Industry News, May 2010

Dorchester Collection, the luxury hotel group whose hotels include The Dorchester in London, Plaza Athénée in Paris and The Beverly Hills Hotel in LA, is set to open a new country house hotel and eco-luxury spa, Coworth Park near Ascot in September 2010. Set in 240 acres of idyllic Berkshire parkland, yet just 45 minutes from Central London, Coworth Park is a restored Georgian Manor House and estate with 70 rooms and suites. 

Newly arrived at the RIBA – enjoy a Twinings Tea Ritual Afternoon Tea on the beautiful Florence Hall Terrace. Positioned in the heart of London, this divine little sun trap provides the perfect setting for an afternoon tea.

A new Hilton by Hampton hotel is currently under construction and should be open Mid September 2010. Located just off Junction 23 of the M4.

The New Macdonald Windsor Hotel, a contemporary townhouse in central Windsor, is the latest addition to Macdonald Hotels & Resorts’ impressive portfolio. Located on the site of the old Caley’s Department Store, this 120 bedroom hotel offers the quality and finish of a 5 star boutique property along with many original features and is ideally located opposite the Guildhall and Windsor Castle.

76 Portland Place is proud to announce that we have received the silver level award from Green Business Tourism. Green Tourism for London is the first independently audited Green Accreditation scheme for the meeting industry in London.

Magnuson Hotels, the world’s largest independent hotel chain, has signed 20 properties within the first two weeks of its official launch in the UK. Magnuson Hotels, which represents more than 1,200 properties in North America, is targeting independently-owned hotels with 20-plus bedrooms with its ‘fee-free’ business model which allows the hotelier to retain their independence.

Twycross Zoo is going through lots of change including the opening of new conference rooms and a banqueting /exhibition area, which looks out on to the superb Snow Leopold’s.  Twycross also has the facility to host team building activities.

Set to redefine guest experience; the new generation, 4 Star Holiday Inn Reading M4 Jct 10 opens on the 23rd June 2010, providing the latest and most innovative design and standards within the Intercontinental Hotel’s Group brand. The hotel has 174 luxuriously appointed bedrooms including Executive Rooms and Junior Suites. 

After a two year £25m redevelopment project Cedar Court Grand Hotel & Spa has opened its doors to guests, bringing five-star hospitality to York for the first time. 

New meeting and training rooms have been unveiled at London’s historic underground Churchill War Rooms. The modern spaces offer air conditioning, integrated AV and adjacent break-out rooms and can be used in conjunction with the recently refurbished Switch and Harmsworth Rooms for events for 10 – 400 people. 

The Ricoh Arena in Coventry completed its £3m expansion programme in May. Enhanced conference and exhibition facilities at the 38,000-capacity stadium include three new exhibition halls with retractable walls, boosting capacity from 8,000 to 10,000 and event space from 6,000sqm to 8,500sqm.  There is also a new 650-seat indoor sound proofed auditorium and a remodelled arrival area for the exhibition halls, while work on a new entrance to the on-site 71 Rooms & Silk Suites Hotel will be completed in June.

QHotels property The Queens in Leeds has opened a new executive floor, ‘QClub’. The dedicated floor incorporates 18 executive guest rooms and suites, a complimentary bar, executive lounge serving breakfast, meeting and office space and a private terrace providing views of Leeds’ skyline.

Following a £70,000 investment, the four-star Stratford Manor near Stratford-upon-Avon, has opened the Conference Café. The new business and training facility, which has been designed explicitly with small and medium meetings in mind, offers complimentary break out space, free flowing tea and coffee, unlimited snacks, complimentary WI-FI and computer access to all delegates.

Following the recent refurbishment of nine event spaces, healthcare charity The King’s Fund has relaunched its London headquarters as No.11 Cavendish Square. The Grade II listed Georgian townhouse, overlooking Cavendish Square, combines period features with contemporary designed conference suites in the adjoining extension.
Natural light and harbour views are both on offer in the new glass-fronted Grand Ballroom at Wyndham Grand, London Chelsea. The ballroom can be divided into five spaces and accommodate up to 1,000 conference delegates, or 600 guests for evening events.

In addition, two new interconnecting meeting rooms have opened on the penthouse level. Albert Bridge and Battersea Bridge both seat up to 60 people, offer river views, and are equipped with plasma screens and projectors. A new executive lounge is exclusively available to those using the meeting facilities or staying in the penthouse suites.

Located on the historic Brooklands race track in Surrey, the new Brooklands Hotel combines a contemporary glass design with an art deco inspired interior. The property, which has a section of the 1930s racing circuit running through its reception and is next door to Mercedes Benz World, offers 120 luxury rooms and suites, spa, cocktail bar, restaurant, and seven sets of meeting rooms ranging from the Brooklands Suite, that can cater for up to 175 people, to the Boardroom which can host up to 12.

Charles Boyd, the man behind caterers Chester Boyd, has launched The Northumberland within a magnificent Grade II listed Victorian building off Trafalgar Square in London. Built in 1887 as part of a 500-room ‘grand hotel’, the building has been occupied by the Crown since 1940 and has undergone a £7m refurbishment to create a 1,000 guest capacity events venue.  The impressive interior includes ornate plaster work, carvings and stained-glass windows, while its restaurant, Boyd’s Brasserie & Bar, is in a magnificent marble walled room. Catering is overseen by head chef David Collison, who previously ran the Queen’s garden parties.

A former East London town hall has reopened as a hotel. The aptly named Town Hall Hotel and Apartments makes the most of the building’s Edwardian architecture. The carefully restored conference & banqueting rooms include The Council Chamber, an impressive art-deco room with walnut panelling and raised seating for up to 70 people, and Bethnal Hall, which is made up of four interconnected rooms that can be separated by vertically sliding walls of polished wood or joined together to make a banqueting or conference space for up to 200. The building is a popular film location and has featured in Atonement, Brideshead Revisited and Poirot.

A range of new outdoor event spaces have been made available at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London. Alfresco events and receptions can now take place on the Pavilion Roof Terrace, Mound Stand Terrace or the tranquil surroundings of the Harris Garden.

A spark of life has been breathed into London’s Battersea Power Station with the launch of a new venue inside the iconic building. The Boiler House at Battersea Power Station is a 1,000-capacity temporary structure with a clear gable end and roof section offering impressive views of the power station’s chimneys.

Lingfield Park Marriott opened this month with its four function suites seating up to 350 delegates banqueting style. The Marriott is connected to Lingfield Park Racecourse in Surrey and offers 116 bedrooms, a spa and golf course.
 

Harrogate International Centre has announced a £13m investment into the venue which will create 3400 sqm of additional event space when it is complete in Autumn 2011.

 
Birmingham New Street Station is currently being transformed by a £600m project and the government has just unveiled plans for a new high speed rail link between London and Birmingham with work due to commence in 2017.

The Holte Suite at Villa Park can now accommodate up to 800 guests and the Symphony Hall has just opened its doors to public events and can stage conferences for up to 2,200 delegates.

 
Nottingham Conferences has just become the first academic venue to sign up to the 2012 UK Event Industry Fair Pricing and Practice Charter which has been established to ensure fair pricing during the Olympic Games. Nottingham Conferences operates East Midlands Conference Centre, University of Nottingham, University Park, Jubilee Campus and Sutton Bonnington.

 
The Herbert Museum and Art Gallery in Coventry has just completed a £20m redevelopment and can hold up to 200 delegates.

 
Telford International Centre’s next phase of development is to create a 200 bedroom onsite hotel and to also develop bars/restaurants/parking/outdoor event space by 2016.

Carden Park, part of the De Vere Group, has completed a £350,000 refurbishment creating the self contained Carden Suite which can hold up to 400 delegates with its own entrance and car park.
 

 
The Lancaster London has been awarded silver from the Green Tourism for London – an official recognition of the hotels environmental policies.

 
The Science Museum (London), The National Media Museum (Bradford) and The National Railway Museum (York) have all become the first national museums to be awarded World Class Service recognition – audited on all levels of service.

When the Corinthia Hotel London opens its doors in December 2010, it is set to become one of London’s most prestigious hotels in this cosmopolitan capital.  Originally the magnificent Metropole Hotel that opened in 1886, the new hotel will be completely refurbished with 300 exceptionally designed and spacious bedrooms. The hotel will also feature a number of suites offering outstanding views, including the River Thames, The London Eye, Trafalgar Square and Whitehall. From the elegant central courtyard foyer, to the restaurants, luxury spa, destination bar, meeting facilities and the delicately refurbished grand ballroom, this hotel will offer guests a lavish retreat into timeless beauty in this historic and exciting city.

International

Dublin’s 50,000-seat Aviva Stadium, part of the Lime Venue Portfolio, officially opened on 14 May. Event facilities consist of more than fifty diverse spaces spread over five levels. Spaces vary in size and are flexible allowing for two to 800 people in any one space (total capacity is 2000). The stadium, designed to be Ireland’s most sustainable venue, offers 36 corporate boxes varying in capacity from two to seventy people. Also available is the state of the art Media Auditorium with seating for 190 guests and outdoor marquee areas.

As from 13 May 2010, 90% of the 280 rooms in the Hermitage in Monaco will have been renovated, bringing the decoration of this elegant Belle Epoque luxury hotel up to date with a new, functional look. The newly decorated restaurant, “Le Vistamar”, which has been redesigned with a new, separate bar, will also be unveiled, as will the new Eiffel Hall and its four new meeting rooms. A total of six rooms for meetings and receptions will therefore be available. From mid-July 2010, two additional new meeting rooms will also be available to clients, making a total of eight meeting and reception rooms.  Finally, in January 2011, the long-awaited new 310m² conference room, the “Salle Eiffel,” which can be divided into two sections, will be available.  (It can seat 260 for a banquet, 340 people as a theatre).  There will also be three new meeting rooms.

 
Having made a name for itself all over the world, the chic and casual style of Buddah Bar Lounges is coming to Monaco. The Société des Bains de Mer will open the new establishment in June 2010 in its “Golden Triangle”, a wing of the Monte-Carlo Casino. The lounge will be able to receive 160 guests in its restaurant and a hundred more in the exotic Buddha Bar. The establishment represents a completely new concept, combining a restaurant featuring inspired haute cuisine and the finest service available anywhere with a bar bathed in a musical atmosphere specially orchestrated by a talented DJ. The Buddha Bar will form an exclusive trio with the Principality’s two other exciting new hotspots… the “Moods”, soon to celebrate its 2nd anniversary, and the “Black Legend”, Monaco’s most recent nightclub acquisition.

The Hyatt Dusseldorf is due to open in December 2010. It’s set to be Hyatt’s 5th hotel opening in Germany.

A total of 47 million Euros has been invested in the new entrance, service and conference Mitte area of the Nuremberg Exhibition and Congress Centre in Germany.