New hotels in Coventry

We track two hotels in Coventry, both open, on opposite sides of the city centre. Telegraph Hotel, an 88-room conversion of the former Coventry Evening Telegraph newspaper building, opened in 2020; Hotel Indigo Coventry, a 101-room new build in the Friargate business district, followed in 2024. Both list rates from £60 a night, putting either within reach of a short city-centre stay.

What to do

A weekend in Coventry

Coventry Cathedral is the obvious starting point: the bombed-out ruins of the medieval cathedral, destroyed in a 1940 air raid, stand beside the modernist new cathedral built alongside them as a deliberate statement of post-war reconciliation, both are within a few minutes of each other and free to view from outside, with Graham Sutherland's vast tapestry of Christ inside the new building one of the city's best-known artworks. The Herbert Art Gallery & Museum, next door, holds more than 320,000 artefacts across local history, art and design. St Mary's Guildhall, a well-preserved medieval hall a short walk away that dates to the 14th century, rounds out a morning in the Cathedral Quarter. In the afternoon, FarGo Village, Coventry's creative quarter built inside a repurposed industrial site, is worth a couple of hours for its independent shops, cafes and a vegan brewhouse spread across converted shipping containers, with regular markets and live events adding to the mix depending on when you visit.

A full week

With more time, the Coventry Transport Museum, covering the city's history as a centre of British car and bicycle manufacturing, is worth a half-day even for visitors without a strong interest in cars: its collection includes several of the world's fastest cars, including Thrust SSC, the first car to break the sound barrier. The Belgrade Theatre, Britain's first purpose-built civic theatre after the Second World War, still runs a full programme and is worth checking for something on during a longer stay. Outside the centre, Coombe Abbey Park's 500 acres of gardens and woodland and Allesley Park both make for an easy half-day of walking away from the city itself. Coventry's location in the West Midlands also makes it a workable base for day trips into Warwickshire, including Warwick Castle and Kenilworth Castle, both under half an hour away, and Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare's birthplace, is a similarly straightforward drive or train ride for anyone extending the trip.

Where to stay

Cathedral Quarter and Corporation Street

Telegraph Hotel occupies the former home of the Coventry Evening Telegraph newspaper on Corporation Street, an 88-room conversion of the 1955 Telegraph building that keeps its press heritage in its design details, including the Lord Iliffe Suite's own hot tub and terrace. Its rooftop bar overlooks Belgrade Square, and the hotel sits within easy walking distance of the Cathedral Quarter, the Belgrade Theatre and the Herbert Art Gallery.

Friargate business district

Hotel Indigo Coventry opened in 2024 in Friargate, the business district built up around Coventry's railway station in recent years. The 101-room, new-build hotel includes Cogs Restaurant and a gym, and its location close to the station makes it a practical choice for business travelers or anyone arriving by train rather than car.

Which hotel for your trip

Design-focused travelers and couples

Telegraph Hotel's press-heritage design details and the hot-tub-equipped Lord Iliffe Suite make it the more distinctive stay of the two, especially for anyone drawn to adaptive-reuse buildings over a new build.

Business travelers and rail arrivals

Hotel Indigo Coventry's Friargate location, close to the railway station, is the more practical choice for a short business trip, with Cogs Restaurant and a gym on site for travelers who want to stay close to the hotel in the evening.

Budget-conscious weekend visitors

Both hotels list rates from £60, so the choice comes down to setting rather than price: the Cathedral Quarter's historic buildings and Belgrade Square for Telegraph Hotel, or Friargate's newer business-district feel for Hotel Indigo.

Groups and celebrations

Telegraph Hotel's Lord Iliffe Suite, with its own hot tub and terrace, is the standout room on this list for a small celebration group looking for something more distinctive than a standard hotel room, in a building that carries the city's newspaper history through into its design.

Frequently asked questions

What is the newest hotel to open in Coventry?

Among the two hotels we track, Hotel Indigo Coventry is the most recent, opening in 2024 in the Friargate business district.

Which Coventry hotel is closest to the cathedral?

Telegraph Hotel, on Corporation Street, sits within easy walking distance of Coventry Cathedral and the wider Cathedral Quarter.

Is there a hotel near Coventry railway station?

Hotel Indigo Coventry, in the Friargate business district, is the closer of the two to the station.

What was Telegraph Hotel before it became a hotel?

The 1955 home of the Coventry Evening Telegraph newspaper, which operated from the building for more than 50 years before its conversion into an 88-room hotel.

Are Coventry's new hotels expensive?

No, both Telegraph Hotel and Hotel Indigo Coventry list rates starting from £60 a night, putting either within reach of a budget city-centre stay.

Is Coventry a good base for exploring the wider region?

Yes: its position in the West Midlands puts Warwick Castle, Kenilworth Castle and Stratford-upon-Avon all within about half an hour, and Birmingham is a short train ride away for anyone wanting a bigger city for an evening.