nearly 100 properties and an additional 12,000 rooms to its European portfolio through hotel conversions and developments - by the end of 2026.