Finding availability for clients in London’s hotels is already a tough job due to the city’s overwhelming popularity.
From next year it is likely to be even tougher, following a campaign by the Government and the city’s tourism organisations to promote London as the millennium city.
Fortunately, there has been a rush of new rooms coming on line, with almost every hotel group across the world keen to strengthen its presence in the UK capital. One of them is The Four Seasons group, which is opening a five-star hotel in Canary Wharf next month.
The property boasts spectacular views of the Thames and wharf and will house 139 rooms, including 14 suites. It will form part of a mixed-use development consisting of luxury apartments, a health club and spa, restaurants, bars and cafes at Westferry Circus. Also in the Docklands area, a Forte Posthouse is due to open next year on South Quay, with 314 rooms.
Closer to the City , the Great Eastern Hotel is scheduled to open early next year at Liverpool Street. Formerly an old railway hotel, it is being renovated by a partnership between Conran Holdings and Wyndham International and will offer 267 rooms and suites, 24hr room service, four restaurants and three bars.
Meanwhile, Ian Schrager’s second hotel, Sanderson, will open at the end of January. It will be located in Berners Street in London’s Fitzrovia. Schrager’s first, St Martin’s Lane in Covent Garden, was one of a number of properties that opened in this part of London earlier this year, including Kingsway Hall in Great Queen Street and the Holborn Hotel just around the corner.
However, hotel development is not confined to the centre of the city.
London Tourist Board marketing manager Joss Crost said: “We are particularly happy that hotels are opening outside central London, close to the main transport interchanges.” She said this meant people would use public transport to travel into London.
“Also, there are more two and three-star hotels opening up, which is what London needs,” she added.
In the budget sector, a Days Inn has opened next to Waterloo Station with 162 bedrooms. It will be the first time a Days Inn, a well-known brand in the US, has opened in the UK. The chain’s owner, Premier Hotels, is also due to open a mid-market Howard Johnson in Wembley by March.
Other additions to the hotel market will include an Inn Express in Greenwich and an Ibis Hotel in Stratford. “All this should push competition up and bring down prices,” said Crost.