Hotel openings to look out for in 2021

With last year causing many operators’ plans to be put on hold, 2021 looks set to bring a plethora of new ventures. Katherine Price checks out which hotels are to open this year.

The Grand

Location Birmingham

Reopening February

Bedrooms 185

Owner Hortons Estate

Culinary director Adam Bateman

Design Robert Angell Design International

The Grade II*-listed Grand hotel in Birmingham (pictured above) is set to reopen following an extensive multimillion-pound restoration of the Victorian building.

In 2017 it was announced that the hotel would open under the Principal brand following the signing of a partnership between US private investment company Starwood Capital Group with family-owned property company Hortons’ Estate. However, following the sale of the Principal portfolio to French company Covivio in 2018, the hotel will operate as an independent entity in partnership with Starwood.

The hotel will feature a destination restaurant, two bars, the Grosvenor ballroom, sunken rooftop terrace, gym and meeting rooms.

The Westgate

Location Cardiff

Opening September

Bedrooms 172

Owners The Welsh Rugby Union and Rightacres

Operator The Celtic Collection

The Grade II-listed former Post Office building on Westgate Street, one of the oldest buildings in the Welsh capital, and the former Inland Revenue building, later known as the County Court, are set to be transformed into a four-star hotel operated by the Celtic Manor’s Celtic Collection.

The hotel, near the Principality Stadium, will also feature “one of the largest function rooms” in the city, capable of seating 350 guests, as well as a bar, a 120-cover restaurant, and a spa with a swimming pool and wide-ranging views.

The project is being funded by Legal & General as part of its ongoing investment into the regeneration of Central Square.

The Star

Location Alfriston, East Sussex

Opening May

Bedrooms 30

Owner/operator The Polizzi Collection

Olga and Alex Polizzi are opening their first joint venture this year, the Grade II-listed, 15th-century Star Inn. The property was planned to reopen in 2020, however, continued coronavirus uncertainty brought forward refurbishment plans with the whole building set to be overhauled and the room count reduced.

Olga is the owner of Hotel Tresanton in Cornwall and Hotel Endsleigh in Devon, the sister of Sir Rocco Forte and director of design for Rocco Forte Hotels. She bought the East Sussex site in December last year off a guide price of £2.68m with her daughter Alex, star of Channel 5 show The Hotel Inspector.

Sandburn Hall

Location Flaxton, North Yorkshire

Opening May

Bedrooms 40

Owners The Hogg family

Hotel director James Hogg

Design Rachel McLane

The £5m new-build Sandburn Hall hotel will be located on a 1,000-acre family-owned estate, which already offers an 18-hole championship golf course, the Grand Function Hall, and Tykes restaurant.

The suites – the York and the Alderney – will offer views on three sides and balconies overlooking the hotel’s courtyard and landscaped lakes and gardens. The hotel will also feature Signature rooms, Lake Rooms and Premier/Courtyard Premier rooms, with most of these also overlooking lakes and open countryside. A wide range of leisure packages for visitors will be launched in the new year and walking and cycling trails will be developed on the estate.

Chateau Denmark

Location Soho, London

Opening Summer

Bedrooms 55

Owner CAW Ventures

CAW Ventures, the hospitality development company founded by Carrie Wicks, is opening a hotel inspired by the UK music industry on London’s Denmark Street. Chateau Denmark will feature 55 rooms and apartments spread across 16 buildings around the area, which is nicknamed London’s Tin Pan Alley for its ties to the UK music industry.

The hotel and apartment property will open as part of a collaboration between CAW and Outernet Global, an upcoming development which will feature shops, restaurants and LED screens near Tottenham Court Road. Chateau Denmark’s interiors will draw inspiration from the area’s legacy, with designs inspired by punk and psychedelia and rooms featuring ‘maxi-bars’ rather than mini-bars.

Jumeirah Carlton Tower

Location Knightsbridge, London

Reopening February

Bedrooms 186

Owner/operator Jumeirah Group

General manager Aaron Kaupp

The Carlton Tower Jumeirah is reopening, having undergone an “all-encompassing” renovation. The hotel’s bedroom count has been reduced from 216, with a new design across the property and the development of the new Talise Spa. New bar and dining concepts will include a restaurant with a theatre kitchen; while the Chinoiserie will be an all-day lobby lounge and bar offering a ‘cake-o-clock’ afternoon tea concept.

More hotels to keep an eye out for: London

The Beaverbrook Town House, Chelsea (14 suites – opening summer)

The Broadwick Soho (57 bedrooms – opening September)

Canopy by Hilton London City (342 bedrooms –opening Q2)

The Dilly, Piccadilly (283 bedrooms – opening 1 February)

Four Points by Sheraton London Gatwick Airport (131 bedrooms – opening February)

The Gantry London, Curio Collection by Hilton, Stratford (285 bedrooms – opening Q1)

Hyatt Place London City East (280 bedrooms – opening Q1)

The Londoner, Leicester Square (350 bedrooms – opening April)

Mondrian Shoreditch London (120 bedrooms – opening spring)

The NoMad London, Covent Garden (91 bedrooms – opening 8 February)

Pan Pacific London, the City of London (237 bedrooms – opening spring)

Radisson Red London Greenwich the 02 (70 bedrooms – opening March)

Sun Street hotel, City of London (41 bedrooms – opening September/October)

More hotels to keep an eye out for: Rest of UK

100 Princes Street, Edinburgh (30 bedrooms – opening summer)

Bodmin Jail hotel, Cornwall (70 bedrooms – opening 12 February)

DoubleTree by Hilton London Elstree, Hertfordshire (135 bedrooms – opening Q1)

Cameron House, Loch Lomond, West Dunbartonshire (208 bedrooms – reopening April)

Fairmont Windsor Park, Berkshire (200 bedrooms – opening spring)

Gleneagles Townhouse, Edinburgh (33 bedrooms – opening autumn)

Graduate Cambridge (148 bedrooms – opening spring)

Hampton by Hilton Ashford, Kent (140 bedrooms – opening Q1)

Hampton by Hilton Canterbury (130 bedrooms – opening Q2)

Hampton by Hilton High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire (150 bedrooms – opening Q2)

Hampton by Hilton Torquay, Devon (131 bedrooms – opening Q1)

Hampton by Hilton York Piccadilly, York (155 bedrooms – opening Q2)

Harbour Beach Club, Salcombe, Devon (50 bedrooms – opening spring)

Hilton Garden Inn Snowdonia, Conwy (106 bedrooms – opening 26 March)

Innside Newcastle (161 bedrooms – opened 4 January)

Leonardo Bristol Glassfields (197 bedrooms – opening March)

Maldron Hotel Glasgow (250 bedrooms – opening summer)

Malmaison York (150 bedrooms – opening spring)

Marine North Berwick, East Lothian (89 bedrooms – opening spring)

Marine Troon, North Ayrshire (89 bedrooms – opening summer)

Radisson Individuals Inverness (76 bedrooms – opening June)

Rusacks St Andrews, Fife (114 bedrooms – opening summer)

The Randolph hotel, part of the Graduate Hotels Collection, Oxford (151 bedrooms – opening spring)

The Telegraph hotel, Coventry (88 bedrooms – opening Q1)

The Farmyard at the Newt in Somerset (17 bedrooms – opening summer)

The Fellows House Cambridge, Curio Collection by Hilton (163 bedrooms – opening Q2)

The Harper, Langham, Norfolk (32 bedrooms – opening early spring)

The Pig in the South Downs, Arundel, West Sussex (30 bedrooms – opening summer)

Voco Edinburgh – Haymarket (150 bedrooms – opening Q1)

Qbic Manchester (261 bedrooms – opening early 2021)