Plans to transform Bow Street Magistrates Court and Police Station in Covent Garden, London, into a luxury hotel have been approved by Westminster City Council. The property is a Grade 2 listed building and has historical connections with Oscar Wilde.  The plans include an ‘interpretive centre’ which incorporates existing cell blocks as well as the preservation of court rooms as areas of the hotel with public access.

Travelodge has reported an increase in revenue generated by business travellers. The company has received greater demand for business bookings, as companies seek to reduce travel expenditure.

The former home of the Von Trapp family, made famous by The Sound of Music, is being redesigned as a hotel. There are no plans to make alterations to the building itself, only essentials such as painting and re-wiring. The Villa Trapp, on the outskirts of Salzburg, as well as the park surrounding the villa will be open to the public in July. Visitors will be able to sleep in the family’s former bedrooms and even get married in the chapel. It will cost around £80 a night to stay in the hotel.

Travelodge has announced it will be opening 22 new hotels across the UK before the end of the year, meaning one hotel will open every six working says, in an investment worth £125m. Locations include Heathrow Central, The Tower of London, Cardiff Atlantic Wharf and Edinburgh city Centre. Travelodge plans to grow its estate to 1,000 hotels by 2020 and aim to be the biggest operator in London by the 2012 Olympics. It currently has 350 hotels, 9 in Ireland, 3 in Spain and the rest in the UK and they employ 5,000 staff.

The Cleveland Way National Trail could soon see the introduction of a network of low cost, eco-friendly camping huts. The North York Moors National Park Authority has commissioned a feasibility study to examine the costs and potential benefits, as well as looking at the impacts and benefits to the surrounding area and local economy. The huts would fill an identified gap for good quality, low cost accommodation for families and groups.  There are already some in the UK but creating a network along the Cleveland Way where people can walk form one to the other is quite unique for this country. The huts could provide a boost to tourism in the area and encourage more people to walk the route.

Five tower blocks will be refurbished as part of a £10m revamp at the Colomendy outdoor activity centre, Denbighshire. The original building was built in 1939 to house evacuees from Liverpool.  As part of the makeover the buildings will undergo a £600,000 refurbishment to provide modern accommodation.

The centre is used by children from all over the UK, which also now has its own caving system and water sports lake. Liverpool Council have approved the activity centre’s modernization in 2005 and have paid for the project, helped by the Big Lottery Fund.   The refurbishment has to be finished by February 2009.

Hotels in Europe have started to drop their prices for this summer to avoid losing customers because of the weak pound and economic downturn. HotelConnect, an accommodation-only provider, has said that 50% of its hotels have reduced their prices by 10%-15% for July and August. This has occurred due to hotel occupancy levels dropping in European cities as holidaymakers opt for UK or non-eurozone destinations.

A 59 room budget hotel at a prime waterside location in Caernarfon has been given the green light. It is the second budget hotel at the site to open within 12 months. It could create around 45 jobs.

Crealy Adventure Park a leading visitor attraction in Cornwall are planning to introduce 5 star eco lodges within the grounds.

The Youth Hostel Association are planning to complete the upgrading of a number of their hostels by the end of 2007.   In 2005 the Youth Hostel Association disposed of 30 properties which have helped to fund the recent upgrading of a number of their hostels.  A new youth hostel is set to open adjacent to Conkers, the attraction operated by our sister company in the National Forest.

EasyHotels, the budget chain of hotels, have signed a deal to open at least three hotels in Austria and an additional six in Central Europe.

We understand that Centre Parc’s plans to develop their fifth site in Bedfordshire have been successful in gaining outline planning permission, after initially being refused planning permission.  The new village is set to open in 2010 and will create approximately 1,400 jobs.

Travelodge commissioned a study on sleep.   “The sleep study by budget hotel chain Travelodge also revealed a wide range of daunting dream themes. Some of the more unusual examples include being covered in insects and snakes, finding yourself in a haunted house, being squashed in a sausage machine and being naked in a public place.”

Read more on Travelodge’s website.

Center Parcs are investing in £12 million, over the next 12 months, to refurbish both their restaurants and bars.

Simon Woodroffe’s new budget hotel concept has opened at Gatwick Airport.  The 46 room hotel allows guests to book for a minimum period of 4 hours and rooms measure some 10 sqm.

Innovative designs:

Airstream

Cargo S – a concept designed in response to the Caravan Club’s ‘Caravan of the Future competition.’

What will drive the design of the caravan? Perhaps: -

• Environmental drivers e.g. concerns over 4×4 drive vehicles and people flying less and taking more domestic holidays. Demographic drivers e.g. average family size is decreasing

Sir Rocco Forte, who operates the luxury brand of Rocco Forte Hotels, is interviewed in today’s Times newspaper.

A former Butlin’s site in Yorkshire is now being turned into a luxury holiday destination.

A range of holiday properties are for sale from apartments through to luxury cottages.   The developers have taken “architectural inspiration from Poundberry…” Properties are available on a 999 year lease.

To date some 131 units have been sold ‘off plan.’  The first phase consists of 168 units is due to be completed by 2008 – though the final phase won’t be completed until 2011.

Facilities available to guests will include shops, swimming pool, leisure complex and café and restaurant.

For further information please visit their website.