Can Newcastle go posh? Our honest review of city’s first five-star hotel Life&Style In a far cry from the late noughties zeitgeist of Geordie Shore, Hotel Gotham offers a fresh brand of sexy that differentiates Newcastle from its MTV days. Once famous as the hangout for characters from that reality show, like Scotty T and Gary ‘the parsnip’ Beadle, Newcastle has quietly been building a higher-end repertoire of [...]
‘An impish sense of fun’: Claridge’s announces new era with fresh restaurant Life&Style Claridge’s hotel in Mayfair has traded on its British history ever since Queen Victoria chose it as her preferred choice for a cocktail. The late Queen was another fan of the property, which first opened in 1812. But the hotel has experimented with that image lately, welcoming a kitchen takeover from New York restaurant Dante. [...]
Whitbread to cut nearly 4,000 jobs in £2bn cost saving plan Hospitality Whitbread is to slash nearly 4,000 jobs as part of plans to offload restaurants and sell off the freehold rights to its hotels, in a bid to raise £2bn. Shares in the company slipped on Thursday after it announced the plans to raise £1.5bn by selling off the freehold rights to a raft of its [...]
I’m a hotel expert. Here’s why I hate in-room technology April 17, 2026 At the newly opened Treehouse Hotel in Manchester, the rooms are designed to look like… well, treehouses. But the feeling of arboreal living was disrupted when I tried to order room service, which you must do through the TV. It didn’t work. I was no longer in a treehouse. I was in a hotel, unable [...]
Annabel’s owner sells Mayfair empire in £1.4bn Abu Dhabi deal April 12, 2026 Richard Caring has sold a majority stake in the business behind Annabel’s, the Ivy and a string of London’s most exclusive restaurants to an Abu Dhabi-backed investor in a deal valuing the group at around £1.4bn. The buyer, Diafa, is a luxury hospitality platform linked to International Holding Company (IHC), chaired by Sheikh Tahnoon bin [...]
Nadhim Zahawi joins equity group piling £1bn into Mayfair hotels February 23, 2026 Former Tory chancellor Nadhim Zahawi has joined the board of an investment firm piling £1.1bn into two luxury Mayfair hotels. Evolution Investment Fund, based in the British Virgin Islands, has acquired a long leasehold interest in the London Marriott Hotel in Grosvenor Square and a luxury hotel development site in New Bond Street. The fund, [...]
Top hotel chain calls for Liverpool Street scheme to be rejected February 9, 2026 A top hotel group has called for Network Rail’s £1.2bn Liverpool Street redevelopment to be rejected or deferred, warning that it might not ever be completed. James Francque, global head of transactions at Hyatt, said the scheme is “not financially viable, offers limited operational benefit, and carries a high risk of non-delivery.” “For these reasons, [...]
Why Burford should be your next Cotswolds weekend away February 9, 2026 If there was a Venn diagram between people who live in East London, have smart little dogsin dinky little coats and are partial to pet nat, then The Bull in Charlbury would probably be inthe middle. If you draw a Venn diagram between people who live in West London, havesmart gundogs and are partial to [...]
Only pubs set to benefit from business rates U-turn as hoteliers barred January 21, 2026 Pubs will be the only businesses to benefit from the government’s business rates U-turn as other hospitality firms will be shut out from tax relief, Rachel Reeves has hinted. The Chancellor told reporters at Davos that pubs face a different situation to the rest of the sector, likely meaning hotels and other hospitality businesses will [...]
Andy Murray’s luxury hotel returns to profit after losing over £1m January 5, 2026 The five-star hotel owned by Sir Andy Murray returned to profit during its latest financial year, it has been revealed. The firm behind Cromlix Hotel, which is located near the two-time Wimbledon champion’s hometown of Dunblane in Scotland, has posted a profit of £193,379 for the year to 31 March, 2025. The profit has been confirmed [...]