The latest hotel and venue news starting as usual in London:
London is planning the largest hotel development programme in Europe, according to hospitality data firm Lodging Econometrics, with 77 hotel projects and over 14,00 rooms at various stages of development.
Virgin Hotels London-Shoreditch has just opened with 120 bedrooms and suites, a restaurant and bar plus an outdoor pool and terrace. The hotel has seven meeting rooms including private dining areas – with the largest accommodating up to 300 guests. It is close to Liverpool Street Station and Old Street Station in central London.
The Newman is a new hotel opening in London’s Fitzrovia summer 2025. It will have 81 bedrooms and suites, a European brasserie, a spa and fitness facility on a dedicated wellness floor plus two meeting and events suite.
Hilton London Bankside is to add 76 bedrooms to its stock, bringing the total number of rooms to 368. The first quarter 2026 is the expected completion date. The hotel is located in Great Suffolk Street, London SE1.
The July London Victoria is new aparthotel opening this July. It will have 114 bedrooms, a restaurant and bar, a gym, wellness area plus three meeting rooms. It will be located within a five-minute walk of London Victoria underground and coach stations.
Valor Hospitality has refurbished and rebranded two hotels in the South of England: voco Southampton and voco Fareham-Solent. voco Southampton has 133 bedrooms, voco Fareham-Solent has 130 bedrooms. Both hotels have a restaurant and bar plus upgraded meeting and events suites. voco Fareham-Solent also has a leisure club. The hotels join the recently refurbished voco Zeal Exeter Science Park in the group. Valor Hospitality is planning further voco rebrands later this year. voco is one of IHG's premium brands.
West Court Retreat is a new 49-bedroom luxury hotel which has recently opened in a former army special operations base in Wokingham, Berkshire. It has a restaurant and bar, an outdoor swimming pool and meeting facilities.
The Parkgate Hotel in Cardiff with 170 bedrooms has opened a new meeting and events space - The Mail Room - seating up to 40 delegates. The room compliments the hotel’s larger Postmaster Suite accommodating up to 360 delegates.
Hotel Indigo Leeds is a new hotel opening on Lower Briggate in Leeds city centre. It will have 107 bedrooms and suites, The Banksia Restaurant and Bar, a gym, and meeting spaces. It is set to open at the end of July 2025. This will be the 20th Hotel Indigo to be opened by IHG Hotels & Resorts in the UK.
Bradford South Travelodge has just opened between Bradford and Leeds with 130 bedrooms. It is close to the M62 and just eight miles from Leeds Bradford International Airport.
Dakota Newcastle Hotel opened at the end of March. It is located on the city’s St. Ann’s Wharf, overlooking the River Tyne. The hotel has 118 bedrooms, a restaurant and bar. The main Tyne Suite will seat up to 60 delegates for a theatre style meeting with three smaller rooms seating from 10 to 30 delegates plus a private dining room.
Bailiffgate Hotel is the latest new hotel from Bespoke Hotels and is scheduled to open in Alnwick, Northumberland in late May 2025. The hotel overlooks the entrance to Alnwick Castle. It will have 48 bedrooms and suites, a restaurant and bar plus two private meeting/events suites one seating up to 25 delegates, the other 10 delegates.
Egremont, Cumbria. A derelict building and former bake house in the centre of Egremont in Cumbria has just reopened, fully refurbished as No.27 Conference & Event Centre & Nashville Bar. The building had not been used for a number of years and was in a poor state of repair. Capacities and further details to follow.
IHG Hotels and Resorts is planning to launch its latest mid-market range hotel brand - Garner Hotels - in Edinburgh in June 2025. Garner Hotel Haymarket, Edinburgh will be located directly opposite Haymarket Station in the city centre. It will have seven floors, 195 bedrooms, a restaurant and bar.
Marriott International is buying the lifestyle hotel brand CitizenM with its 36 hotels in more than 20 European cities., including six in the UK.
Two Football clubs are opening hotel and conference facilities - in Manchester and Oxford. They are:
In Manchester: The Medlock is a new 401 bedroom hotel planned - the collaboration of Radisson Hotel Group and Manchester City Football Club. The new hotel is expected to open at the end of 2026 and will form part of the Club’s £300 million development at the Etihad Campus. The hotel is named after the River Medlock that runs underneath the Etihad Campus. Further details to follow.
Oxford United Football Club have also teamed up with Radisson Hotel Group to create a 180-bedroom Radisson Blu hotel. It will be part of a sustainable sports and lifestyle landmark north of the city. The site will also include a 16,000-capacity stadium and exhibition centre, with restaurants, bars and fitness areas plus entertainment facilities. Proposed opening date to be advised.
Finally, Unique Venues report that only 8% of the UK’s 37,000 public electric vehicle charging locations are found at hotels. With now more than 1.3 million fully electric vehicles (EVs) on UK roads, a total which is predicted to rise to over half of all vehicles by 2030, the hotel market is in danger of missing out on potential guests and revenue.