Leonardo Hotel Bristol Glassfields

Leonardo Hotel Bristol Glassfields opened on May 17, 2021, at 3 Temple Way, as the 14th Leonardo Hotel in the UK and the Fattal Group's first in Bristol. It has 197 rooms, a restaurant, a bar and a fitness centre, and stands a short walk from Bristol Temple Meads station.

The place

Temple Way runs on the edge of the city centre, in the Temple Quarter enterprise zone. The hotel is a short walk from Temple Meads station, Cabot Circus and Bristol Cathedral are close, and Bristol Airport is 13 km away.

The plot had been empty since the Guardian Royal Exchange Building was demolished in 2010. A listed 18th-century terrace stands to the east and a major road to the west. Drivers are pointed to the Gardiner Haskins car park on Unity Street, two minutes away, since the hotel has very little parking of its own.

The concept

Fattal signed the lease in April 2019 for a hotel of about 200 bedrooms on land owned by Royal London, with AWW as architect. Construction began in early 2019 and completion was first expected in the fourth quarter of 2020. The pandemic pushed it to May 2021. About 50 jobs were forecast. The project began under the Jurys Inn name, and the switch to Leonardo two years in forced a change of concept.

AWW pitched the design around Bristol itself: references to the city's distilling and jewellery quarter history, botanical touches, and ground-floor facade artwork inspired by jewellery illustration, made with an artist. The exterior pairs contrasting brick with natural zinc.

The building holds a BREEAM Excellent rating, with high insulation, solar shading and roof-mounted air source heat pumps. The planting scheme adds bird boxes to a former brownfield plot. The project was shortlisted for the CIBSE Building Performance Awards 2022, and the hotel holds Green Tourism Gold.

Dining & wellness

The ground floor is open plan, with a bar, a restaurant, a coffee shop and a conference space with feature joinery. The restaurant serves European cuisine with vegetarian and vegan options and a child-friendly buffet. The bar opens at noon, closing at 11 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and at midnight on Friday and Saturday.

Continental breakfast runs from 6:30 to 9:30 on weekdays, with a hot breakfast from 7:00, and from 7:00 to 11:00 at weekends. Room service is available around the clock, and a fitness centre and bicycle parking complete the facilities.