We start our latest briefing as usual in London before heading westward and northwards:
LONDON:
St. Regis Hotels & Resorts branding is set to make its debut in London this autumn - on the site of the former Westbury Mayfair Hotel at the corner of New Bond Street and Conduit Street. St. Regis London will include 193 bedrooms and suites and two wellness suites featuring plunge pools, saunas and a fully equipped gym, two meeting and events suites and a private dining room.
Hyatt Regency London Olympia opens on 6 July. It will have 204 bedrooms and suites, restaurants and bars and three meeting and events suites with the largest seating 24 delegates theatre style plus a direct connection to the events halls at London Olympia International Convention Centre.
The City of London Corporation is planning to redevelop ‘The Annexe buildings’ in West Smithfield. It is the site of a Victorian-era market close to the new London Museum. Phase 1 will see the development of a new food market. Phase 2 will see the development of a new boutique hotel with a park attached for community events – but not due for completion before the early 2030s.
The Rathbone, Fitzrovia Hotel - located in the heart of central London, it is undergoing a refurbishment programme. Phase one will see an upgrade of the hotel’s 72 bedrooms and suites with completion scheduled for this summer. Phase Two will see a complete refurbishment of the hotel’s public spaces, including the Fitzroy Suite (seating up to 12 delegates), breakfast room and bar – completion expected autumn 2026.
The Ampersand Hotel in South Kensington, London, has opened a dedicated Science Family Suite, with a decor themed around astronomy, botany, geometry and ornithology. Guests can also enjoy a Science Afternoon Tea. The Ampersand Hotel is located in the heart of museum-land - The V&A, Natural History and Science Museums are within 5 to 10 minutes' walk. The hotel is themed around these nearby cultural institutions and offers a décor to match.
The Imperial Hotel in London’s Bloomsbury is set to reopen this summer following completion of an extensive refurbishment. The hotel, with 357 bedrooms and suites overlooking Russell Square, will include a ground-floor restaurant, a roof top bar, private gardens plus over 30 meeting & events spaces, with capacity for up to 1,000 delegates.
Reservations are now open at Waldorf Astoria London – Admiralty Arch – expected to open this autumn. The hotel is located in a restored Grade I listed monument on The Mall opposite Buckingham Palace in St James’s. It will open with 114 bedrooms, suites and residences, a main ballroom to accommodate 500 delegates for a reception and four meeting rooms with the largest seating 30 delegates theatre style. Two restaurants and a spa plus a wellness suite and gym complete the package.
Limehome, a European-based hospitality group, has just opened a new property in the City of London. Limehome is an aparthotel situated on the upper floors of a listed pub building in Queen Victoria Street - 150 metres from St. Paul’s Cathedral and 50 metres from the River Thames - with 12 bedrooms and suites.
BRISTOL:
The Guildhall located on Broad Street in central Bristol and closed since 2010, is opening late summer 2026 as the new luxury, 5-star Hotel Gotham, with 75 bedrooms, a restaurant and a rooftop terrace bar.
MANCHESTER:
Marriott International has opened Aloft by Marriott Manchester City Centre on Deansgate. It’s the largest Aloft branded hotel in Europe with 358 bedrooms and suites. Facilities include Re:Fuel by Aloft - a ‘grab-and-go’ food and drinks hub, WXYZ® Bar for craft cocktails and meeting space for small to mid-sized corporate gatherings.
Dakota Hotel Manchester Airport opens on 1st July. Located on Enterprise Way, the hotel will have 154 bedrooms, a restaurant and bar, two meeting rooms seating up to 8 and 16 delegates plus a direct shuttle service to Manchester Airport terminals.
LIVERPOOL:
Seven Stay Plus @ 60 Old Hall Street has just opened in Liverpool's central business district. The group specialises in short-term contract stays specifically designed for lengths of one, two and three months. It includes 44 fully serviced luxury apartments, targeting corporate professionals, contractors and relocated workers.
PENRITH:
North Lakes Hotel and Spa in Penrith has just completed a six-week £760k renovation of 22 bedrooms and an upgrading of its Hartside meeting room seating up to 20 delegates boardroom style.
DURHAM:
Plans for a new hotel with rooms overlooking the pitch at Durham County Cricket Club in Chester-le-Street have been recommended for approval. The Riverside Hotel will have 152 bedrooms with up to half overlooking the cricket pitch , a restaurant and bar and meeting spaces. No anticipated opening dates published as yet.
SCOTLAND:
The Victory Group are the new owners of Cameron House Hotel, the 17th-century estate located on the shores of Loch Lomond. Details of the group’s development plans and new experiences will be announced in the coming months.
Marcliffe Hotel, a five star hotel in Aberdeen, has opened thirteen newly renovated suites and superior rooms. The hotel has also acquired a neighbouring 14-acre estate with a long-term expansion plan including additional bedrooms and luxury leisure facilities.
The Mount Royal Hotel Edinburgh has now rebranded to The Mount Royal Hotel Edinburgh by The Unlimited Collection - a brand owned by The Ascott Limited. Located in Princes Street, the hotel has 169 fully refurbished bedrooms and suites, a restaurant and bar and 6 meeting rooms on the 1st floor with the largest room accommodating up to 145 delegates. It is around 200 metres from Edinburgh Waverley Station.
The Kithmore Hotel has opened in St Andrews following a major refurbishment. The hotel, formerly The Ardgowan hotel, occupies three Georgian townhouses with 44 bedrooms and an all-day restaurant and bar. It is close to St Andrew’s Old Course – The Home of Golf.
GROUP NEWS:
Marriott UK has formally joined the Room to Reward community of hotel partners pledging to donate up to 20 hotel unsold hotel rooms per year to recognise and reward exceptional charity volunteers. Other groups in the scheme include: Leonardo, Best Western, De Verer, Park Plaza and Apex hotels.
Accor Hotels Group’s Handwritten Collection, described as ‘a characterful collection of bespoke hotels’ when launched in 2023, has just celebrated the opening of its 50th address in Wien Austria with a further 50+ hotels in development.
The Nici Group: has opened two new hotels in the New Forest and Newquay. The Nici New Forest in Lymington is located on the banks of the Lymington River with 118 bedrooms and suites, two meeting and events suites seating 120 and 90 delegates, Elms Café and Martha’s restaurant plus a spa, tennis courts and heated outdoor pool. The Nici Newquay in Cornwall was previously the Hotel Victoria. Now totally refurbished the hotel has 82 bedrooms and suites, two meeting and events suites seating 140 and 60 delegates theatre style plus a restaurant and bar, leisure facilities - and an outlook overlooking the Cornish coastline.
Finally, Maybourne Hotel Group, the British luxury hotel operator whose portfolio includes : Claridge’s, The Connaught, The Berkeley and The Emory in London, has teamed up with Flexjet, the luxury private aviation operator to offer Signature Suite guests in any of its London hotels the ultimate airborne hotel arrival experience included in their stay, with complimentary Flexjet helicopter transfers for guests arriving by private jet at Farnborough, Biggin Hill, Luton and Stansted airports.