Plans have been lodged for a 96-room extension to one of Scotland’s most famous hotels.

The move would take the landmark's total number of rooms to 337 and follows the A-listed city centre hotel’s £85 million purchase.

The proposals submitted for the extension to Caledonian Hotel by Axiom Architects are part of a £35m refurbishment as it rebrands to the Curio Collection by Hilton.

Private real estate investment fund manager Henderson Park, together with its in-house hospitality operator and asset manager, Klarent Hospitality, earlier announced plans to invest over £35 million in transforming the iconic Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh – The Caledonian, “marking a new chapter in its 120-year history”.

Having acquired Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh, known as The Caley, in July 2023, Henderson Park and Klarent Hospitality signalled investment plans for improvements in the infrastructure and bedroom refurbishment as well as upgrading and restoring the public areas to enhance the guest and visitor experience

Now plans have been lodged for the extension at the rear of the hotel, in the current car park.

The Herald: The current car park at the rear of the hotelThe current car park at the rear of the hotel (Image: Google)

Axiom Architects, appointed by Box Consultants, prepared a planning statement, which reads: “The proposal is for a new bedroom extension block to the rear of the hotel which will sit between the blind gable end of the Standard Life Building to the south and the existing 1970s bedroom wing to the north side of the car park/ service area. The proposed extension orientation will be north west/south east and will form a new courtyard off the existing hotel.

“The proposed extension comprises 96 additional guest rooms that will be accessed via a separate circulation core linking to the existing hotel.

“Separating the circulation core from the existing building provides an opportunity to reduce floor-to-floor levels and increase the amount of bedroom floors, in turn increasing proposed room numbers.

The Herald: To the front, it holds a commanding West End position, with eastern-facing rooms looking towards Edinburgh CastleTo the front, it holds a commanding West End position, with eastern-facing rooms looking towards Edinburgh Castle (Image: Google)

“The extension retains the existing primary and secondary entrances and provides a new internal service bay to conceal the ‘back of house’ service entry points. The bin store has also been moved internally to rationalise and tidy up the courtyard. There are currently 45 existing car parking spaces, and the proposed scheme will reduce this to 30 car parking spaces."

It continued: “At present, the rear elevation, which comprises exposed services and recent spa extensions/circulation tower, is not complementary to the surrounding context.

“The site sits outside of the World Heritage Site boundary, but is within the setting of this designation. Additionally, the existing hotel is listed and positioned nearby several listed buildings along Rutland Street. However, the site is located within the existing car park area of the hotel suggesting there are limited views of the proposed extension. The proposal will continue to be tested as the detailed design of the proposals is developed.”

The Caledonian was constructed from 1899 to 1908 and was originally owned by the Caledonian Railway Company, where the hotel takes its name. It has welcomed famous guests from all over the world including the late Queen and former US President Barack Obama.


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