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The hottest new hotel openings in the UK and Ireland for 2024
Scores of exciting properties are set to debut in the next 12 months; hotel expert Ianthe Butt outlines the best of the bunch to check into this year
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Your support makes all the difference.Whether it’s an arty city hotel, rural getaway or somewhere for not-far-from-home R&R which ticks the staycation box, heaps of innovative and exciting new properties will open their doors in 2024.
One thing that’s clear? Offering a serious cultural hit, and easily accessible by train – making a greener getaway a breeze – city break stays are back. In London, a swathe of new high-end hotels from the likes of Mandarin Oriental and Maybourne Hotel Group (behind Claridge’s) will add even more choice for visitors to the capital, joining 2023 arrivals The Peninsula London and Raffles London at the OWO. Manchester’s booming accommodation scene will continue to grow, with the arrival of budget-luxe Mollie’s and sustainably-minded Treehouse Hotels, while in Edinburgh, the long-awaited 100 Princes Street and cool-cat brand The Hoxton will both open.
The allure of immersion-in-nature retreats remains strong, reflected in new beachy escapes, including a sibling property to adults-only favourite The Gallivant in East Sussex’s Littlestone-on-Sea, and GuestHouse Hotels opening up on Brighton’s seafront. Elsewhere a historic department store in Oxford will get a new lease of life, and a new outpost from fan favourite The Pig will bring its kitchen garden-to-table ethos to just outside Stratford-upon-Avon.
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The Leinster, Dublin
Opening: Early 2024
Shaking up the corner of Dublin’s Merrion Square, this swish new 55-room property will have bedrooms with botanical touches and fringed lighting, and house a 300-strong artwork collection, zoned in on predominantly Irish talent including Melissa O’Donnell and Domino Whisker. A rooftop dining concept from renowned chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten will see top-notch produce from local suppliers, such as Garryhinch Woods mushrooms and John Stone beef, infused with French and south-east Asian flavours, alongside some J-G signatures such as his famed egg toast. Other draws include a bar, supper club, and gym with a thermal suite.
The Store, Oxford
Opening: Spring 2024
Oxford’s historic Boswells department store is set to be reborn, thanks to a transformation by the team behind elegant Parisian property Hotel Dames des Arts. Just over 100 bedrooms – some with art deco touches, velvet headboards, and motifs inspired by Oxford’s spires – will sit across two interconnected buildings on Broad Street. Brit dishes with multicultural influences, such as chicken tikka masala pie, will be on offer at the Treadwell restaurant, plus there will be a co-working space for locally roasted New Ground coffee, a rooftop bar, and spa for Oskia treatments and sound baths.
From £285, B&B; thestoreoxford.com
The Emory, London
Opening: Spring 2024
When Maybourne Hotel Group – behind Claridge’s, The Connaught and The Berkeley – announce an opening, you know it’s going to be special. The brand’s first new London property in 50 years sits in a building topped by sail-shaped structures, designed by the late Richard Rogers and Ivan Harbour of RSHP, and will offer a masterclass in discreet luxury. Sixty accommodations – all suites – will hook design fans, as each of the nine floors has been imagined by a different interiors whizz (from Alexandra Champalimaud to André Fu). Plus a residents-only rooftop, Jean-Georges Vongerichten restaurant, and four-floor wellness space with a 22m pool are planned.
Rates tbc; the-emory.co.uk
Hyde London City, London
Opening: Spring 2024
Bringing a touch of LA funkiness and musical pull to a Grade II-listed Victorian building close to St Paul’s Cathedral, the 111-room Hyde London City will pair a preserved facade and sweeping central staircase with a sultry subterranean cocktail bar where DJs spin vinyl. Bedrooms will feature heritage blue and green palettes, and restaurant Leydi will specialise in contemporary Turkish fare.
From £230, room-only; hydehotels.com
Mollie’s, Manchester
Opening: Spring 2024
After the success of their 21st-century-slick, budget-luxe motels in Oxfordshire and Bristol, the first city centre Mollie’s – inside the 1950s modernist-style former Granada TV Studios in St John’s – is set to arrive. With a glass and grey-granite façade lit by Mollie’s crimson neon lettering, its 128 bedrooms will, alongside doubles, twins and family rooms, also include posh suites with bathtubs and Peloton bikes. Rooms – designed in collaboration with Soho House – with wood panelling and terrazzo touches will be stocked with Dyson hair tools and Cowshed toiletries. Plus there will be a diner with Cadillac-inspired seating and a bar-meets-music venue. In the same building, Soho House will launch its first northern outpost, with a swish rooftop swimming pool and 23 members-only rooms.
From £120, B&B; mollies.com/manchester
Avington Lakes, Hampshire
Opening: Spring 2024
Coming from the team behind Miami-in-Dorset-feel seaside stunner The Nici, the next project from Nicolas Roach and Anthony Rudolph is a new concept on family-run estate Avington in rural Hampshire (currently best known for its exclusive-use stately home Avington Park). Newcomer Avington Lakes will see a historic fishery transformed with a mix of cottages and waterside shepherd’s huts with wood-fired hot tubs. Dining-wise, as well as a restored pub, mini-kitchens will allow for self-catering; tasty estate-made meals can be delivered to the door; and activities will span woodland feasts, floristry workshops and a wild spa with a focus on water-based wellness.
Rates tbc; avingtonpark.co.uk
100 Princes Street, Edinburgh
Opening: Spring 2024
The former clubhouse of the Royal Overseas League on Princes Street will become the go-to getaway for modern adventurers, transforming into a 30-room boutique hotel this spring. Taking inspiration from the Scottish explorers who once considered it a second home, the design team behind Botswana’s Xigera Safari Lodge are working with local artisans to weave in features like bespoke tartan by Araminta Campbell while retaining the building’s original soul. A 2:1 staff to guest ratio, an “anything, anytime” ethos, and residents-only restaurant – with 200-strong wine wall and acclaimed Scottish whiskies collection – add further appeal.
From £330, B&B; 100princes-street.com
Mandarin Oriental, Mayfair, London
Opening: Spring 2024
A new little sister hotel to the much-loved Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park will spring up in Mayfair’s magnet-for-creative types, Hanover Square. The exclusive property, designed by architects Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, will have 50 rooms and suites decorated with hand-painted de Gournay wallpaper (patterns inspired by Hanover Square’s magnolias). Despite the hotel’s intimate size, the culinary offering will be mighty – including the UK’s first namesake restaurant from Chef Akira Back, as well as a rooftop bar and urban spa offering therapies by Seed to Skin, Swiss Perfection and OTO.
From £925, room-only; mandarinoriental.com/en/london/mayfair
Escapade Silverstone, Northamptonshire
Opening: Spring 2024
Set to get motoring fans all revved up, Escapade Silverstone will launch 60 striking, split-level residences with unique slipstream-inspired architecture at the world-famous race circuit. Some will sit trackside with stellar circuit views, while others will be scattered through the grounds. As well as a restaurant by Chef Adam Bateman with an “internationally-minded” menu, a swish pool and clubhouse will have sightlines of the nine corners, plus two high speed straights.
From £199, room-only; silverstone.co.uk/visit-stay/escapade
The Gallivant Littlestone Beach, Kent
Opening: Summer 2024
Fans of wildly popular Camber Sands boutique hotel The Gallivant are in for a treat, with a sister property coming just a short drive away at Littlestone Beach. Offering wild escapism, the adults-only property, which sits on the shoreline flanked by undulating sand dunes, will have 12 bedrooms with a 1930s Hamptons-meets-California vibe, dreamt up by co-owner Sigrid Cragoe. Think vibrant colour schemes, art deco touches and framed retro swimming costumes. As well as welcoming communal spaces – a sitting room, orangery, dining room and library – expect a coastal garden, yoga studio and convivial pre-dinner drinks announced nightly by gong.
From around £250, B&B; thegallivant.co.uk
No. 124 by GuestHouse, Brighton
Opening: Summer 2024
After nailing their boutique-stays-in-historic-buildings proposition in Bath and York, last year GuestHouse turned their attention coastwards, opening in Margate. This summer another beachy favourite – Brighton – will get the GuestHouse treatment, with 32 rooms opening inside a Regency-style seafront building. Eclectic interiors will marry golden-hour peach, artichoke and dusky blue palettes with dried florals, and there will be a terrace bar, Pearly Cow restaurant, games room, winter garden, and wellness space. Plus the brand’s calling-card complimentary luggage collection for rail travellers, snackable pantries, and in-room record players will be all present and correct.
From £295, B&B; guesthousehotels.co.uk/no-124-kingsroad-brighton
Teffont House, Wiltshire
Opening: Autumn 2024
Already known for their cosy inns-with-rooms, including Hinton Saint George charmer The Lord Poulett Arms, and modern-British restaurant Beckford Canteen in Bath, Beckford Group will add another string to their bow with a hotel debut this autumn. Reimagining an attractive stone property in Wiltshire’s picturesque Nadder Valley, dating from 1623, Teffont House will have 16 rooms, a produce-filled walled garden, orangery dining room and mini Bramley spa for R&R.
Rates tbc; teffonthouse.com
The Newman, London
Opening: Winter 2024
A fresh offering from new hospitality management company Kinsfolk & Co – comprising a crack team of heavyweight hoteliers and restaurateurs including Paul Brackley (ex-Corbin and King) and Rachel Fearon (ex-Firmdale Hotels) – will hit arty Fitzrovia just in time for Christmas. Set to offer a grown-up stay rooted in “thoughtful excellence”, it will have 81 rooms and suites – the best with balconies – a European brasserie, cocktail bar and spa. Interiors by Lind + Almond promise to be elegant, with boho touches nodding to great-and-good Fitzrovians; think characterful polka dots inspired by Nancy Cunard.
From £595; thenewman.com
The Pig on the Farm, Stratford-upon-Avon
Opening: December 2024
Nowhere does a contemporary countryside getaway quite like The Pigs, whose personality-packed restaurants-with-rooms have garnered them a legion of loyal fans. Venturing further north in England than ever before, the next Pig is set to take up residence not far from Stratford-upon-Avon in a sensitively-restored, 16th-century stone-built manor, ringed by 53-acre grounds where a-believed-to-be Neolithic enclosure can be seen. While details are still being dreamt up, the biggest Pig to date will have 35 charming rooms and suites, a barn restaurant with signature kitchen garden-focused 25-mile menu, and seaweed-infused VOYA spa treatments in a trio of shepherd’s huts.
From £250, room-only; thepighotel.com
Best of the rest
In early 2024, House of Gods will bring their more-is-more decadence to Glasgow, inviting guests to “party like they’re famous” in opulent surroundings.
Coming in late spring, Treehouse Hotel Manchester will bring its sustainability-minded approach to the city in a 216-room hotel with living green walls, a rooftop garden and zero-waste restaurant from Mary-Ellen McTague.
Come summer, the 48-room Bailiffgate Hotel will open in the former Duchess High School premises next to historic – and Harry Potter filming location – Alnwick Castle.
Notable London openings include The Grand Hotel Bellevue in springtime, a Victorian townhouse hotel with bold interiors by Fabrizio Casiraghi in Paddington and art’otel London Hoxton, which will have decor by renowned urban artist D*Face. While its opening date remains under wraps, it’s hoped that the much-anticipated Six Senses London will debut before the year is out, which will see art deco former department store Whiteleys in Bayswater transformed into a 100-room haven with a serious spa.
Come autumn, The Hoxton will bring their tried-and-tested cool to Edinburgh, with 211 rooms, a clutch of the first apartment-style Hox Homes – ideal for longer stays – a restaurant and an art gallery to Haymarket.
Read more on best UK hotel reviews
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