The Thistle Portland Hotel overlooking Piccadilly Gardens in the centre of Manchester is to be rebranded as an Ibis Styles hotel.

The hotel with 204 bedrooms is currently undergoing a refurbishment which is expected to be complete by summer 2016 when the change of branding will come into effect.

Ibis Styles Manchester Portland Street will feature a new restaurant and bar - Jamboree FoodFest & Bar - offering food and drink from around the world.

Ibis Styles Manchester Portland Street will join existing Ibis Styles in London, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, Blackpool, Barnsley, Haydock and the recently opened hotel in Crewe.

Details: www.ibis.com


Liverpool City Council has granted planning consent for the mixed-use regeneration of a five-acre site next to the city’s Chinatown and in the shadow of its Anglican Cathedral.

Marketed as ‘New Chinatown’, the development will include a 140-bedroom hotel as well as residential apartments and office accommodation.

Completion of phase one is expected by the middle of 2017.


Tottenham Hotspur FC has been granted planning permission for its new 61,000-seat stadium in north London.

The new stadium will replace the existing White Hart Lane ground. Plans now go to the Mayor of London for his final approval.

As well as a football stadium which will also host two American football games a year, the new stadium will be part of an entertainment district. This includes plans for a new 180-bedroom hotel plus a “Sky Walk” adrenaline attraction on the roof of the stadium and a “Tottenham Experience” museum charting the club’s history.

The new stadium is expected to be complete completed by 2018, in time for the start of the 2018-19 Premier League season.

Details: www.tottenhamhotspur.com


Plans to turn the Old Royal High School in Edinburgh into a luxury hotel have been refused by the city council.

The old school on Calton Hill has been vacant for close to fifty years. Plans had been drawn up to restore and convert the listed 1820’s property into a 147-bedroom Rosewood hotel.

A spa, fitness centre, indoor swimming pool, three restaurants and bars and a ballroom were all planned for the new hotel.

Future options for the building include reducing the size of the proposed hotel or possibly converting it into a new home for St Mary’s Music School.


Another batch of hotel is set to join the Mercure Group this month. These include:

On the 8th December the Noke Hotel St Albans joined the Mercure portfolio. It has now rebranded Mercure St Albans Noke Hotel.

Mercure St Albans Noke Hotel has 110 bedrooms, three restaurants, eleven meeting rooms including a marquee plus a fitness and leisure club. Mercure St Albans Noke Hotel is set in its own grounds close to the centre of St Albans in Hertfordshire.

On 10th December the Dartford Brands Hatch Hotel joined the Mercure portfolio. It has now been rebranded Mercure Dartford Brands Hatch Hotel (pictured).

Mercure Dartford Brands Hatch Hotel overlooks Brands Hatch race circuit in Kent. It has 121 bedrooms and a purpose-built training floor with 15 meeting rooms, the largest of which will accommodate up to 300 delegates. Mercure Dartford Brands Hatch Hotel has a restaurant, bar plus a health and leisure club.

The former Thistle Newcastle County Hotel is rebranding as the Mercure Newcastle County Hotel. Located in a Grade II-listed building opposite Newcastle Central station, it is the oldest hotel building in the city having opened originally in 1874.

Mercure Newcastle County Hotel is currently undergoing a multi-million pound investment programme. It has 114 bedrooms and a suite of ten meeting rooms on the first floor of the hotel with the largest room accommodate up to 220 delegates.

Details: www.mercure.com