Robinson College in Cambridge is building a new £5million seminar centre to enhance both its academic and conference facilities. The site, in the grounds of Robinson College, is on track for completion summer 2015.

The seminar building is designed with a flexible room layout for medium scale meetings. It overlooks gardens and a terrace and the rooms will have plenty of natural daylight. The main plenary room will accommodate up to 72 delegates cabaret style or 80 classroom style with three breakout rooms close-by. These will each seat up to 18 delegates or they can be combined to seat up to 60 delegates. The facilities will also provide a good setting for a private dinner or a drinks reception.

High specification technology features throughout with in-house technical support. Organisers will be able to book the building as a stand-alone unit for single client use, or for residential and non-residential conferences in conjunction with other facilities within the Robinson College complex. These include a 390-seater auditorium, an oak-panelled dining room for 300 guests and 220 en-suite bedrooms available during vacation periods.

Robinson College is located in Grange Road in Cambridge with easy access to the M11 at junctions 12 and 13. It is a ten minute taxi ride from Cambridge station.

Details: www.robinson.cam.ac.uk

Travelodge has unveiled plans to build more than 150 new hotels over the next eight years at the rate of 20 to 25 hotels a year. The first three hotels towards this long-term expansion plan include new properties at London Dagenham, Dover and Peterhead, Aberdeenshire - representing a total investment value of £13million.

Travelodge will be spending nearly £100million in 2015 alone opening 15 new hotels. These include four London locations; cementing Travelodge’s position as the capital’s biggest hotel brand; a new central Glasgow property and key regional locations including the Thames Valley tech corridor, Southampton and Bristol.

Peter Gowers, Travelodge Chief Executive said: “We are well underway with our plans to build new Travelodge. We’re investing more than £100m in modernising our hotels for our customers and we now have 87% of guest rooms upgraded to our new look. In 2015 we are opening 15 new hotels, creating 400 new jobs and extending our network still further.”

Details:  www.travelodge.co.uk


The Midland Hotel in Manchester is investing more than £1.5million creating a city centre day spa which will replace its former health club. It is set to open in June 2015.

The Spa at The Midland will offer ESPA and Jessica treatments. It will include relaxation areas, a sauna, a steamroom, a relaxation pool, eight treatment rooms and a rasul plus a spa café. It is designed for the local market as well as hotel residents.

The Midland Hotel is a landmark hotel in Manchester. It has 312 luxury bedrooms and 14 conference and banqueting rooms. It is the hotel where Mr Rolls met Mr Royce just before they formed a partnership to make motor cars. The hotel also boasts two excellent restaurants including The French by Simon Rogan, which has been awarded four AA Rosettes.

The Midland Hotel Manchester is located 200m from Oxford Road Station, 800m from Manchester Piccadilly Station and across the road from Manchester Central.

Details: www.qhotels.co.uk

A £3 million investment in a new spa and health club has been announced by Hatherley Manor Hotel in Gloucestershire. The new spa is expected to include a 12m pool, at least six spa treatment rooms, a thermal suite, an ice room and an executive gym. Plans also include a roof-top Jacuzzi and seven additional bedrooms overlooking the hotel's historic walled garden.

Construction will take place from late 2015, during the winter, to minimise any impact on the hotel’s leisure business.

Hatherley Manor is set in 37 acres of grounds in the heart of the Gloucestershire countryside. The hotel has 51 bedrooms, a restaurant and bar plus six meeting rooms with the largest seating up to 300 delegates theatre style. A 13 acre activity field is available for team building events or corporate celebrations

Hatherley Manor Hotel is located four miles from the City of Gloucester and six miles from Cheltenham Spa.

Details: www.hatherleymanor.com


Plans have been submitted to convert two Edwardian properties in Northampton's Cultural Quarter into a boutique hotel and restaurant.

The properties on Guildhall Road in the city centre are located opposite the Northampton Museum and were built initially for residential use but more recently had been converted to office and storage use. Planning approval would see a change of use into a 13 bedroom boutique hotel and restaurant. The plans are part of a wider plan to regenerate the area.

Guildhall Road includes a range of historic buildings, including a former hotel built in the 1800s which now houses the Contemporary Art Northampton gallery, as well as the Royal and Derngate Theatre and the Northampton Museum.

Details: www.insidermedia.com