A short selection of news stories you may have missed over the last fortnight includes:

The Doubletree by Hilton Hotel at the Coventry Building Society Arena is about to be renovated as part of a major refurbishment of the main Arena.  The hotel lobby and reception will be upgraded together with the hotel’s rooms and bathrooms. At the Coventry CBS Arena itself, the front entrance is getting a revamp as well as seeing improvements to  the boardroom and meeting rooms.

IHG Hotels is planning to introduce its Vignette Collection to the UK with the first opening at The Halyard at Ropewalks Liverpool later this year. The Halyard at Ropewalks Liverpool, Vignette Collection will be a 133-bedroom hotel set in the historic Ropewalks district of Liverpool. It will feature a restaurant, an on-site gym, conferencing facilities and roof top terrace.

Staying in Liverpool plans have been submitted to develop 150 hotel suites on floors one to seven of the Cavern Walks building in the city centre. The planned development would also feature food and beverage outlets plus events space on the upper ground floor, mezzanine and first floors.

Aparthotel brand Locke is planning to open its sixth Locke-branded aparthotel in London in July 2023 – located in Cromwell Road, Kensington and Chelsea.  Ember Locke will feature 121 apartments, ranging from studios to duplex one-bedroom apartments over eight floors. It will feature a lobby and common area, a coffee shop, bar, restaurant, co-working space, meeting rooms plus a gym, laundry room and garden.

The Swan Hotel in Grasmere in the Lake District has reopened following an 18-month refurbishment. The Swan Hotel, now part of the Inn Collection Group, has seen all 38 bedrooms and the restaurant undergo a multi-million pound revamp.

Manchester City Football Club has submitted plans to build a 400-bedroom hotel at its Etihad Stadium in the city. The hotel is part of a planned £300million three-year-long revamp of the stadium. We will monitor developments.

The Pig hotel group is planning an expansion with two new hotels opening in the next two years. The Pig on the Farm will be the first, set in a 16th century stone-built farmhouse in 53 acres of farmland on the edge of the Walton Estate in south Warwickshire. It will have 35 bedrooms. Opening is planned for 2024. The second hotel will be The Pig-at Groombridge, a moated manor house in the village of Groombridge, southwest of Tunbridge Wells. The Pig at Groombridge is expected to open in 2025 with  40 bedrooms featuring views across the gardens and vineyard.

Plans have been submitted to convert the former Town Hall in Skegness into a 57-bedroom hotel if plans are approved. The Town Hall was built in 1926 as a convalescent home and converted to use as the Town Hall in 1964.

Budget brand EasyHotel group is committing a £4.5m investment to reduce its carbon footprint at all 12 of its UK sites. The improvements are expected to reduce the group's CO2 emissions by 45% by 2025.

Lord's Cricket Ground in London has opened two new meeting and events spaces in The Compton and Edrich Suites. Both are situated on the balcony level with views across the ground to the Pavilion. These two additions bring the total number of events spaces at the ground to 22.

Plans to build a major events and conference centre in Southport have been approved. The new Marine Lakes Event Centre development will replace the former Southport Theatre and Convention Centre, which closed in 2020, and is set to be demolished. The Marine Lakes Event Centre will comprise a 1,200-capacity theatre, alongside a conference centre with seating for 2,400 people.  

Originally it was the Cumberland Hotel in central London before changing its name and image to become the Hard Rock Hotel four years ago. Now it is rebranding and is due to relaunch as The Cumberland at the end of May. The Cumberland is a 1,000-bedroom hotel with meeting and events space and is located opposite Marble Arch in central London.

Previously known as the Park Inn by Radisson York City Centre, the hotel has just completed a multi-million pound transformation and has now rebranded as Radisson Hotel York. The eight storey hotel sits on the banks of the River Ouse in North Street with 200 bedrooms and events space for up to 400 delegates.

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