voco Leicester is a 191-room new-build hotel next to Leicester Tigers' Welford Road stadium, now called Mattioli Woods Welford Road Stadium. It opened in summer 2022 as Hotel Brooklyn Leicester, the second Hotel Brooklyn after Manchester (2020), and has since been reflagged to IHG's voco brand.
The address is 101 Welford Road, between Aylestone Road and Welford Road on the southern edge of the city centre, immediately beside the stadium. The location suits match-day stays and rugby events more than a central sightseeing break.
The concept
Built from scratch, the hotel was conceived by Bespoke Hotels as an industrial-style lifestyle product: exposed brickwork, steel gantries and a glass-fronted atrium that works as an indoor street, with a pop-up bar called Runyons. Interiors were overseen by SquidInc.
Bedrooms follow a loft-inspired look, with burgundy leather bed upholstery and a feature wall inspired by M.C. Escher. Room types range from lead-in rooms to executive suites with freestanding baths, rooms with hot-tub terraces and skyline suites, plus dog-friendly rooms. Ten bedrooms are fully accessible and six ambulant-accessible, with adjoining carer rooms, which Motionspot designed.
A single event room can be divided into three, and the public areas were described at the launch as much larger than in Manchester.
Dining & wellness
The Lair, on the first floor, combines a restaurant seating up to 120 guests with an open-plan bar and a social and working lounge, and is reached through the hotel lobby. The restaurant has a theatre-style kitchen and servery. The Grandstand, a stepped seating area, is used for films and live sport.
