Industry News, January 2011

No 4 Hamilton Place is delighted to announce it will be Japan House, home of the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC), during the Olympic Games in 2012.

The Churchill will commence a multi-million-pound soft refurbishment of all guestrooms and the Regency and Regency Executive suites on the 7th, 8th and 9th floors from 2 February to mid-May 2011. The hotel will remain fully operational during this time. The Regency Club Lounge® on the 8th floor will also be refurbished and extended to either side of the 8th floor lobby, creating an additional area for guests to relax when staying on the club floor and in the hotel’s suites.  Following the refurbishment, the 7th floor will also become a Regency Club floor (in addition to the 8th and 9thfloors) and the hotel will become a 434 bedroom hotel. Furthermore, six new suites, the Regency Studio Suites will be created. 

Guests will be welcomed from the lift lobbies to corridors lined in silvery taupe punctuated with black- and-white photography of London’s Royal parks. A taupe and chocolate cut-pile velvet carpet with an organic floral design will offer an urban garden feel.  Each guestroom will also feature new entry doors with a contemporary take on a traditional panelled door, with a high gloss finish in taupe. In order to minimise any disruption to the hotel’s guests, all three floors will be completed in phases and reopened as the work is completed.  All banqueting and conference facilities will continue to be fully operational throughout this time and The Montagu and Locanda Locatelli will also remain open and unaffected. The refurbishment programme will enhance Hyatt Regency London – The Churchill, ensuring that it remains in line with the select Hyatt Regency brand worldwide.  It is being carried out in time for 2012, when the eyes of the world will be focused on London during the Diamond Jubilee Year and the 2012 Olympics.

The Rezidor Hotel Group, one of the fastest growing hotel companies worldwide, announces the Park Inn London ExCeL. The brand new property at the ExCeL Exhibition Centre in London will feature 223 rooms and is scheduled to open in Q2 2013. The Park Inn which will be constructed by Galliford Try will be located a mere 200 metres west of the main entrance, and, soaring 20 stories above the skyline, will soon emerge as a local landmark. Other facilities will include a restaurant and bar, several meeting rooms, and a fitness room.

Holiday Inn Manchester West today announced that it is to complete its rebranding this month as part of the biggest relaunch in the hospitality industry with a £650 million investment across more than 3,200 Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express hotels worldwide. The Holiday Inn relaunch means guests can expect a consistently good experience at all Holiday Inn hotels. The hotel now has a new look and feel with new features including an upgraded lobby with a decluttered front desk, a choice of soft or firm pillows, a new shower experience and new lighting and signage. Holiday Inn Manchester West has 82 guest rooms, the Okra Restaurant and lounge bar, 24-hour room service and conference space for up to 60 people theatre style.

Accor, the world’s leading hotel operator and market leader in Europe, has announced it has signed a franchise agreement with Focus Hotels, adding ten hotels to its UK network in the first quarter of 2011. This forms part of Accor’s aggressive expansion strategy to increase its UK network to 300 hotels by 2015. Focus Hotels is a collection of quality midscale hotels with a wide variety of styles at a range of excellent locations throughout England.  The group has systematically upgraded its product over the past few years, investing heavily in refurbishment and training with a view to identifying suitable franchising partners.  The partnership with Mercure hotels will allow the ten hotels to retain their individuality and style whilst enabling them to reach an international market. The franchise agreement means that 763 rooms will be added to the Mercure network. This expansion represents a major step in the development of the Mercure network in the UK, increasing its existing footprint from 33 to 43 hotels.

Chelsea Football Club has announced its fine dining Marco Pierre White restaurant, Marco, is available for meetings and events for the first time. Marco’s will be available for day time hire and exclusive evening hire for up to 60 delegates for meetings, 90 for dinner and 150 for receptions including the use of outdoor space. It will offer delegates restaurant quality food and beverage from Marco’s renowned chef Roger Pizey. The restaurant, famed for its excellent catering and sophisticated setting, is in addition to Stamford Bridge’s extensive meetings and events facilities which comprise of 21 meeting rooms, 60 syndicate rooms, the Great Hall with over 1,400m2 of load bearing floor space, two hotels and a health club.

Von Essen Hotels is delighted to announce the launch, on 11 October 2010, of The Spa at The Mount Somerset, the third of five spas to be completed this year following an extensive multi-million pound investment across the collection to enhance von Essen hotels’ luxury lifestyle offering. This opening will mark the final phase of a comprehensive refurbishment of the hotel, the first ever property in the von Essen collection, acquired in 1994. The brand new spa, set in the stunning grounds of the hotel and designed as a traditional bathhouse, will provide an exclusive and intimate haven, guaranteeing the perfect therapy to well being. Spa facilities include state-of-the-art hydrotherapy pool, thermal suite with sauna and steam room, relaxing foot spas, experience showers, beautifully appointed treatment rooms offering first class, bespoke [ comfort zone ] treatments, fitness suite with Technogym equipment, stunning spa terrace and a retail area.

Meeting and event venue Altitude London will open a new screening room next month (February) in conjunction with Curzon Cinemas. Situated on the ground floor of the Millbank Tower, close to the Houses of Parliament in London, Curzon Millbank cinema will house 300-seats, a fully digital screen, plus a licensed café-bar with free WiFi. The cinema will screen a wide range of independent and world cinema films and is open to the public, as well as available for private screenings and premieres.

Waldorf Astoria will open London Syon Park next month (February), located near Kew Gardens on the edge of the two hundred acre Syon House estate. The hotel’s 137 rooms will blend the contemporary and the classical with sculptural chandeliers and marble and limestone bathrooms featuring integrated TVs and illuminated rain showers. Events space includes the 450 capacity The Grand Syon Ballroom, ‘The Deck’ a rooftop lounge with breathtaking views and private-hire wing ‘The Clubhouse’. Other attractions are the hotel’s butterfly house, The Capability restaurant, wine room, smoking terrace and herb garden and the Kallima spa.

Radisson Edwardian Manchester has unveiled its new Walters Suite, which is named after Edward Walters who designed the Free Trade Hall building in which the hotel is based. The self-contained Walters Suite features floor to ceiling windows and measures 110sqms. It can comfortably accommodate 70 guests theatre-style and 56 guests cabaret style. It also boasts a private bar, breakout area, high definition audio-visual presentation technology and complimentary WiFi. The suite can be used for dinner parties for up to 80 guests, with restaurant-standard British cuisine on offer.

etc.venues will open a ninth venue in March in London’s Paddington Waterside Development. The venue, which is a few minutes walk from Paddington Station will offer the etc.venues hallmarks of light, bright meeting space with high ceilings, high spec AV and contemporary restaurant and breakout space served by a dedicated kitchen. The venue, which is next door to Marks & Spencer’s new Paddington HQ, will have a capacity for 500 delegates with the largest of ten meeting rooms seating 200. It follows the opening etc.venues’ Moorgate venue in September.

The founders of events company MotivAction have started their own farm and eco events venue in Ardeley, Hertfordshire. Church Farm can host meetings, conferences, and lunches as well as family fun days, team-building, learning experiences and CSR projects. The Education & Events Centre is a high quality, well equipped venue with audio-visual and computer-aided presentation facilities and can cater for up to 100 delegates. Rustic accommodation is also available in the form of log cabins, tipis, yurts and gypsy caravans. Meanwhile, neighbouring 17th century inn, Jolly Waggoner, provides a venue for home grown farm feasts and local ale.

The Holiday Inn Manchester-MediaCityUK has opened next door to the BBC’s new production centre in Salford Quays, Manchester. The 218-bedroom, glass-fronted, hotel is the newest venue to join the Quays Partnership. It features a naturally lit mezzanine-level meeting room with space for up to 50 delegates. The Green Room Restaurant and Hub Bar offers views over MediaCityUK, while many bedrooms look over the Manchester Ship Canal. The property also boasts a gym and complimentary wireless Internet. It is located just two miles from Manchester Central convention complex.

The new Park Inn by Radisson Aberdeen Hotel, is situated just off the main shopping thoroughfare, Union Street. It has 185 bedrooms and suites, a bar, restaurant, resident-only gym and eight modern meeting rooms, with capacities ranging from 12 to 200 people. The meeting facilities include a large conference room which can be divided into three smaller rooms and five boardrooms with floor to ceiling windows. All have wireless internet access and the latest audio-visual equipment. Each of the meeting rooms is named after pop and rock stars, including The Lennox, The Bruce, The Stewart, The Angus, The Presley and The Beatles.

Based in the heart of the capital, No.11 Cavendish Square will unveil a new look at the start of next year. Planned refurbishment of the 200 capacity conservatory (due to be complemented by 4 January) will see the event space transformed into an 18th Century inspired scented ‘Orangery’. Architects based No.11’s conservatory on Belton House, a National Trust venue in Lincolnshire. Brass sconces will decorate the Orangery which will house 16 mandarin orange trees, as well as olive and kumquat trees.

The Room Boom, 12 years after launching in New York, W finally comes to London. The W Leicester Square opens on 14th February 2011.

Royal Armouries International PLC is the first organisation in the region of its size to be awarded the gold award in Green Tourism.

The Home of British Motor Racing will open its new paddock area in May 2011, including a conference complex for 5,500 delegates. The futuristic ‘fin’ will include extensive corporate hospitality areas covering 8.200m2.

International

Warsaw Marriott Hotel, with an already rich Polish history, experienced another enhancement to its legendary status as the place to hold meetings, conventions, corporate and social events, with over €2.6 million in renovations over the last four years. The hotel’s 2,600 sq m of meeting and banquet space went through a total transformation and was revamped with a sleek new look in chic shades that are visible throughout the entire second and third floors, including the pre-function areas.

Renaissance Paris Le Parc Trocadero in Paris, France will re-open on March 14 after a full refurbishment.

Scheduled to open in the fourth quarter of 2011, the Conrad Dubai will be located on Sheikh Zayed Road, opposite the Emirates Tower and World Trade Centre. This will be the first Conrad in the UAE. It will have 559 rooms and suites, three restaurants, a spa and health club with an outdoor pool. Event space will include 14 meeting rooms and two ballrooms with a capacity for 1,100 and 800 delegates.