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News: Virgin Hotels Glasgow sold, airlines return to Tel Aviv

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Two bits of news in brief:

Virgin Hotels Glasgow sold but future branding unclear

Virgin Hotels Glasgow closed suddenly in December 2023, just a month after its official opening.

The owner, Lloyds Developments, was placed into administration. After what appears to be a surprisingly long sale period, a deal has been done. The site has been bought by Martin Property Group, a family owned firm from Northern Ireland.

The sale announcement implies that the site will remain as a hotel but it has not been confirmed that Virgin Hotels will retain management. Virgin Hotels was keen to remain involved and even submitted a bid to buy the site outright.

The Martin Property Group website lists over 60 owned properties but there is only one hotel – a Leonardo in Chester. We’ll let you know when there is a reopening date or any news on which brand will be used.

Virgin Hotels Glasgow sold

Airlines return to Tel Aviv

Non-stop flights to Israel are resuming as the political situation takes a turn for the better.

Wizz Air resumed flights from London Luton on Wednesday.

Air France has a suspension in place until 24th January but may resume flights after that. Lufthansa Group has announced that its carriers will return to Tel Aviv on 1st February. Ryanair has indicated that it intends to run its proposed summer timetable, which was due to start on 30th March.

easyJet, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have not made any announcements about the resumption of non-stop flights.

Comments (16)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Toddy says:

    Martin property bought the Scottish mural building in Belfast in 2022 saying the deal will mean “a significant investment in the restoration, preservation and enhancement of the building’s original features and the creation of a world class hotel”.
    The previous owner were intending on opening the ‘George Best hotel’

  • Scott says:

    Probably saying that it’s not really a good time to be flying there unless you really really have to. Might seem fairly safe with a ceasefire/ truce in place, but you never know.
    Not sure if the foreign office are recommending travel?

    • AL says:

      For about the last month, FCDO have been advising against all or all but essential travel to only some areas of Israel and the West Bank. The Gaza Strip, the West Bank, Hebron and the areas bordering Lebanon are still advised against all or all but essential travel. The remainder of the country, including Jersualem and Tel Aviv, is subject to FCDO advice. That means that, theoretically, most insurance companies should be fine with covering trips to those areas, but clearly the situation could change at the drop of a hat.

  • yorkshireRich says:

    I know I mentioned it briefly on the chat thread but after the lengthy discussion about the great devalue of IHG points, is it safe to safe it’s gone back to normal now and the devaluation is no more?
    I say this as the intercontinental in phuket was around 70,000 to 80,000 per night and rose to 90,000 during the “devaluation”. It’s now 62,000 on the dates I look at.
    The intercontinental in Da Nang as gone down around 20,000/30,000 points.
    The ones in Bali have gone back down, or less to what they were before the “devaluation”.

    I know those examples are quite Asian centric, but I can also see the Kimpton fitzroy is around the same number of points as it was around 2/3 years ago.

    • Ken says:

      Isn’t this just a reflection of dynamic pricing ?

      The biggest loss for me was IHG losing Mr & Mrs Smith.

  • FFoxSake says:

    Less IHG points purchases for me now that Diamond status has finally been scythed. I suspect the same might be true for others.

    • Tariq says:

      Indeed, although earned the lounge access pass last year and just activated it yesterday, so valid till end of 2026 – mitigates the loss of free breakfast somewhat.

    • LittleNick says:

      Same, and generally less IHG stays in general bar the few properties I enjoy staying at. Will be looking more at cost/value/location/competition etc going forwards and less loyal to any particular chain, though I have found hyatt to be quite good.

  • Emad Elias says:

    Bought IHG points do not count towards status, correct?

  • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:

    My off is 100% bonus.

    Need to do some costing to see whether buying points will be cheaper than paying cash for stays.

    One advantage is that points stays are eligible for CSUs whereas some of the cash rates aren’t. I’ve had different levels of success when using the railcard rate.

    But need to temper that against tying up a wad of cash up now rather than a drip feed spend when the stays take place and a lack of cash back (which can sometimes be unreliable)

  • SG says:

    Is anyone else having problems with having Amex points from referrals posting?And how is Amex dealing with this?I get the usual …”wait until we don’t know when..and then we don’t know what..

    • Rob says:

      Yes. Rhys and I have had nothing since 10th.

      • George K says:

        My latest reference point was getting the referral bonus TWENTY days after the friend was approved – and that was in December. A far cry from the 24 hours that used to be the case. On the upside, I got an email when the points posted, which is new…

  • GS says:

    BA supposedly restarting TLV route from 1st April (now short haul as previously indicated).

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