Industry news for the Hotel and Conference business

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Mercure Leeds Centre opens September

Mercure Leeds Centre opens September

Mercure Leeds Centre is set to open this...

Indigo coming to Chester

Indigo coming to Chester

Construction has started on the new...

Dalata plan new Manchester Hotel

Dalata plan new Manchester Hotel

Dalata Hotel Group is planning to open a new...

Dalata plan new London Hotel

Dalata plan new London Hotel

Dalata Hotel Group will be the operators of a...

New Hotel opens in Glasgow

New Hotel opens in Glasgow

  A new hotel has just opened in...

  • Mercure Leeds Centre opens September

    Mercure Leeds Centre opens September

  • Indigo coming to Chester

    Indigo coming to Chester

  • Dalata plan new Manchester Hotel

    Dalata plan new Manchester Hotel

  • Dalata plan new London Hotel

    Dalata plan new London Hotel

  • New Hotel opens in Glasgow

    New Hotel opens in Glasgow


Gleneagles Hotel is to be put up for sale by its owner Diageo, the drinks group. There is speculation that the five-star Perthshire resort with three golf courses plus extensive conference and banqueting facilities could fetch more than £200 million.

Gleneagles was opened in 1924 by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway. The hotel’s own station, on the Stirling-Perth line two miles away, was upgraded for the Ryder Cup. When the railways were nationalised after the Second World War Gleneagles became part of British Transport Hotels in 1948. It was sold by British Rail in 1981 to a consortium of Scottish businessmen for £10million, along with the Caledonian Hotel and, what is now, The Balmoral hotel in Edinburgh. The hotel was bought by Perth-based distiller Arthur Bell in 1984, which sold it to Guinness the following year, both of which are now part of Diageo.

That is the brief history. Future developments include the new Gleneagles Arena opening spring 2015. This is a £650,000 indoor tennis centre and conference venue which will accommodate up to 2,000 people. Gleneagles has also embarked on a £1.1million upgrade of 36 bedrooms which will be completed in late spring 2015. Work includes new carpets and air conditioning.

Details:  www.gleneagles.com


Signature Living, who are developing the new 61-bedroom Bill Shankly-themed hotel in  the former Millennium House building in the centre of Liverpool, has lodged plans to add a roof-top extension and terrace. The group plan to create a roof-top glazed extension to provide a new fifth floor adding conferencing and events space with access to a new sixth floor terrace.

Liverpool City Council approved the £15million conversion of Millennium House last year. The project also includes serviced apartments and office space. The existing gym and leisure facility in the building will be retained and will be moved to the ground and first floor.

Millennium House was originally built as the Imperial Buildings in 1879. It was redeveloped into council offices in the 1990s. It is located in Victoria Street in the heart of Liverpool between Liverpool Lime Street station and the Albert Dock.

In case you don't know Bill Shankly is widely regarded as the founding father of the modern-day Liverpool Football Club and is a legend in the city. He guided the club out of the old second division in 1962 leading them to title-winning glory in 1964, their first ever FA Cup in 1965 as well as their first ever European trophy in 1973. He died in 1981 following a series of heart attacks.

Shankly hotels gets go-ahead

Details: www.shanklyhotel.com


Brend Hotels have just launched their own Apprenticeship Academy to be based at Saunton Sands Hotel in Braunton, north Devon. The group has been operating a vocational training scheme for staff since 2004. Now, instead of apprentices attending local colleges, all training will initially take place at the hotel.

There are currently sixty apprentices on the scheme learning a variety of skills connected with work across the hotel industry including front of house, bar, waiting, kitchen, administration, housekeeping, concierge and portering.

Director Peter Brend Senior said apprenticeships had proved a very important way of ‘growing your own’ staff. “We are a family company that values its employees and encourages them to stay long-term,” he said. “Apprenticeships are an excellent way of developing and enhancing skill levels and establishing our own academy means we can offer the very best Level 2 and 3 training available in situ. Our aim is to become a beacon of industry excellence in all senses of the term.”

The Brend Group is currently recruiting apprentices.

Brend Hotels operates a collection of eleven luxury hotels across Devon and Cornwall.

Details: www.brend-hotels.co.uk

Development work has begun on site to create a new 60-bedroom Premier Inn in Newport city centre. The site, a former Yates Wine Lodge, is opposite the railway station, close to the recently redeveloped market and new Admiral building. It is expected that the hotel will be completed during 2015.

In 2012 Premier Inn made a pledge to raise £7.5 million for a new Clinical Building at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London and this month they have reached that milestone with £1 million donated by Premier Inn customers booking rooms online.
The new Premier Inn Clinical Building is scheduled for completion in 2017. It will include state-of-the-art operating facilities, a 16-bed isolation unit and improved accommodation so that parents and carers can stay by their child's bedside overnight.

It was previously known as the Glenross in Torquay but following a major refurbishment the establishment reopens at the end of March 2015 as ‘The 25 Boutique B&B’.

The 25 Boutique B&B will have six individually styled bedrooms and suites, all en-suite with tea and coffee making facilities plus home-made biscuits, free movies on demand, a  desk/dressing table, a hairdryer, ironing facilities and free wi-fi. There is one double-bedded room and the remainder are king-bedded.

The 25 Boutique B&B is located in Abbey Road just behind Torre Abbey and a short walk the sea front and the main harbour. It is about half a mile from Torquay station.

Details:  www.the25.uk