New Hotels Opening In Budapest

In March 2016, a new hotel will open close to St Stephen’s Cathedral and the Hungarian State Opera House called the Hotel Moments Budapest. The hotel will consist of 99 bedrooms and a roof top private terrace with views of Budapest. There will also be conference space to fit up to 80 delegates and a Hungarian specialist restaurant.

Finally the Aria Hotel Budapest which had 49 bedrooms has opened its door in March. The hotel centralises on the concept of music with its four different wings of the hotel relating to different music genres such as jazz or opera.. All of the conference rooms are named after famous influences in music included James Brown and Bob Dylan. 


This year sees the opening of 3 new hotels in the Budapest, Hungary’s capital city:

Firstly, The Elizabeth Park Hotel centrally located in Budapest has undergone a new renovations and changed hands to now become a Ritz-Carlton property. Opening in Spring 2016 with 198 rooms, including luxury suites and various dining options.

In March 2016, a new hotel will open close to St Stephen’s Cathedral and the Hungarian State Opera House called the Hotel Moments Budapest. The hotel will consist of 99 bedrooms and a roof top private terrace with views of Budapest. There will also be conference space to fit up to 80 delegates and a Hungarian specialist restaurant.

Finally the Aria Hotel Budapest which had 49 bedrooms has opened its door in March. The hotel centralises on the concept of music with its four different wings of the hotel relating to different music genres such as jazz or opera.. All of the conference rooms are named after famous influences in music included James Brown and Bob Dylan. 


This year sees the opening of 3 new hotels in the Budapest, Hungary’s capital city:

Firstly, The Elizabeth Park Hotel centrally located in Budapest has undergone a new renovations and changed hands to now become a Ritz-Carlton property. Opening in Spring 2016 with 198 rooms, including luxury suites and various dining options.

In March 2016, a new hotel will open close to St Stephen’s Cathedral and the Hungarian State Opera House called the Hotel Moments Budapest. The hotel will consist of 99 bedrooms and a roof top private terrace with views of Budapest. There will also be conference space to fit up to 80 delegates and a Hungarian specialist restaurant.

Finally the Aria Hotel Budapest which had 49 bedrooms has opened its door in March. The hotel centralises on the concept of music with its four different wings of the hotel relating to different music genres such as jazz or opera.. All of the conference rooms are named after famous influences in music included James Brown and Bob Dylan. 


New Hotels opening in Budapest
New Hotels opening in Budapest

This year sees the opening of 3 new hotels in the Budapest, Hungary’s capital city:

Firstly, The Elizabeth Park Hotel centrally located in Budapest has undergone a new renovations and changed hands to now become a Ritz-Carlton property. Opening in Spring 2016 with 198 rooms, including luxury suites and various dining options.

In March 2016, a new hotel will open close to St Stephen’s Cathedral and the Hungarian State Opera House called the Hotel Moments Budapest. The hotel will consist of 99 bedrooms and a roof top private terrace with views of Budapest. There will also be conference space to fit up to 80 delegates and a Hungarian specialist restaurant.

Finally the Aria Hotel Budapest which had 49 bedrooms has opened its door in March. The hotel centralises on the concept of music with its four different wings of the hotel relating to different music genres such as jazz or opera.. All of the conference rooms are named after famous influences in music included James Brown and Bob Dylan. 


Celtic Manor Resort – New Conference Centre

Celtic Manor resort - new conference Centre
Celtic Manor resort – new conference Centre

The Welsh government has agreed to form a joint venture partnership with Wesley Clover, Celtic Manor Resort’s parent company, for its planned £80 million convention centre. The joint venture partnership will allow the proposal to construct the international convention centre in the grounds of the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport to continue moving forward. The venue will become the largest facility of its kind in Wales and the south west of England.  

The proposed £80m facility is expected to be constructed and ready for use in 2019. It will be able to accommodate up to 5,000 delegates, with a total floor space exceeding 20,000sqm. It will house an exhibition hall large enough to hold 2,000 delegates plus an additional 15 meeting rooms and outdoor events space. The government hope that the convention centre will provide a considerable economic boost to Wales, and the 2010 Ryder cup and 2015 NATO Wales summit demonstrated to them that they are able to host Global scale events.


Woburn Safari Park Event Space Renovation

Woburn Safari Park event space renovation
Woburn Safari Park event space renovation

Woburn Safari Park in Bedfordshire has reopened their event space following a complete internal and external renovation. 


The Safari Lodge is set within the grounds of the animal park and has expansive views across the animal enclosures. With a maximum capacity of 300 guests and an outdoor veranda area the space is stylish and suitable for a range of events as the room can be split into 2 for conferences or set up to suit a luxury dinner or an outdoor BBQ on the veranda.


As part of their packages they offer a VIP Experience whereby delegates will be taken on a Land Rover through the park to see the animals including commentary from a Park ranger. As well they have team building activities with incorporate activities and trials with the animals. Both could be an opportunity for team building, corporate away days and for something a little bit different for an event.


New Luxury Hotel In London’S Us Embassy

New luxury hotel in London's US embassy
New luxury hotel in London's US embassy

London’s US embassy in Mayfair’s Grosvenor Square is to become a luxury hotel. The Grade two listed building will be transformed into a 137 rooms, five star hotel, according to plans that will be submitted to Westminster council in May, the development is estimated to cost around £1 billion. The development comes after plans to move the US embassy to a new home in Nine Elms next year.


The hotel will feature a ballroom with space for 1000 delegates, a spa, six high-end shops and five restaurants.


Developer Qatari Diar, controlled by the Qatari Investment Authority sovereign wealth fund, has appointed British Architect Sir David Chipperfield to draw up redevelopment plans, with a public exhibition on the scheme running from 11 – 16 April at 24 Grosvenor hill. 


Bristol Venue Wins Awards

Bristol venue wins awards
Bristol venue wins awards

A Bristol venue has been named the best in the UK for the second year running. Engineers’ House in Clifton Down took the Specialist Venue and Overall Venue in BDCR Continental’s VenueVerdict Awards for the second consecutive year. The industry awards scheme is based on customer feedback throughout 2015.


EEF Venues, the group behind Engineers’ House, also walked away with ‘No 1 Small Group’ and ‘Best Value for Money Group’ in the same awards programme for the third year running. This year’s results are based on 20,003 individual responses throughout 2015 from event planners across a pool of over 375 participating venues nationwide.


Once the home of Charles Pinney, a former Mayor of Bristol, the venue has a conference and meeting business, with 14 distinctive meeting rooms, a highly specified IT system and private grounds for outdoor events.


The Celtic Manor Resort And Coldra Court Hotel Update

 

The Coldra Court hotel, which is located a few minutes away from the Celtic Manor Resort has 148 bedrooms, taking Celtic manor’s bedroom count up to 600. As part of the £2m upgrade, the hotel will be updating its conference facilities. The hotel currently has nine conference and meeting rooms, all housed in the newly rebranded Springs Health Club. The Severn suite, the largest conference and meeting space, can seat up to 220 delegates for a dinner. Coldra court plans for the hotel to be 4 star in terms of facilities but run it with the 5 star service standards associated with the Celtic Manor Resort.

The Celtic Manor Resort, has recently opened its new Coldra Court Hotel, and plans to invest more than £2m in upgrades over the next three years. The Coldra Court Hotel has been trading as the Hilton Newport until contracts were officially exchanged on 31st March. They plan to complete a phased refurbishment of the bedrooms, and will also be introducing a new restaurant concept, and looking to update the conference and banqueting facilities in the near future.

 

The Coldra Court hotel, which is located a few minutes away from the Celtic Manor Resort has 148 bedrooms, taking Celtic manor’s bedroom count up to 600. As part of the £2m upgrade, the hotel will be updating its conference facilities. The hotel currently has nine conference and meeting rooms, all housed in the newly rebranded Springs Health Club. The Severn suite, the largest conference and meeting space, can seat up to 220 delegates for a dinner. Coldra court plans for the hotel to be 4 star in terms of facilities but run it with the 5 star service standards associated with the Celtic Manor Resort.

The Celtic Manor Resort and Coldra Court Hotel update
The Celtic Manor Resort and Coldra Court Hotel update

The Celtic Manor Resort, has recently opened its new Coldra Court Hotel, and plans to invest more than £2m in upgrades over the next three years. The Coldra Court Hotel has been trading as the Hilton Newport until contracts were officially exchanged on 31st March. They plan to complete a phased refurbishment of the bedrooms, and will also be introducing a new restaurant concept, and looking to update the conference and banqueting facilities in the near future.

 

The Coldra Court hotel, which is located a few minutes away from the Celtic Manor Resort has 148 bedrooms, taking Celtic manor’s bedroom count up to 600. As part of the £2m upgrade, the hotel will be updating its conference facilities. The hotel currently has nine conference and meeting rooms, all housed in the newly rebranded Springs Health Club. The Severn suite, the largest conference and meeting space, can seat up to 220 delegates for a dinner. Coldra court plans for the hotel to be 4 star in terms of facilities but run it with the 5 star service standards associated with the Celtic Manor Resort.

A New-Look Village Hotel Club In 2016

A new-look Village Hotel Club in 2016
A new-look Village Hotel Club in 2016

Village The Hotel Club have announced details of a £35m investment plan that incorporates significant refurbishment plans & new technology starting with 8 of their key UK locations & more to follow. The first locations are: 


London Watford 

Coventry 

Manchester Cheadle 

Manchester Bury 

Warrington 

Cardiff 

Maidstone and 

Bournemouth 


To start, they are fully refurbishing all the bedrooms & bathrooms and both will have a new feature ‘stripe’ wall & new mattresses. Additionally, new 48’ wall mounted TV’s with their UpperDeck rooms featuring a 55’ inch wall mounted TV with Sky and Bluetooth sound bar. 


All bedroom corridors will be refurbished and following that, investment in the health & fitness clubs, their pubs The Public House, restaurants and conference & meetings rooms is planned. They are on track for completion by the end of April 2016. 

For their meeting and conference rooms, February sees the start of the installation of “click-share” wireless connectivity to TV’s and projectors, plus new 65’ TV’s in meeting rooms and new projectors in larger conference rooms. By the end of April 2016, all conference and meeting areas will have had a complete refurbishment in the 8 locations. Plans are also in place to then continue the meeting room refurbishment programme to the rest of the brand. 


Village Glasgow’s guests have been giving great feedback on the new self-service check in facility that was launched when the hotel opened in Summer 2015. 


Each kiosk, of which there are 4, allows you to search for your reservation by surname, allocates a room and issues you with a key. Their lobby hosts are on hand for any questions or any assistance required – shifting their focus from the computer screen to the customer. 


Based on their success in Glasgow, on completion of the refurbishment to the current 8 locations, self-service check in will be available. The remainder of the hotels will all have self-service check in by December 2016. 

Village has also recognised that good Wi-Fi is becoming a non-negotiable requirement when travelling on business or leisure and will have completed a wifi upgrade to all 28 of their UK locations by the end of March 2016 improving coverage and speed. Village continue to offer this free of charge to unlimited devices in each hotel. 


It is looking to be an exciting year ahead for Village as they continue their refurbishment, investment and development. 


Vienna Congress Centre Achieves Green Accreditation

Vienna congress centre achieves green accreditation
Vienna congress centre achieves green accreditation


The Messe Wien Exhibition & Congress Center was recently awarded the official Austrian ecolabel for ‘Green Meetings’ and ‘Green Events’. Whereas previously the venue had taken responsibility for its own environmentally sustainable initiatives, such as drawing electricity from renewable energy sources, installing photovoltaic systems, 23 E-fuel stations in the car parks, waste avoidance and waste separation according to a comprehensive waste disposal plan, Messe Wien Exhibition & Congress Center is now officially empowered to license Green Meetings and Green Events on behalf of its customers.


The Green Award is an official scheme in Austria for M&E venues to provide accreditation and accountability for venues offering environmentally friendly meetings. The award helps solidify Austria’s leadership in the International events industry by ensuring that clients are confident in booking meetings that are green-friendly.


Summer Bar Launches In London Hotel

Summer bar launches in London hotel
Summer bar launches in London hotel

The Montague on the Gardens has just announced the pop-up Beach Bar, for the summer only. Located in Bloomsbury, close to the British Museum and Russell Square, the hotel’s new attraction offers real sand, real palm trees, fresh coconut and pineapple cocktails, as well as a delicious barbecue. The Beach Bar is open throughout June and July 2016 for private parties from 40 to 150 guests. The bar has previously been decorated as a Ski Lodge and Christmas Wonderland during previous winters, and takes advantage of the hotel’s garden at the back of the property. 


Travelling In Europe – Trends 2015/2016

Travelling in Europe - trends 2015/2016
Travelling in Europe – trends 2015/2016

International visits to the UK hit record numbers in January, according to latest figures from the Office for National Statistics.  The statistics, show 2.5 million international visits to the UK in the first month of the year, up 6% on January 2015, with visitors spending £1.28bn.


2015 set a record for inbound tourism with 35.8 million visits to Britain, 4% up on 2014. Since 2010 international visits to Britain have risen by 20%, with 6 million more visits in 2015 than 2010.


However this may be set to change in 2016 following the bombings in Brussels last week.  On Wednesday 23 March, VisitBritain overseas staff were asked to feedback on local coverage.  In summary, they found: 


  • Consumers in European / short-haul markets are the most anxious about travel with Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France, Belgium, Italy and the Netherlands affected along with the USA.
  • A portion of the US market have crossed Europe off their list for 2016 after the Brussels and Paris attacks. The attacks are just one of many factors impacting travel demand from the US this year (election, stock market, appeal of non-European destinations).
  • Rural destinations outside of London are seen as safe and not affected by terrorist incidents, with feedback that bookings for Scotland are up already this year. Overall negative impact on London is increasing.


Tourism is Britain’s seventh largest export industry and third largest service sector with inbound tourism worth more than £26bn to the UK economy.