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Published: 15 July 2024

Our mid-month news updates feature new developments in London and Liverpool:

Virgin Hotels open their 17^th hotel and first London hotel – Virgin Hotels London Shoreditch - on 1^st August in the heart of Shoreditch. The 120-bedroom hotel in Curtain Road will include a Spanish restaurant, a rooftop bar, pool, private members club, gym and treatment rooms. It will have seven meetings and events suites with the largest room – The Great Room – seating up to 300 delegates.

Maybourne Group has just opened The Emory - its fourth hotel in central London. It joins Claridge’s, The Connaught and The Berkeley. The Emory has 61 suites over nine floors including a 300sqm wraparound glass penthouse, restaurants, bars and a private members club - plus a complimentary helicopter transfer for guests arriving by private jet at London Luton and London Stansted airports.

Sircle Hotels Group will open its first London hotel - Sir Devonshire Square hotel  - later this year in Shoreditch. It will be located in a former textile warehouse building on London’s Liverpool Street. The hotel will have 81bedrooms including 11 suites, a cocktail bar and restaurant, a private members’ club, a gym and a yoga studio.

The ibis London Earls Court Hotel has joined with Mercure to become a co-branded hotel following the completion of a multi-million-pound refurbishment programme. It is now Mercure and ibis London Earls Court Hotel. It has 226 ibis rooms and 282 Mercure rooms plus a new restaurant - Barnaby’s. Additional bedrooms under the Mercure brand will be added later this year. Mercure and ibis London Earls Court Hotel features meeting spaces for up to 1,200 delegates, a ballroom plus five smaller meeting rooms all equipped with state-of-the-art technology. The hotel is located in Lillie Road, a short walk from a range of London tube stations.

YOTEL  has just opened its first YOTELPAD property in Europe with the official opening of YOTELPAD London Stratford. It has 61 bedrooms, referred to as ‘PADs’ - compact, living areas with a bathroom, kitchenette, super-fast wi-fi, SmartTV and a work desk. The hotel includes a 24-hour ‘Mission Control’ – YOTEL’s version of a traditional reception, a Grab & Go area stocked with refreshments, laundry facilities and storage space. It is located in Stratford High Street close to mainline stations and local transport hubs.

The Southgate Hotel is a new hotel which opened this summer in Southgate, North London, in what was formerly the Ever-Ready Battery headquarters close to Southgate tube station. The four-star hotel has 98 bedrooms, a restaurant and bar plus an on-site fitness centre. There is an air-conditioned ground floor meeting room to seat six delegates.

Last month The Peninsula Hotel opened in London’s Belgravia. Described in the press as London’s ‘first £1bn hotel’, the Peninsula Hotel is located alongside Hyde Park Corner and Wellington Arch. It includes 190 bedrooms and suites, restaurants and bars plus a range of 12 meeting and events suites with a cinema and the St George Ballroom, seating up to 450 guests. 

Finally in London, The Wesley Hotel – a 3-minute walk from Euston Station, is offering a 50% promotional discount off all meeting room hire from now until the end of August

Moving north to Liverpool - Dalata Hotel Group has just opened its first hotel in Liverpool. The four-star Maldron Hotel has 268 bedrooms and suites, a Grain & Grill restaurant, bar and a gym. Three fully equipped meeting rooms will seat 90, 70 and 30 delegates theatre style. It is in Park Lane, 15 minutes from Liverpool Lime Street Station.

Two new waterfront hotels are planned in ‘Liverpool Waters’ - a 30-year plan to transform the city’s northern docks to create a world-class, mixed-use waterfront along the banks of the River Mersey with the aim of bringing life back to Liverpool’s historic docklands.  The site will also be home to Everton Football Club’s new 52,000 seat stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock which will have meeting and events facilities. We will monitor its development.

Group news includes: 

Bespoke Hotels, the UK’s largest independent hotel group with 70 properties has announced a ‘transformative rebranding’ – featuring a refreshed website, new brochures and a more prominent identity. The group is also planning two new Gotham Hotels this year in Newcastle on Tyne and Bristol.

Village Hotels group with its 33 properties is now owned by Blackstone Real Estate who also own Haven Holiday Parks and Warner Hotels.

Radisson Hotel Group continues its expansion across the UK with the signing of Victorian country manor venue -Stanhill Court Hotel in Charlwood, Surrey. It has 56 bedrooms plus a range of meeting and events spaces. It is 10 minutes from Gatwick Airport with good access to the motorway. It joins the Radisson Individuals brand.

Unusual story of the month comes from The Old Bell Hotel in Malmesbury, Wiltshire which claims to be the oldest hotel in England dating back to the 1200s.  In their grounds they have just unearthed at least 24 human skeletons dating from 670 to 940 AD.

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Published: 13 June 2024

Our mid-monthly news update is dedicated to London hotels and venues. We start with The Mondrian Shoreditch Hotel in London which is rebranding as the Virgin Hotel London-Shoreditch from 1^st August. It will be Virgin Hotels’ first London property. The hotel has 120 bedrooms and suites, two meeting and events suites, a rooftop bar, restaurant and a fitness centre. It is located in Curtain Road.

 Mandarin Oriental is planning a third London hotel expected to open in 2028. Located on London's South Bank the hotel is planned to open with 171 bedrooms and suites plus 70 Residences at Mandarin Oriental. The hotel will include up to four restaurants, extensive meeting and events space plus a range of wellness and fitness facilities. The hotel will be part of the Bankside Yards development between the Tate Modern and Blackfriars Station.

Sheraton Heathrow Hotel has just completed a multi-million-pound refurbishment of its public areas and now features a new reception and lobby lounge, two new bars, a new restaurant and a new café.

The Mandarin Oriental Mayfair hotel has just opened in London’ Hanover Square. It features 50 bedrooms and suites plus 77 private residences, a restaurant, bar and spa. It joins their Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park hotel which opened in 2000.

The Imperial Hotel in Bloomsbury, London is planning a major refurbishment to convert the hotel into a four-star deluxe hotel. The hotel, with 357 bedrooms, is planning a 10th floor rooftop bar and restaurant as part of its refurbishment

Riverside East is a new events space just opened in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford London. It can be booked for corporate events and features a 225-cover restaurant, outdoor events spaces plus a rooftop terrace with views over east London

Spark by Hilton is a new branding in the ‘premium economy’ hotel market in the UK. It is set to launch in the centre of Romford, London shortly with 125 bedrooms.

New owners of the Victoria Garden Hotel Paddington located in Westbourne Terrace in central London are planning major refurbishment to upgrade the hotel into a 68-bedroom, four-star boutique hotel. The new-look hotel is expected to reopen next year.

We will be back in July with the latest news update.

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Published: 13 May 2024

Plans have been approved to redevelop part of the former Rex Cinema – an art deco building dating from the 1930’s  in London’s Bethnal Green into a 130 bedroom hotel with a restaurant and rooftop bar.

Also in London The HSBC Tower, with 45 storeys and one of the tallest buildings in London’s Canary Wharf, might be converted into a hotel when the Bank vacates the building in 2027.

Thatchers Hotel in Leatherhead, Surrey has completed the first phase of its refurbishment with the main conference room – The Horsley Suite seating up to 160 delegates theatre style - now available. A full refurbishment of the hotel’s 87 bedrooms is underway with completion expected later in the year.

 Hilton Cobham in Surrey has completed a redesign and refurbishment of its restaurant and bar plus a renovation of all 158 bedrooms. The hotel has 12 flexible meeting and events rooms for up to 300 delegates plus leisure facilities.

Plans to refurbish the 150-year-old Redcliffe Hotel located on the seafront in Paignton, Devon have been approved. The number of bedrooms will be reduced from 67 to 55. The spa plus hotel restaurant and bar are also to be upgraded. We will monitor developments.

The Store is a new hotel which has just opened on the site of Oxford’s Boswell store, located in what was previously a 250-year-old department store in the centre of the town. The Store has 101 bedrooms and suites, a rooftop bar and terrace, a restaurant plus a spa.

Plans have been approved which will see an expansion of the Clayton Hotel Manchester Airport with  a new nine-storey, 216 bedroom extension - adding to the hotel’s  existing 365 bedrooms. The extension is planned to complete in early 2027.

Plans have been approved to convert the Grade II-listed Garrick Theatre in Southport’s town centre into a 109-bedroom hotel with a restaurant, bar and leisure facilities.

Matfen Hall has become the first and only five-star hotel in Northumberland following completion of a major refurbishment project. The Grade-II listed country house hotel has 63 bedrooms, bar and restaurant, six meeting and events suites plus a 27-hole championship golf course, spa and fitness suite. It is located in Matfen Village around 30 minutes from Newcastle on Tyne.

Holiday Inn Newcastle Gosforth Park Hotel has just completed of the first phase of its extensive refurbishment programme with the opening of its main The Cheviot Suite, accommodating up to 500 delegates for an event.

Apex Hotels group have just acquired Meldrum House Country Hotel and Golf Course.  Set in 250 acres of Aberdeenshire countryside, Meldrum House is a 51-bedroom, four-star hotel with a golf course. It is the group’s 10th hotel in its portfolio.

On the same theme, Classic British Hotels  have just added Oakley Hall in Hampshire to its roster. It is a four-star country house hotel with 50 bedrooms and a fine dining restaurant, ten minutes from Basingstoke.

It’s not a new venue but Birmingham Assay Office does have a range of interesting and unusual meeting and events suites. These include the Silver Room featuring a private silver collection which captures the long history of the Birmingham Assay Office and its role in the precious metals industry. Catering and private dining facilities are also available. You will find the Office in Moreton Street in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter around two miles from Birmingham New Street station.

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Published: 01 July 2024

Our latest collection of hotel and venue news updates starts as usual in London: The Mondrian Shoreditch Hotel is to be rebranded a Virgin Hotel from 1^st August. It will be the 17th property in Virgin Hotels Collection and its first in London. The hotel which opened in 2021 has 120 bedrooms and two meeting rooms including a Ballroom seating up to 140 delegates theatre style.

To celebrate its 200th birthday, the National Gallery in London is planning new look events spaces in 2025 including a newly redesigned Lecture Theatre which will accommodates up to 322 delegates plus a  new Supporters' House room seating up to 100 delegates with its own restaurant, bar, private dining room, lounge and event space and with private access from Trafalgar Square.

Planning permission has just been secured for a new hotel in London. The Resident Farringdon will be located at 1-8 Long Lane, with 128 bedrooms, a restaurant, bar and café plus retail spaces at ground level. It is expected to open in 2027 and will be the fifth London site for the brand.

Moving to the South West:  SeaSpace is Cornwall’s first coastal aparthotel and is set to open in Newquay in October. It will feature 56 apartments including studios plus two and three-bedroom fully equipped apartments. Leisure facilities include a 19-metre pool plus a gym with Watergate Bay nearby for surfing enthusiasts.

Butcombe Boutique Inns group has just launched in the UK. The George Inn, Norton St Philip with 13 bedrooms in Bath and The Swan Inn, Rowberrow, with nine bedrooms also in Somerset are the initial members of the grouping but it is anticipated this could rise to 25 inns in total.

Travelodge has just opened its seventh hotel in Bristol – Bristol Abbey Wood Travelodge has 85 bedrooms and is located within easy access to the M4, M5 and Bristol city centre.

The Pig Group has just opened The Pig and The Village Pub, located in the former Barnsley House in the Cotswolds village of Barnsley. It has 18 bedrooms and suites plus a village pub. This brings the total number of ‘Pigs’ in the UK to nine by our reckoning.

In the Midlands:  Aston Marina events and conference facilities plan to build a 35-bedroom hotel on its 42-acre site on the outskirts of Stone in Staffordshire to capitalize on the visitor attractions in the area which includes Alton Towers. However, it’s understood the development is unlikely to be built until after 2027.

Amalfi White is a two AA Rosette restaurant situated in town of Melbourne in South Derbyshire.    They have just launched new 1^st floor events space in the Ballroom which will accommodate up to 80 delegates theatre style.

In Wales: The 22-bedroom Cae Mor Hotel in  Llandudno  has just completed a major refurbishment of all 22 bedrooms and added a  luxury fine-dining restaurant. The hotel is located next door to Venue Cymru, business events and conference centre.

In Manchester and the North West:  Maldron Hotel Manchester Cathedral Quarter has just opened in central Manchester – the second Maldron branded hotel in the city. It has 188 bedrooms, a Grain and Grill Restaurant, two ground floor meeting rooms seating 12 and 16 delegates plus a gym. It is located a few minutes’ walk from Manchester Victoria Station and Manchester Arena.

Leonardo Hotels have acquired Hotel Gotham in central Manchester. Hotel Gotham was formerly the headquarters of the Midland Bank. It has 60 bedrooms, a restaurant and a rooftop private bar and members’ club. Leonardo Hotels will be retaining the Hotel Gotham name in the short term.

Dakota Hotels have published plans to build a new hotel at MIX MANCHESTER – a major science and innovation campus planned at Manchester Airport. The hotel will have 154 bedrooms, a bar and brasserie-style grill, meeting and events space, plus a dedicated shuttle service to and from the airport terminals. The planned opening date is 2026. We will monitor its progress.

JD Wetherspoon has lodged plans to create a new hotel in Southport. They plan to convert the three floors above The Sir Henry Segrave pub in Lord Street into a 30-bedroom hotel. It was previously office space. The pub is named after the man who raised the land-speed record to 152mph on Southport's Birkdale Sands in 1926.

In York: The Principal York hotel in the centre of York is shortly to rebrand as the Milner York Hotel – named after William Milner, who was the York Station foreman during World War II.

The Elmbank York Tapestry Collection by Hilton, has become the Tapestry Collection’s second hotel in the UK and it follows the recent completion of a £5million renovation with 62 newly designed bedrooms plus a new restaurant and bar. Centrally located, it is a five-minute drive from York Racecourse and Jorvik Viking Centre.

In Newcastle on Tyne: Plans have been published to convert Metropolitan House in the centre of Newcastle on Tyne which is currently unoccupied into a 21-bedroom boutique hotel with rooftop garden. We will monitor developments.

Finally in Scotland: A new boutique hotel with ten rooms is set to open in July in Ayrshire.  It will sit directly above the Taj Bar & Kitchen in Prestwick , and will aim to ‘add a new dimension of luxury to Prestwick's hospitality scene’.

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Published: 01 June 2024

Welcome to our latest roundup of hotel and venue news from around the UK. Starting as usual in London and moving gradulayy northwards. We trust you enjoy the journey.

Convene St Paul’s opened in the middle of April in Central London. With 45,000 sq-mt of meeting and events space across two floors, Convene St. Paul’s features seven meeting spaces, including The Grand Hall seating up to 900 delegates in what is the largest single above-ground meeting room in the City of London. It is located in Paternoster Square.

art'otel London Hoxton has just opened in Rivington Street in central London with 357 bedrooms and suites, ten meeting and events suites and a 24^th floor restaurant and bar.

Ministry Venues Shepherd’s Bush has just opened in Ariel Way, West London with a capacity of up to 300 delegates across two events spaces, five meeting rooms, and a podcast studio. 

The Southgate Hotel is a new hotel opening this summer in Southgate, North London, in what was formerly the Ever-Ready Battery headquarters close to Southgate tube station. The four-star hotel will have 98 bedrooms, a restaurant and bar plus an on-site fitness centre.

Spark by Hilton is the latest addition to the Hilton Hotels portfolio. It is a premium economy hotel brand and Hilton will be opening its first hotel in the UK very shortly in Romford – replacing the former Ibis Styles hotel in South Street.

The Ibis Hotel at Gatwick Airport has undergone a complete £14million makeover. An extra floor has been added bringing the room count to 182. The hotel has rebranded to become an Ibis Styles property.

Liberation Group is launching Butcombe Boutique Inns at the end of May  - initially with eight proposed Butcombe Pubs & Inns, situated in some of the most attractive locations in the UK. The first to open will be The George Inn, Norton St Philip , near Bath with 13 bedrooms and The Swan Inn, Rowberrow, on the edge of the Mendip Hills in Somerset with nine newly refurbished bedrooms. It is expected that 25 inns will eventually be included in the brand.

The redevelopment of the former Royal Angus Hotel on St Chad’s Queensway in the centre of Birmingham is now complete. aparthotel Birmingham opened earlier this year with 161 suites. The recent opening of a Nisa Local store on the ground floor of the hotel completes the project.

Amalfi White is a restaurant in Melbourne, Derbyshire. They have developed and launched a range of meeting facilities for conferences and meetings, team building and product launches as well as private dining.

The Royal Goat Hotel in Beddgelert located within the Snowdonia National Park has a new owner with renovation plans for the hotel currently with 32 bedrooms, a dining room, restaurant, bar and a function room.

Accor Group is planning a June launch for the new TRIBE Manchester Airport Hotel. The nine-floor new-build hotel will be located on Chicago Avenue, part of the Airport City Manchester development and around 400 metres from Manchester Airport’s Terminal 2. It will open with 412 bedrooms and suites, as well as four restaurants and bars plus a gym. Details of meeting facilities await publication.

The Reach at Piccadilly is a 90-second walk from Manchester Piccadilly station. Part of the Marriott Tribute Portfolio. The Reach at Piccadilly is now open with 215 bedrooms, a restaurant serving locally sourced produce, stylish bar overlooking the canal and a fully-equipped gym. It’s also within walking distance of main attractions of central Manchester.

Soho House is coming to Manchester. The first Soho House in the North will open in the former Granada TV studios building later this year and is set to have 23 bedrooms on the 6^th floor, a rooftop pool, two bars, an Italian restaurant, deli and events and wellness spaces. Attached, but next door, will be the Soho-House owned Mollie’s Motel and Diner with 128 bedrooms and suites, so guests can stay over. You don’t need a membership to book a room at Mollie’s, but guests won’t be able to access the top three floors of the members’ club without one. Opening scheduled for late 2024.  

A new partnership has just been forged between the Liverpool City Region's six councils and the Combined Authority in a bid to position the region as one of Europe's major events capitals. We will report any interesting initiatives which result.

Operators of The House of Gods in Edinburgh have opened a second hotel in Glasgow’s Merchant City. House of Gods Glasgow has 31 bedrooms with decor inspired by the Orient Express - expect decadent interiors with four poster beds, golden bathtubs with a rock star edge, plus a glamorous cocktail bar, a Sacred Garden Rooftop and a spa in the basement.

New owners of the Ducks Inn in Aberlady in East Lothian are currently undertaking a total renovation of the hotel prior to a relaunch planned for this summer under a new banner - The Leddie – with  27-bedrooms plus a restaurant and bar.

LATEST GROUP NEWS:

Maldron Hotels are set to open four new hotels in the UK this summer: Maldron Hotel Manchester Cathedral Quarter close to Victoria train station in central Manchester. Maldron Hotel Liverpool beside ACC Convention Centre opens in July. Maldron Hotel Brighton close to The Brighton Centre also opens in July. Maldron Hotel Shoreditch, London, 500 metres from Old Street tube station opens in August.

PIG-Hotels are renowned for their boutique chain of restaurants with rooms. It’s been a while since any new PIG hotels opened, but three are set to open in the next 18 months. First up is THE PIG-and The Village Pub in the Cotswolds on the site of the former Barnsley House with an opening scheduled for this summer. This will be followed by THE PIG-on the Farm in Stratford-upon-Avon at the end of the year and THE PIG-at Groomsbridge on the border of Kent and East Sussex in 2025. All PIG hotels have luxury rooms, spa treatments in The Potting Shed and restaurants attached, but their Cotswolds outpost is their first with a village pub.

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Published: 02 May 2024

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 1^st 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 24^th 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.