Hotel Openings

🏨 Brend Collection reopened Barnstaple Hotel after a £2m refurbishment following Storm Darragh damage in December 2024. The hotel closed in March 2025 for renovations, which updated guest areas and overhauled health and leisure facilities. New gym equipment, an exercise studio, and refreshed communal areas were introduced. The Arlington Suite was also refurbished. Insurance covered most repairs, but Brend invested in modernizing. Pearce Construction and Barton Scaffolding completed the work.

🏨 The Metropole Hotel in Cork reopened its refurbished ground floor and historic ballrooms after a year-long renovation of the 127-year-old landmark. The project revamped the entrance, lobby, and Merchant restaurant, and the ballrooms are available for events. Taoiseach Micheál Martin officially opened the space. A 1969 note from four tradesmen was discovered during renovations, with one signatory, John Keogh, attending the event. The hotel offers new summer packages for guests and locals alike.

📍 OYO added over 150 hotels to its U.S. portfolio in early 2025, with plans to add 150 more by year-end. New entries span Texas, Virginia, Georgia, Mississippi, California, Michigan, and Illinois, including significant properties like the 400-room Palette Sunset Waves Resort in Myrtle Beach, SC. The company emphasizes expanding through strategic partnerships and exploring urban and suburban markets in the Sun Belt and Great Lakes regions.

🌎 Rosewood Hotels and Resorts will debut its first property in Dubai in 2029 within the Peninsula Dubai district in Jumeirah. The development features a 195-room hotel, eight private garden villas, and 63 residences, including five beachfront villas. Amenities include a private beach, beach club, four restaurants, wellness center, art and music program, and children's club. Residents access a concierge, spa, cinema, and more. Developed by H&H, the project is owned by Bright Start.

🍷 Bournemouth Highcliff Marriott Hotel offers a summer-long Conker Gin pop-up with The Conker Distillery from August 1 to September 30. Enjoy Conker's award-winning gins at the outdoor pool bar, watch Bournemouth’s Friday night fireworks at 10 PM, and relax in branded deck chairs. Open daily from 12 PM for residents and 7 PM for non-residents. Conker Distillery tours are available Fridays and Saturdays at Southbourne from 2-4 PM.

🏨 Seamill Hydro is transforming its restaurant and cocktail lounge, previously called 'The Arran Suite.' The revamped venue will expand guest capacity by 50% from 120 to 180 seats with views over the Firth of Clyde, set to open this autumn. RAD Hotel Group, owners since 2023, invites locals to name the space, offering a year's worth of free dining as a prize. RAD Group, operated by Robert and Vivien Kyle, owns eight hotels in Scotland.

🏨 In Hamburg's Altona district, the voco Hamburg-Altona project will offer 143 rooms near the Hamburg-Altona Bahnhof, a key transport hub. Developed by NOVUM Real Estate and GATE Hospitality, it's part of a plan to bolster the voco brand across Germany. This marks the second voco project in the country, following Berlin's opening. NOVUM and IHG's strategic partnership aims for sustainable growth in the upscale sector, leveraging Hamburg's vibrant, creative atmosphere.

🏨 Travelodge has acquired four former Ibis hotels, located in Preston, Bradford Shipley, Chesterfield, and Cardiff, adding 324 rooms to its portfolio. The Cardiff acquisition is under a 25-year lease, while the others are freehold. A multi-million-pound renovation is planned to align with Travelodge’s modern design standards. With over 12,500 rooms added this year, Travelodge aims to expand further across 300 UK locations and 20 in Spain, focusing on strategic locations near transport links and attractions.

🏨 Crescent Hotels & Resorts, Fairfax, Virginia, now manages the NH Collection New York Madison Avenue. Located in a restored Renaissance Revival building, this hotel offers 288 guestrooms and suites with skyline views, a fitness center, and MAD Bar & Lounge. It's close to Grand Central Station and Bryant Park. Guests enjoy live performances in the piano room and Italian-Mediterranean cuisine at Serafina. The design features midcentury-inspired interiors and curated amenities.

🏨 Cambridge Common House, a 16-room hotel near Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts, will open in late 2025. Designed by Elder & Ash, it features a lounge for guests. The project is part of Lark's expansion following a 2024 joint venture with Life House. Lark, known for The Bow Hotel in Portsmouth and AWOL Stowe in Vermont, continues its growth under founder Rob Blood.