A new conference centre is currently under construction as part of Olympia’s £1.3 billion redevelopment in central London. Set to open in late spring 2026, the conference centre will include an 850-seated capacity auditorium, eight breakout rooms, boardroom, business lounge and a private hire bar and restaurant. The 3,000 sq-mt of space is designed for a variety of events from theatre-style conferences to award ceremonies. It will also be connected to the existing four exhibition spaces for larger event configurations. It will have its own dedicated entrance on Hammersmith Road.
Operators of Zedwell Hotels have acquired another site in London to add to their expanding hotel portfolio. The latest new site is at One Princes Street in the City of London, close to Bank Station and St Pauls Cathedral. The building, a Grade II-listed building dating from 1931, will join existing Zedwell Hotels in Tottenham Court Road, Piccadilly Circus and Greenwich plus new properties planned in Knightsbridge, Park Lane and Victoria. More details to follow.
Travelodge has acquired an office building in St Pauls, London with plans to convert it to a Travelodge hotel with 95 bedrooms plus a restaurant and café. Early 2027 is the anticipated opening date.
Dalata Hotel Group have announced plans to open a new 4-star Clayton hotel to be developed on the Tower 42 Estate in London. The hotel at 20 Old Broad Street, EC2 is in the heart of the City of London, a 5-minute walk from Liverpool Street and Bank Stations. It will include 154 bedrooms and suites, a restaurant, bar and gym. An opening second half of 2028 is anticipated.
Indian-based Oberoi Hotels and Resorts is planning to open its first hotel in the UK in London’s Mayfair; part of the area’s South Molton development. Opening is planned for the end of 2027. More details to follow in due course
The July is a new accommodation concept which combines apartment living with hotel amenities. The July is set to open in London next summer. It will include 116 apartments for both short and long stays plus a restaurant and bar, a gym and wellness centre plus meeting facilities. We will monitor its progress and report back.
Z Hotels are set to open a new 95-bedroom hotel in London’s Leicester Square. It will be the group’s 12th hotel in the capital and 15th across the UK. The hotel will have a bar and restaurant and will feature the group’s commitment to promoting low-carbon technologies to improve energy efficiency. Further details await publication.
Ruby Hotels have opened their third London hotel. Ruby Stella. It is located in Eyre Street Hill, Clerkenwell, a short walk from Farringdon station. The hotel has 153 bedrooms and features a ground floor courtyard terrace, bar and lounge
Finally in central London, The Corus Hotel Hyde Park, located at 1 Lancaster Gate, is set to undergo a major refurbishment. The hotel, with 388 bedrooms, will see all public spaces ‘reconfigured’, a new central courtyard added and with a new food and beverage options introduced.
Hilton Woking has opened in Victoria Square in the centre of Woking. It has 189 bedrooms and suites and extensive events facilities, including Surrey’s largest hotel ballroom seating up to 609 delegates theatre style. The hotel also features a 22nd floor LOFT Sky Bar. It is located in Victoria Square a short walk from Woking Station with direct train links to London Waterloo.
Young’s Pubs have opened the Teller’s Arms in Farnham in Surrey this October. Formerly a bank the new hotel has nine boutique bedrooms, an all-day dining space, a bar, expansive roof terrace and meeting and events spaces.
Home Grown Hotels, parent company of The Pig Hotel chain, have submitted plans to convert the Grade-I listed former visitor attraction Groombridge Place and Gardens located in the village of Groombridge, southwest of Tunbridge Wells, into a 56-bedroom hotel, complete with a 122-cover restaurant and a spa. The Pig at Groombridge Place is scheduled to launch in 2026. Further details to follow.
The Grand Hotel Brighton has completed its £16.2 million refurbishment. All 205 bedrooms and suites have been refurbished. The work has included the hotel’s public areas, alongside the introduction of a state-of-the-art gym and luxurious spa.
New owners have taken over The Pelican – a pub in Chew Magna in Somerset that was first established in 1615. They plan to add 10 luxury bedrooms with an opening planned for Spring 2025.
Leonardo Hotel Exeter has opened newly refurbished conference and meeting facilities, following a major refurbishment. All seven meeting rooms have a new décor, new lighting and air conditioning plus the latest AV equipment. The largest room will seat up to 90 delegates theatre style,
The former Hotel Brooklyn alongside Leicester Tiger’s rugby football stadium in Leicester has now rebranded as voco Leicester. The hotel has 191 bedrooms and suites meetings and events space to accommodate up to 150 delegates plus its own bridge to the Tigers stadium.
Albrighton Hall Hotel & Spa near Shrewsbury has become the latest member to join Radisson Individuals grouping. It joins a growing collection of independent hotels by Radisson Hotel Group. Albrighton Hall Hotel & Spa is located one hour away from central Birmingham and is surrounded by 15 acres of landscaped grounds. It has 87 bedrooms and suites, a restaurant and bar, a spa and fitness suite plus meeting and events spaces for up to 530 delegates.
Plans and funds are in place to renovate the George Hotel located on the Station Gateway in Huddersfield and to rebrand it as the first Radisson RED Hotel in Yorkshire and Humberside. The £20 million project will increase the number of bedrooms from 60 to 91. The hotel will also feature ground floor meeting and events space plus a 70-seater restaurant and bar. The hotel closed its doors in 2013 and is now targeting a 2027 reopening.
The Stock Exchange Hotel in the centre of Manchester has joined Marriott’s Autograph Collection. Former footballers, Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville’s GG Hospitality group opened the hotel in the Grade II-listed former Stock Exchange building in 2019. It has 40 bedrooms and suites, a restaurant and bar and is available for exclusive private hire.
Heading to the north-east, Bespoke Hotels are planning to open Bailiffgate Hotel in Alnwick in April 2025. It will be located in a former high school in the heart of the town overlooking the entrance to Alnwick Castle. The hotel will include 48 bedrooms, suites and apartments, a bar and restaurant plus private dining space.
Finally in Scotland, plans have been lodged to convert Edinburgh One, a currently empty Edinburgh city centre office block, into a new hotel, bar and restaurant. Located at 60 Morrison Street in the centre of Edinburgh, the hotel would be operated by Dalata Hotels under the Clayton Hotel brand. It will have.256 bedrooms and suites, a restaurant, bar and gym plus meeting facilities. We will monitor developments.
Hopefully we will be back in the New Year with an outline of the new hotels and venues which are expected to open in 2025. In the meantime, we wish you all a very happy Christmas and a prosperous, problem-free New Year.