Despite the uncertainties surrounding Brexit, hotel room supply in the UK continues to swell, and with it comes a host of new meeting and event spaces.
According to the PwC Hotels Forecast 2019, an additional 4,340 hotel rooms will be added to supply in London during this year, a 2.8% year-on-year increase taking the overall, total to 159,440 rooms.
Outside the capital, supply is growing even faster, A 3.39% year-on-year increase translates into 21,760 new rooms coming on stream this year, taking the regional UK total to 680,190 rooms.
Since 2014, 40,000 new rooms have been added to industry supply. So which new hotels stand out? Here are just a few of the properties we think are significant, either because of their location, heritage or location for business travellers.
New hotels in London
Hard Rock Hotel London
On the corner of Park Lane and Oxford Street sits the former Cumberland Hotel, now set to re-open as the Hard Rock Hotel London. This collaboration with glh hotels will be the debut Hard Rock branded property in London, housing 1,000 bedrooms rooms, two bars, and a Hard Rock Café.
The Biltmore
Over in Mayfair, The Millennium Hotel London is re-branding as The Biltmore, which will be Hilton’s first property under its new luxury brand LXR Hotels & Resorts into Europe. This follows a management franchise agreement struck between Hilton and Millennium & Copthorne Hotels. The 308-bedroom hotel on Grosvenor Square has undergone a £50m redevelopment and will showcase a 500 sqm ballroom alongside the smaller Waterloo, Manhattan and Kendal Suites.
Great Scotland Yard Hotel
Also scheduled to open this spring is the Great Scotland Yard Hotel in Westminster. The 153-bed property is the first UK hotel to join Hyatt’s Unbound Collection of high-end, individual properties. The former Metropolitan police headquarters, built in 1910, has been preserved throughout the renovation, including the original façade.
The Belmond Cadogan
The Belmond Cadogan Hotel is another hotel to re-open this year following a multi-million-pound refurbishment. Acquired by the owners of the Moet and Chandon, Hennessy and Louis Vuitton brands, the 54 rooms-and-suites Sloane Square property is their first luxury property in London.
Stratford Hotel
A little over eight miles east of the West End lies Stratford, where the 145-bed Stratford Hotel is scheduled to open this spring too. The hotel is part of the new Manhattan Loft Gardens skyscraper in east London, overlooking the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Boasting three sky gardens and two restaurants, the triple-height lobby will feature a nine-metre high fireplace.
Clayton Hotel City of London
Staying on the east side of London, Aldgate is the location for a new hotel. Originally intended to operate under IHG’s Hotel Indigo brand, the Clayton Hotel City of London will instead be the third property under that brand in London, which is now open, joining properties in Chiswick and Cricklewood.
Located 10 minutes’ walk from Liverpool Street station, close to The Gherkin, this 4 star, 212-bedroom hotel will feature a gym, Globe bar and Grill restaurant, as well as coffee from Dalata’s own brand Red Bean Roastery.
Other new hotels opening in London in 2019
100 Queens Gate Hotel London, Curio Collection by Hilton - 228 bedrooms
Belmond Cadogan -54 bedrooms
The Dixon, Autograph Collection - 193 bedrooms
Hampton by Hilton London Park Royal - 146 bedrooms
Hilton Garden Inn London Heathrow Terminal 2 - 360 bedrooms
Mama Shelter London Shoreditch - 193 bedrooms
Nhow London - 190 bedrooms
Ruby Lucy - 76 bedrooms
Yotel London Clerkenwell - 212 bedrooms
Meanwhile outside London…
Village Hotel Bristol
The brand-new Village Hotel Bristol has just opened, a short drive north of the city in Filton, just around the corner from the UWE Exhibition and Conference Centre. The M5, M4, and M32 are all within easy reach. Built on the site of a former Rolls Royce factory, the hotel has plenty of parking space, an on-site Pub & Grill, Starbucks, work spaces, gym and a swimming pool.
The hotel also boasts VWorks, an innovative meeting area designed around business needs, with flexible memberships and an exclusive member's app as well as hot desking, high tech, super-fast WiFi, energising food and refreshments.
Leonardo Royal Hotel Southampton Grand Harbour
Jurys Inn and Leonardo Hotels has opened the re-vamped Leonardo Royal Hotel Southampton Grand Harbour. Opened in 1994, the property features 173 rooms and suites, 13 meeting and event spaces, including the Mayflower function room, which holds up to 500 people as well as Southampton’s only Marco Pierre White Steakhouse Bar & Grill.
Kimpton Charlotte Square
InterContinental Hotels Group has opened its second Kimpton property in the UK and its first in Scotland with the launch of the Kimpton Charlotte Square in Edinburgh. The opening follows last year’s deal between IHG and Covivio to rebrand 13 hotels. The Principal Charlotte square is the second to re-brand as Kimpton after the Kimpton Fitzroy London in Russell Square.
Located in Edinburgh’s Georgian New Town, Kimpton Charlotte Square is offers 184 rooms, 15 suites, the BABA Bar, gym and a spa.
Voco St John’s, Solihull
IHG has also opened its second upscale Voco property in Solihull. The 180-room Voco St John’s, Solihull follows the Voco St David’s in Cardiff and features more than 1,230 sqm of meeting space across 13 different rooms able to accommodate up to 700 guests.
More new UK hotels opening in 2019
Aloft Aberdeen the Events Complex - 150 rooms
Adagio/Novotel Leicester - 250 bedrooms
Artist Residence Bristol - 29 bedrooms
Buxton Crescent, Derbyshire - 80 bedrooms
Courtyard Oxford City Centre - 140 rooms
Dakota Deluxe Manchester - 137 bedrooms
DoubleTree by Hilton Birmingham - 171 bedrooms
DoubleTree by Hilton Harrogate Majestic, North Yorkshire - 170 bedrooms
Hampton by Hilton Hamilton Park, South Lanarkshire - 118 bedrooms
Hampton by Hilton Leeds City Centre - 192 bedrooms
Hampton by Hilton Stockton on Tees - 125 bedrooms
Harbour Hotel Fowey, Cornwall - 37 bedrooms
Harbour Hotel Padstow, Cornwall - 58 bedrooms
Hilton Aberdeen Exhibition & Conference Centre - 200 bedrooms
Hilton Garden Inn Abingdon Oxford - 150 bedrooms
Hotel Indigo Bath - 166 bedrooms
Hotel Indigo Chester - 73 bedrooms
Hotel Indigo Stratford-upon-Avon - 93 bedrooms
Ibis Budget Sheffield - 125 bedrooms
Ibis Budget Swindon - 73 bedrooms
Ibis Styles Hounslow - 125 bedrooms
Killeavy Castle, County Armagh - 45 bedrooms
The Langley, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Buckinghamshire - 41 bedrooms
London Warehouse, Manchester - 166 bedrooms
Malmaison York - 150 bedrooms
Mercure Sheffield Kenwood Hall - 114 bedrooms
MGallery York - 57 bedrooms
Monkey Island, Bray, Berkshire - 27 bedrooms
Moxy Edinburgh - 230 rooms
Moxy York Stonebow - 118 rooms
Staybridge Suites Dundee - 85 bedrooms
Stocks, Manchester - 40 rooms
Studley Castle, Warwickshire - 210 bedrooms
Yotel Edinburgh - 227 bedrooms
Yotel Glasgow - 256 bedrooms