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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.

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Published: 02 December 2022

The latest news stories you may or may not have read over the last week - starting in the south and heading north they include:

The Draycott Hotel in London’s Chelsea has been acquired by the Cadogan Group who already own The Cadogan Hotel. The Draycott Hotel dates from the late 1890’s and comprises three red-brick town houses. Plans are afoot to refurbish the 35-bedroom property and transform it into The Chelsea Townhouse.

Plans for two new hotels on the Albert Embankment in central London have been approved. The hotels will be located in a 26-storey and a 29-storey block. Both will operate independently, and both will be linked by a five-floor podium. The two hotels will have nearly 900 bedrooms between them. Further details to follow.

Brentford FC with a wide range of meeting, events and exhibition facilities in London has just joined the Lime Venue Portfolio.

New owners have already begun a refurbishment project at the 32-bedroom Winford Manor hotel near Bristol Airport. This includes a renovation of the existing bedrooms and the addition of several new ones.

Plans have been approved for a new lifestyle hotel in the centre of Chester. The new hotel, in Frodsham Street, will have 162 bedrooms and will feature a top-floor restaurant plus a rooftop balcony overlooking Chester Cathedral. We await details of the hotel operator for this venture plus its likely opening date.

Plans have been published for the redevelopment of the former George Hotel in Huddersfield town centre. They will bring the Grade II-listed building back into use as a hotel. The George Hotel is famous for being the birthplace of the rugby league in 1895. The new-look hotel will be operated by Radisson Hotel Group. The number of bedrooms will increase from the former 60 to 91 with a new restaurant and bar as well as meeting and events facilities. We will monitor progress of the plans and report back.

Into Scotland: Adagio Glasgow Central is set to open at the beginning of December. The aparthotel will have 162 rooms and is situated on the banks of the River Clyde in the centre of Glasgow. It will include a gym, laundry room and guest library. Its design and indoor décor will pay homage to the location’s nautical history.

Staying in Glasgow, the first Motto by Hilton branded hotel in the UK is set to open, also on the banks of the River Clyde in Glasgow, in autumn 2024. Moto by Hilton Glasgow will have 186 bedrooms and suites plus restaurants, bars and meeting and events facilities.

Ruby Hotels has plans to open its first hotel in Scotland - but not until the end of 2025. Ruby Hotel Edinburgh will be located in Princes Street. It will have 300 bedrooms over seven floors and will feature a rooftop terrace, restaurant and a bar.

Finally, Accor Group, operator of Sofitel, Novotel and Ibis hotel brands amongst others has just added the Orient Express to its roster. It is now restoring 17 historic carriages dating back to the 1920’s. The Paris to Istanbul rail service has been synonymous with luxury travel since it was first introduced in the 1920s. The service last ran in 1977 and now Accor is now planning to resurrect the service again from 2025 – so clients can once again experience history combined with ultimate luxury.

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Published: 17 November 2022

Art’otel London Battersea Power Station has announced a planned ‘soft opening’ on 12 December with an official launch planned for 21 February 2023.

AC Hotels by Marriott have just opened their first hotel in Scotland. The four-storey AC Hotel Inverness is located in Glebe Street on the banks of the River Ness. It has 191 bedrooms, an all-day restaurant with 90 covers, a 24-hour fitness centre and a small, fully equipped meeting room for up to eight delegates. 

The Caterer Magazine is reporting that Sircle Collection, a European hotel and restaurant operator, is planning to launch its first UK hotel in east London. It will be an 80-bedroom development close to Liverpool Street Station. Further details to follow.

The Eldon Chambers, a historic Grade-2 listed building located on Newcastle’s Quayside, is to be redeveloped into a new boutique hotel. The new hotel, a three storey building, will have 26 bedrooms, a restaurant and a bar. The building dates back to 1833. Most recently it was law offices but the building has now been derelict since 2016.

Staying in the north-east, The Inn Collection Group will be rebranding the Park Hotel in North Tyneside next year as the Tynemouth Castle Inn following completion of a multi-million pound refurbishment. The art-deco building overlooks Longsands Beach.

Molo Hotel Group is planning to open new hotels in Manchester and Liverpool next year. They will join a group whose portfolio includes Courtyard by Marriott London Luton Airport, Hotel Indigo Liverpool Ropewalks, Holiday Inn Express Cambridge West, Courtyard by Marriot Edinburgh West and Courtyard by Marriott Inverness Airport. The new hotels will be the Holiday Inn Express Liverpool Ropewalks which is due to open in the spring and The Reach at Piccadilly in Manchester which will also open next year.

EasyHotel group has unveiled an ambition to more than double its size to 100 hotels by 2026. It currently has 42 hotels in 10 countries with over 20 in the UK from London to Liverpool.

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Published: 09 December 2022

The Hoxton opens its fourth London hotel on 12 December. The Hoxton Shepherd’s Bush has 237 bedrooms and suites a large open lobby plus a Thai/American dining outlet. ‘The Apartment’ is the Hoxton’s meeting and events space on the ground floor. It is located in Shepherd’s Bush Green a short walk from three underground lines.

The first ‘gaming hotel’ is set to open next year in Cornwall. Game On Cornwall in Penzance will feature an e-sports centre, gaming café, shop, bar and VR space plus seven hotel bedrooms. It is expected to launch in March 2023.

Doubletree by Hilton, Dartford Bridge, has completed a major refurbishment following a multi-million investment which includes a new food and beverage.

Stanwell House opens in the centre Lymington in Hampshire on Friday 16 December following completion of a multi-million-pound revamp. The new look Stanwell House has 27 refurbished bedrooms, a ‘new look’ bar and a speciality sea-food restaurant.

Hotel group Dalata has just opened Clayton Hotel Glasgow City - its fiftieth hotel and its first Clayton branded hotel in Scotland. Clayton Hotel Glasgow City is located in Clyde Street a short walk from Glasgow Central station. It has 303 bedrooms over 16 storeys with a terrace on the seventh floor. There are seven meeting and events suites with the largest seating up to 160 delegates.

Your Apartment group has just opened its largest aparthotel – Your Apartment Milton Keynes. It is  located in North Second Street with parking facilities. The aparthotel has 65 units all equipped with a fully equipped kitchenette, en-suite bathrooms, co-working space and a Peleton gym.

L+R Hotels has announced a launch date of summer 2023 for the Mole Resort, its £25m luxury resort in Devon. Mole Resort will have 58 lodges, each fitted with a hot tub as well as a fully equipped kitchen. A wide range of leisure activities will also be available in the Resorts 125 acres. The L+R portfolio includes Chewton Glen in Hampshire, the Lygon Arms in the Cotswolds and Cliveden House and Spa in Berkshire.

Congratulations to The Retreat at Elcot Park in Newbury which tops the list as  ‘One of the Best Places to Stay 2023’ by The Times and The Sunday Times.

Plus new developments at the planning stage:

Pub group Young’s has submitted a planning application to convert a branch of Lloyds Bank in Farnham into a boutique hotel. The bank is a Grade-II listed building in Castle Street in the centre of Farnham. Plans would see the main ground floor banking hall converted into a bar and restaurant with seven bedrooms and a roof terrace on the upper levels. Further north plans have been submitted for a new 160-bedroom hotel in the centre of Warrington. The hotel would be one component of a mixed-use development comprising four blocks of up to 12 storeys on land currently used as a carpark. Meanwhile, the Grand Hotel in the centre of Swansea is seeking planning approval for a four-storey rear extension to house 42 additional rooms plus a new roof terrace extension and bar. We await further news on all three developments

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Published: 30 November 2022

Carden Park Hotel in Cheshire has announced plans for a £750,000 makeover of the hotel’s reception and bar with a completion envisaged for March 2023.

Roseate Hotels has bought Dunstane Houses in Edinburgh. The Dunstane Houses dates from the mid-nineteenth century. The Houses are situated in Edinburgh's West End with 35 bedrooms and suites set across two villas. Roseate Dunstane Houses will join two existing hotels in the UK – Roseate House London close to Paddington station and Roseate Villa Bath.

Zeal Hotels have unveiled plans to build a new sustainable hotel at Exeter Science Park alongside the M5 motorway and less than a mile from Exeter Airport. The hotel will have 140 bedrooms and suites plus meeting and events rooms, a restaurant, a bar, a gym, gardens plus numerous car charging points. Building work is expected to start in the first quarter of 2023, with the hotel opening in the second quarter, 2024.

Crest Hotels has acquired the formerly independently owned Metropole Hotel and Spa in the spa town of Llandrindod Wells in Powys, Wales.

New developments from Travelodge include a major Rotherham development that is set to provide a new hotel plus a cinema and restaurants. Building work has just started on The Forge Island project which will feature an eight-screen cinema as well as a 69-bedroom Travelodge. Travelodge is also planning a new 113-bedroom hotel expected to open next year in Chiswick, west London

Aparthotel brand Locke has announced plans to open its sixth property in London in summer 2023. It will be a transformation of the former NH Kensington hotel. Locke Kensington will include 121 apartments, a bar, restaurant, co-working space, meeting areas and private gardens. Locke Kensington will join existing Locke aparthotels including: Kingsland Locke, Buckle Street Studios by Locke, Locke at Broken Wharf, Leman Locke and Bermonds Locke.

Sorry the summary is late this week – we will try and do better next week

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Published: 11 November 2022

Some of the news stories you may have missed during the week include:

Plans have just been approved for a new hotel in the centre of Chester. It will have 162 bedrooms and suites over four floors and will feature a rooftop restaurant and balcony plus a gym and meeting and events facilities. We will monitor its progress and report further news when we have it.

The Lowry Hotel Manchester plans to open a ‘technology spa’ in November – the first of its kind in the UK. The new spa will feature four treatment rooms, a space with loungers, fitness studio and a brow and lash bar. 

Malmaison Manchester Deansgate will open April 2023. It will be the second Malmaison in the city centre following Malmaison Manchester Piccadilly.  Malmaison Manchester Deansgate will have 70 bedrooms, a Chex Mal Brasserie, a rooftop bar plus a terrace and events space.

The refurbishment of Travelodge Wincanton hotel in Somerset is now complete. It is one of 60 properties in the budget hotel’s portfolio currently being upgraded with a new 'budget-luxe' design. The budget-luxe design features include a number of sustainable initiatives including new carpets made from recycled fishing nets, low-energy lighting, motion sensing controls and aerated showers and taps. Wincanton will be one of the first Travelodges to be upgraded to the new budget-luxe premium look.

L+R Hotels has announced a completion date of May 2023 for The Mole Resort in Devon. The Mole Resort is set in 125 acres on Exmoor near the River Mole. The resort will include 58 new lodges plus hotel rooms and dining facilities. A range of indoor and outdoor activities will feature swimming, fitness classes, golf and tennis.

The St Kilda Hotel in Llandudno has just been acquired by the expanding Inn Collection Group – its third property in Wales. St Kilda Hotel dates from the mid nineteenth century. It has 60 bedrooms and is located on the resort’s central promenade.

Staying in Wales we finish this roundup with a animal story with a difference. Next summer will see the opening of the first boutique hotel for dogs. It is the Cwtch Animal Homestay Cwmbran. The Homestay will feature twelve individually designed guest suites each with a doggy lounge and a TV. Communal areas will feature a pool and a spa plus an indoor play area. The site’s existing Cwtch Animal Homestay adventure park features climbing frames plus obstacle courses for dogs. Human guests will definitely not be welcome. Men will just have to stay in their existing doghouses.