Daniel Thwaites, the Blackburn-based pub and hotel operator, has confirmed that it is considering offloading the Stafford Hotel in central London after receiving offers for the property. The company has owned the hotel, which is operated by its Shire Hotels subsidiary, since 1995. However, Shire Hotels' managing director Antony Spencer has now revealed that Savills has been dealing with a number of prospective buyers. Spencer said: "We have received a

Boris Johnson's latest initiative to improve the lives of Londoners aims to boost the number of volunteers in the capital. Johnson said: "Volunteering is good for individuals and great for London in tough economic times. By giving your time, whether a one-off few hours or a regular commitment, we can both help to make the capital a more civilised, pleasant place and reap the rewards of putting something back into

Proposals to convert the redundant 1930s Odeon cinema on Clerk Street, Edinburgh, into an arts hotel called ZED have now been referred to the Scottish Government. A planning application submitted by Duddingston House Properties to the City of Edinburgh Council for the conversion and part demolition of the grade B-listed art deco building was approved in October 2008 on the condition that the project be referred to Historic Scotland. However,

The new four-star Valamar Lacroma Resort, Conference and Spa has been unveiled by Special Hotels of the World (SHOTW) on the Babin Kuk peninsula near Dubrovnik, Croatia. Facilities at the 401-bedroom resort, which is to be part of the Valamar Hotels and Resorts Group, include one of the largest conference halls in Croatia, capable of accommodating 1,000 delegates, as well as two restaurants, four bars, a fitness centre and two

Work has begun on the US$112m (£70.5m, 80.2m euro) 40-storey Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur hotel and mixed-used development in Malaysia. One of the more notable features of the five-star hotel, which was designed by the Seattle office of Wimberly, Allison, Tong & Goo (WATG) architects, is that the lobby will be on the top floor as opposed to the ground floor. Guests will have to ride express lifts to the

The designs for Accor's new hotel in Lavasa, India, have been unveiled. The Accor Pullman Hotel and Convention Centre has been designed by Wimberly, Allison, Tong & Goo (WATG) architects and is expected to open in 2010. The 256-bedroom building will boast a 16m-high lobby, which will form the focal point for the hotel. Sculpted screens based on local patterns are intended to provide shading and cooling, while the interior

Aberdeen City Council has approved planning permissions for two hotel expansions. The five-star Marcliffe Hotel will be extended to include a further 228 bedrooms, a reception, a function area and a lounge, leisure and spa facilities and a new underground car park. The three-and-a-half storey, city centre Bells Hotel will also be extended to comprise ten stories featuring 217 bedrooms, a restaurant and a bar, as well as a basement

London-based EPR architects have submitted a detailed planning application to Bromley Council for a four-star hotel at the Biggin Hill Airport in south east London. EPR has provided designs for a 76-room hotel with a restaurant at the airport, which played a major role as an RAF base in the Battle Of Britain during WWII. Biggin Hill Airport managing director Peter Lonergan said the airport is in "desperate need of

Leisure entrepreneurs Mike Aikman and Jason Scott have opened their latest venture, called The Saint, in the Scottish capital. Located on St. Stephen Street in the centre of Edinburgh, The Saint has been launched as a late-night bar aiming to attract the more affluent revellers. Offering a number of different wines by the glass, the bar also has a large selection of beers from across the globe, along with wide

Redevelopment work on the Knock Castle hotel and spa in Crieff, Perthshire, has reached the second phase. The £1.5m (1.69m euro, US$2.26m) revamp's second phase included the creation of a dedicated spa treatment wing, housing treatment rooms as well as a relaxation area. The leisure area containing the swimming pool, spa pool and steam room area was also upgraded. Other improvements completed during the second phase included the addition of

Plans for the 100,000sq ft mixed-use regeneration of Greenwich Market in London, part of the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site, have been submitted to the London Borough of Greenwich. Designed by Hopkins Architects, the scheme is part of the redevelopment of Greenwich Town Centre. Among plans for the 0.7-hectare (1.7-acre) site are a 100-bed boutique hotel, shops and studios under a newly covered market square. The site is owned by

The mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has approved plans for a new five-star hotel close to Heathrow airport. The 13-storey hotel, designed by architects Foster + Partners and being developed by Riva Properties, will contain 577 rooms and six pavilions linked by bridges and an entrance lobby with an elevated glass deck offering views down to the restaurant level and swimming pool. Facilities include a health suite and gym, a

The Pierre Hotel in New York is reopen on 1 June following a US$100m (£68m, 75.9m euro) refurbishment. The Fifth Avenue-based hotel, owned by Taj Hotels, will reopen with new guestroom and bathroom interiors, a new restaurant, a new lobby lounge and a new reception area. The restaurant, Le Caprice at The Pierre, was created in conjunction with Richard Caring, who owns the Le Caprice brand as well as The

Plans for a £45m mixed-use leisure scheme in Bishop Auckland, County Durham have got the go-ahead from Hazel Blears, secretary of state for communities and local government. The project, now formerly approved by the Government Offices for the North East, is led by developer Terrace Hill and will result in vacant land being redeveloped into a 150,000sq ft (13,935sq m) leisure park. The park is designed by Lister Associate Architects

The completion of the controversial £300m Caltongate development in Edinburgh is now in doubt after developers Mountgrange Capital went into administration. The developer collapsed after HBOS withdrew its financial support for the scheme, which was given planning approval in September 2008. The project, designed by Allan Murray architects, was to include a new public square and a five-star hotel with a restaurant, a health spa and a café at a

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has announced that it is to open a new 192-bedroom property in Edinburgh, Scotland, after signing an agreement with developer Tiger Developments. The 17-storey hotel will form part of the developer's plans for the £250m transformation of the city's Haymarket area, which has been called in by the government despite being given the green light by the City of Edinburgh Council (CEC) in June 2008. BDL,

The newly-renamed four-star Radisson Edwardian Bloomsbury Street Hotel has undergone a £25m transformation, with new interiors designed by in-house team Amrit Singh and Michael Attenborough. The 174-room hotel boasts a new seventh floor, and a new meeting and events suite with seven spaces, including the 300-capacity Folio room and HD technology with built-in Blu-Ray and touch screen controls. Bloomsbury’s literary past inspired the hotel’s new reception area, which features whole

Proposals for a major mixed-use development in Tenby, Pembrokeshire, have been put forward by Dovey Estates in a bid to revitalise the seaside town's eastern gateway. At the heart of the scheme is the redevelopment of the Royal Gatehouse Hotel, which was severely damaged by fire last year, as well as adjacent properties including the Royal Playhouse Cinema and the Royal Lion Hotel. Under plans for the project, the exterior

The team behind a new £55m golf resort is hoping the project could establish Angus as one of Scotland's foremost tourist destinations. Plans for the development in the village of Wellbank include an 18-hole Darren Clarke signature golf course, Scotland's first golf youth academy and a five-star hotel and spa, as well as a housing development along the course edge. The course will be designed by renowned architect, Graeme Webster,

Plans for the restoration and refurbishment of Penarth Pier Pavilion have been revived by Penarth Arts and Crafts Ltd (PACL) after the Vale of Glamorgan Council (VGC) agreed to contribute £800,000 towards the scheme. Last year, the project failed at the final hurdle in a bid to secure £2m funding support from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), but now preparations are being made to submit a new bid later this

Architects have been appointed to transform the Café Royal on London's Regent Street into a five-star hotel as part of a £750m facelift of the area. Israeli investment firm Alrov Group, leaseholder of the site, has secured David Chipperfield Architects to restore and convert the building into a 25,000sq m, 160-room hotel. When complete the property will form part of a wider 93,000sq m (1 million sq ft) mixed-use development,

A historic London hotel, which was used by the secret service during the First World War, has been relaunched by Guoman Hotels following the completion of a £16.3m refurbishment. The Grade I-listed Royal Horseguards hotel, located on the Embankment, has undergone a full revamp of its 280 bedrooms to bring the property up to five-star standard. Work has included the addition of a new Guoman Club Lounge and a new