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Published: 27 January 2023

News items you may have missed this week include:

The Maybourne Hotel Group is to open its fourth London Hotel this winter – the Emory Hotel in Knightsbridge. It will be an all-suites hotel with 60  across nine floors. It will feature a wellness space set across four floors below ground with a 22-metre pool. The restaurant will be run by acclaimed chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. The Emory will also feature a rooftop space with a 360-degree view of the capital for the exclusive use of hotel guests. Opening date to follow.

The Bay Horse in Wigan has reopened following an extensive refurbishment. The hotel now has 28 bedrooms all with a new décor, furniture and bathrooms. The hotel has two meeting spaces: a marquee to seat up to 80 guests and a front beer garden with new lighting and seating up to 120 guests. The Bay Horse is located in Warrington Road, Wigan.

The Birch brand opens its second hotel at the former Selsdon Park Hotel in Croydon this spring. It follows the opening of the Birch in Cheshunt in 2020.The hotel has been closed for refurbishment since December 2021. The Birch Selsdon Park will have 177 bedrooms and suites, two restaurants, three bars, a lido, a wellness space, a co-working hub, several communal areas, all set within 200 acres of rewilded landscapes.

Hyatt Hotels have just opened SCHLOSS Roxburghe, marking the UK debut of its Destination by Hyatt brand. SCHLOSS Roxburghe is a 102-room resort which has recently completed an extensive transformation, including the addition of 58 new rooms and suites plus 12 cottages. SCHLOSS Roxburghe has two restaurants alongside a tearoom, three bars and two lounges. In addition, the hotel has a spa, infinity pool, saunas plus a Championship Golf Course with practice facilities and Clubhouse. There is a selection of rooms for corporate meetings and events. SCHLOSS Roxburghe is located in the market town of Kelso, around an hour from Edinburgh and Newcastle.

Plans have been approved to convert former warehouse space in central Manchester into a 117-bedroom aparthotel. Located in Oldham Street, the aparthotel will be a mix of two/three and four person apartments with a kitchen facility and luggage store plus a gym, laundry and roof terrace. We will monitor progress.

News from the hotel groups:

Hotel group, Accor has launched a new branding - Handwritten Collection - described as: ‘a global portfolio of charming bespoke hotels that offer an intimate and stylish hospitality experience’. 12 properties have already been secured with the portfolio expected to reach more than 250 hotels by 2030. There are none planned in the UK so far.

Virgin Hotels have joined forces with Virgin Limited Edition – the private global collection of retreats, hotels and exclusive islands with both now trading under a new brand - Virgin Hotels Collection.

Hilton Hotels have just launched ‘Spark’, its 19th brand. Spark is a premium economy brand targeting a more affordable spot in the hotel price range. Spark bedrooms will feature clean design schemes, an in-room refrigerator, bright bathrooms and a workstation. The hotels will offer a simple free breakfast. There will also be a 24-hour market for grab-and-go food options. There are currently more than 100 Spark hotels in various stages of development across the U.S. but none so far in the UK.

Travelodge has completed the first phase of its property-upgrade programme. Sixty-five hotels now sport the brand’s “budget-luxe premium” design. These include the three new-builds which have all opened in the past six months, including two in London — in Docklands and Wimbledon, and one in Hexham, Northumberland.

…and unusual venue news includes:

Oceandiva London is a floating events space opening on the River Thames in London in Spring 2023. It will be the UK’s first CO2-neutral venue. Oceandiva London spans three decks and offers 2625sq-mt of events space for meetings, conferences, receptions, gala dinners, cutting edge product launches and brand activations. Oceandiva London can host events for up to 600 seated or 1,500 guests standing and offers extensive exterior space. Oceandiva London allows guests the unique opportunity to view London’s famous landmarks through its main artery – the River Thames. Oceandiva London is located at Butler’s Wharf on the south bank of the Thames, just east of London's Tower Bridge.

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Published: 13 January 2023

Brief summary of some major news items this week include:

A major refurbishment project has completed at The Bond in Birmingham - a fully refurbished Victorian warehouse featuring exposed brick, steel and glass and is set on the Grand Union Canal in the heart of Digbeth. The Bond has seven fully equipped meeting rooms. A full in-house catering package is available. The Bond has parking facilities. It is a short walk from Birmingham New Street Station and Birmingham Moor Street station. Alternatively, delegates can arrive by barge along the canal.

This week saw the opening of the Hyatt Regency London Albert Embankment - the eighth Hyatt-branded property in London. The hotel has 142 bedrooms with a range of executive suites on the 14^th floor with private balconies. There is a restaurant and bar plus a rooftop restaurant and an onsite fitness centre. Five technology-enabled meeting rooms offer 15,273 square feet of events space. The hotel is located at 10 Albert Embankment.

Travelodge, currently operating 79 hotels in London has announced major expansion plans with a search on for an additional 127 hotel sites across the city.

The Selwyn is a new 50 bedroom townhouse hotel which has just opened in the centre of Richmond upon Thames with a restaurant and bar

Plans have been submitted for a new luxury hotel in the South Bank regeneration area of Leeds city centre.  The plan is to build four multi-storey office blocks alongside a 19-storey luxury hotel with a sky bar and extensive leisure space. We will monitor developments.

New Holgate is a new boutique hotel which is opening in the centre of York in March. The Grade 2 listed townhouse formerly traded as Holgate Bridge Bed and Breakfast. New Holgate will have 11 individually designed bedrooms plus a dining room.

Plans have been unveiled to build a 160-bedroom hotel plus retails outlets at Teesworks, near Redcar in North Yorkshire. The hotel has been designed to serve the needs of thousands of construction workers which the authorities anticipate will be coming to the Tees Valley as work gathers pace on major projects in the coming years. We will monitor progress.

Devon’s Burgh Island Hotel set just off the south Devon coastline is about to undergo a major upgrade. The hotel, currently with 25 bedrooms and suites, is set to be extended to accommodate 12 new en-suite bedrooms. A new restaurant is planned. The hotel’s Grade II-listed Nettlefold bar is to be extended to host events and a spa is planned on the ground floor. The developments are part of a ten-year redevelopment plan.

The Insurance Hall, the historic Grade II listed venue located in the heart of the City of London, is inviting event organisers to view its wide range of meeting and events facilities during an open day on Wednesday 18^th January. Check their website for further details.

Hospitality students from a college in Cheshire will take over the running of the Devonshire Fells Hotel in North Yorkshire for a couple of days in February. They will be working under supervision to gain hands-on experience of the industry. The Devonshire Fells Hotel is located in the village of Burnsall within the Yorkshire Dales National Park. The hotel has 16 fully equipped bedrooms and two meeting rooms both with natural daylight and complimentary wi-fi.

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Published: 30 December 2022

A short summary of some of the hotel/venue stories you may have missed amid all the Christmas excitement. 

The Wesley Group opens its second London property at the end of this December. The Wesley Camden Town has 38 boutique-styled bedrooms located in the top four floors of the Camden Methodist Church building located in Plender Street close to Camden Town tube station in central London.

My Bloomsbury Hotel in central London has just completed a full refurbishment and has now been rebranded as the Bedford Corner Hotel, located just off Tottenham Court Road, with 86 new-look bedrooms.

The Bond is a new venue opening in February in Fazeley Street, Digbeth - Birmingham’s Creative Quarter. The Bond is located at the junction of the River Rea and the Grand Union Canal. In the past the building was an Ice Factory, an HP Sauce factory and a bonded warehouse before spending 30 years in dereliction. The Bond comprises five main structures suitable for a range of events including meetings and conferences, screening rooms, pod rooms and a canalside studio with its own wharf. The Bond is located just off the city centre with good access to both Birmingham Moor Street and Birmingham New Street stations.

The proposed plans we reported in our pre-Christmas listing to regenerate Villa Park, home of Aston Villa FC in Birmingham, as a "world-class entertainment venue" have received the green light. We will keep tabs on its progress.

A new Ibis Budget hotel has just opened at Manchester Airport with 262 bedrooms. It is within walking distance of the main terminals and the airport train station.

Joint owners of the Phoenix Hotel in Liverpool have just opened a second venue in the city - Phoenix Pods. The Phoenix Pods is a 32-bedroom site located in a previously derelict factory within walking distance of Liverpool centre and its waterfront.

Plans have been submitted to convert a former Blackpool post office into a new hotel. If plans go ahead the Post Office in Abingdon Street, with its Grade-II listed façade, would also see the addition of a four and five storey extension. The final result would be a 144-bedroom Hotel Indigo and Indigo Suites. We will keep tabs on its progress through the planning stages.

We will be back in the new year with more hotel/meeting venue news. In the meantime, we wish you all a very happy and prosperous New Year.

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Published: 20 January 2023

We start this week’s news summary with some group news.

Radisson Hotels group is planning to bring its Prizeotel branded hotels to the UK.  Prizeotels offer a lifestyle, midscale experience. The brand which Radisson first launched in 2009 operates 16 properties principally in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Watch this space for updates.

Meanwhile, Accor Group has launched its latest brand - Handwritten Collection – “elegant hotels with genuine personality”. The Collection is expected to reach more than 250 hotels by 2030. As yet no openings are planned in the UK.

Kew Green Hotels group is planning a multi-million-pound investment across its portfolio of hotels primarily to elevate their technological capabilities. At the same time they are planning to introduce the Open Lobby concept, transforming the traditional hotel lobby by combining all public spaces, from the reception area, the restaurant, bar and lounge into one open lobby. Hotels due for the transformation include the Holiday Inns in Reading, Rochester, Leeds/Wakefield, Lincoln and Derby/Nottingham.

In other news:

The Hyatt Regency London Albert Embankment has just opened. Located on the banks of the River Thames, it is the group's eighth property in London. The hotel has 142 bedrooms and suites, a cocktail bar and two restaurants, a fitness centre and three fully equipped meeting rooms seating up to 62 delegates. The hotel was formerly a Crowne Plaza property.

Private member’s club Soho House is opening in Manchester in the former Granada TV studios in Spinningfields. It will include a rooftop pool and bar area, events spaces, wellness facilities and a bar and dining room. Mollie’s Manchester will also be opening in the former television studios. It will include 140 bedrooms, a restaurant, cocktail bar, events space, lounge, workplace plus an outdoor terrace. Opening dates ‘some time in 2023’.

Cameron House, 30 minutes north of Glasgow and overlooking Loch Lomond, has just opened its new Lomond Wing extension. It marks the final phase of its extensive transformation following the hotel fire five years ago. The Lomond Wing includes 68 new luxury, contemporary styled bedrooms and suites plus a new events suite/ ballroom seating up to 500 guests theatre style as well as a new loch-facing terrace.

A major expansion of the Grand Hotel Swansea is planned this year. A four-storey rear extension will add 42 bedrooms to the current 53, and there will be an expanded rooftop bar area on the fifth floor with conference and events space.

easyHotel has just opened its first hotel in Ireland. easyHotel Dublin City Centre is in Benburb Street in the Smithfield area in the heart of Dublin. It has 160 fully equipped en-suite bedrooms. There is no breakfast or dinner restaurant in the hotel although there are plenty of options on the doorstep. Heuston Station in central Dublin is a 10 minute walk away. Dublin Airport is 7 miles away.

The former Holiday Inn Express Liverpool Knowsley has changed its name to the Knowsley Inn & Lounge following completion of a £250,000 refurbishment programme. The hotel has 86 bedrooms, a restaurant, bar and four meeting rooms. It is located at junction 4 of the M57 near Liverpool FC’s Anfield stadium.

Finally, Neverland a ‘diverse and unforgettable’ events venues, next to the River Thames in London and with a sandy beach, is hosting a VIP showcase event on the 26th January as an opportunity for events and corporate travel agents to view the unusual events spaces.

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Published: 06 January 2023

We start the New Year with a short summary of the new hotels you can expect to see opening  in the UK this Spring. We start in London and continue with the rest of the UK.

Hotels expected to open in London this spring include:

Peninsula London will be a five-star hotel overlooking Hyde Park Corner and the Wellington. It will include 190 bedrooms and suites plus multiple restaurants and bars including a rooftop restaurant and bar. The Peninsula Spa will also provide wellness and beauty treatments and the Grand Ballroom will accommodate up to 650 delegates for a theatre style meeting.

1Hotel Mayfair is expected to open this Spring - overlooking Green Park. It will be the first UK outpost of the 1Hotel brand. Facilities will include 181 bedrooms and suites, a communal lobby bar, restaurants and a garden terrace plus a fitness and wellness centre.

Dao By Dorsett Hornsey Town Hall opens in the restored Grade-II listed Hornsey Town Hall with 68 apartments and suites plus events space, co-working spaces, a cinema plus restaurants and bars.

Ruby Zoe, the second Ruby branded hotel in London opens in Notting Hill in February with 173 ‘lean and luxury’ bedrooms and suites plus restaurants and bars.

Raffles at the OWO will be the first Raffles-branded hotel to open in London. It opens within the Old War Office in Whitehall. Raffles at the OWO will have 120 bedrooms and suites, 85  branded residences plus 11 restaurants and bars. It will also feature a ballroom with a seating capacity of over 600 guests.

The St Regis London is the first St. Regis branded hotel to open in London. It will be located on the site of The Westbury Hotel which has just completed a £90 million redevelopment. It will include 196 bedrooms and suites, plus a signature restaurant, speakeasy jazz bar, fitness centre and a spa.

Mandarin Oriental Mayfair is planned to open on Hanover Square. The Mandarin Oriental Mayfair will include 50 bedrooms and 79 private residences, a restaurant and bar plus an urban spa, an indoor 25-metre swimming pool, sauna, vitality pool and relaxation rooms.

Planned hotel openings in the rest of England include:

Marriott Hotels will launch The Reach at Piccadilly at the meeting point of the Rochdale and Ashton Canals in central Manchester this Spring. The hotel will be part of the group’s Tribute Portfolio collection. The Reach at Piccadilly will have 215 bedrooms, a fully equipped fitness centre plus a restaurant with canal views.

The Treehouse Hotel Manchester opens this Spring on Deansgate with 224 bedrooms and suites, restaurants and bars, meeting space and a gym.

Boutique hotel group GuestHouse will open No. 42 Margate in the former Sands Hotel and Restaurant. 42 Margate will be home to 21 bedrooms, a restaurant, rooftop and spa.

Wildes Chester is set to open in the spring in the centre of Chester.  It will feature 18 bedrooms, a rooftop pool and a spa complete with a nail bar, relaxation area and multiple treatment rooms.

The second Bike and Boot Hotel opens in the Hope Valley in the Peak District’s National Park this Spring – 20 minutes from Chatsworth House. It will feature 60 bedrooms designed to appeal to bikers, hikers and dog owners and will include bike storage and dog grooming.

Barnsdale Lodge in Oakham, Rutland is a new hotel from the Signet Collection. It is in a 30-acre site a stone’s throw from Rutland Water and five minutes from Oakham.   Barnsdale Lodge has 46 individually furnished and fully equipped bedrooms plus a restaurant and bar.

The Tempus, Alnwick is expected to open in early 2023 in the grounds of the Charlton Hall Estate in Alnwick. The hotel is inspired by Lewis Caroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and will feature 15 individually styled ‘Alice in Wonderland’ bedrooms plus a ground-floor bar, restaurant and orangery.

Planned hotel openings in Scotland and Northern Ireland:

100 Princes Street in central Edinburgh will be the first Scottish site for The Red Carnation Hotel Collection when it opens this Spring. It will have 30 bedrooms and suites plus ‘uninterrupted views of Edinburgh Castle’.

The first room2 hometel in Northern Ireland opens in central Belfast late Spring. It will feature 175 bedrooms across nine floors plus a cafe/restaurant, coffee roastery, meeting and work spaces, gym, bar and lounge.

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Published: 16 December 2022

News items you may have missed in all the pre-Christmas excitement:

Hotel Indigo Exeter has just opened following a multi-million-pound major restoration project of the former House of Fraser department store. Hotel Indigo Exeter has104 well equipped bedrooms in three distinct styles plus a restaurant and bar, a rooftop bar and a Spa with four treatment rooms, a gym, a sauna and steam room. Hotel Indigo Exeter is located a 30 second walk away from the Cathedral.

Shiva Hotels have published plans to open a new hotel next summer in London’s Marylebone Lane. It will be called the BoTree. The 5-star hotel will have 199 bedrooms, 29 suites, two restaurants, meeting and events facilities and a fitness suite.

Plans for a new 154-bedroom hotel in the centre of Manchester have been published. The hotel, a Motto by Hilton, would include a first-floor bar and restaurant, a gym and meeting spaces. It would be located on the corner of Laystall Street and Great Ancoats Street.

Also in central Manchester, just off Deansgate, an early 2023 opening is now planned for the new Treehouse Hotel. The Treehouse Manchester will include 216 bedrooms, a bar and restaurant on the 14th floor, a rooftop bar plus meeting and events space for up to 400 guests.

Staying in Manchester, Manchester City Football Club is considering plans to extend its Etihad Stadium. As well as increasing the stadium’s capacity and the stadium’s food and drink outlets, a new on-site hotel is also being considered.

Meanwhile, also in the Premier League, Aston Villa Football Club is seeking planning permission to regenerate their Villa Park stadium in Birmingham. Plans include a new North Stand, as well as enhancing the existing Trinity Stand. The developments will include the stadium’s conference and events facilities. We will monitor progress.

Radisson RED has just opened at North Western Hall in Liverpool. The 10 storey hotel has 201 bedrooms, five meeting and events spaces, a restaurant and bar plus a fitness suite. North Western Hall is located next to Lime Street station. It is a Grade II-listed property which first opened as one of the original British railway hotels in the 1800s.

The Signet Collection has announced an opening date of early March 2023 for its third hotel – the Barnsdale Lodge in Oakham, Rutland. The hotel, located on a 30-acre site close to Rutland Water, will include 46 bedrooms, a fine-dining restaurant, conservatory and a courtyard garden.

The Inn Collection Group has acquired the Grade II-listed Midland Hotel in Morecambe. The Midland Hotel built in 1933 by the London Midland and Scottish Railway and star of several Agatha Christie film and television adaptations now joins The Inn Collection Group’s portfolio of 35 sites across the north of England and North Wales.

Reading Borough Council has approved plans for a new Jurys Inn hotel and aparthotel in the centre of Reading.  The new hotel will comprise 163 bedrooms, which will include 104 aparthotel rooms. Further details and planned opening dates to follow.

Fresh from opening its latest London hotel, the 177-bedroom London Wimbledon Central Travelodge, Travelodge has now announced plans to more than double its presence in London, with the search on for 127 hotel sites across London.

Plans for a major mixed-use scheme in Warrington which would include a 160-bedroom hotel have been approval. The site is currently a town centre car park.

Finally, congratulations to our near neighbour, The Belfry Hotel and Resort in Sutton Coldfield. It is winner of the ‘Venue of the Year’ -   the annual award of the Meetings Industry Association.

We wish all our followers a very happy Christmas and a prosperous, ‘problem-free’ New Year. We will be back in the New Year with a summary of the latest hotel and venue news.