New designs for a hotel on Calton Hill in the Scottish capital have been unveiled.
Hoskins Architects also revealed that Rosewood Hotels which runs The Carlyle in New York and Castiglion del Bosco in Tuscany will operate the planned hotel after the renovation of the historic old Royal High School.
The plan to invest more than £75 million to restore and convert Thomas Hamilton’s architectural masterpiece into a hotel is led by Duddingston House Properties and Urbanist Hotels.
Earlier plans prompted concern from heritage groups.
Gareth Hoskins, the architect for the project, said the new designs come after wide consultation.
Mr Hoskins said: "We’ve listened and taken on board views from a wide range of organisations and individuals through the pre-planning process to develop a fundamentally different design for the site.
"The design focuses around an informed restoration of the central Hamilton-designed building, repairing its decaying fabric and maintaining the strong sculptural presence of its frontage without intervention.
"The existing building will be entirely given over to the public areas of the new hotel allowing its spaces to be fully accessible for the first time in the building’s history."
He added: "The proposed design will create not only a setting appropriate to the stature of the building but, along with other initiatives such as Collective Gallery within the observatory, it should also bring about a level of change that allows Calton Hill to once again become an active and vibrant destination and place within Scotland’s capital city.”
It is claimed the economic impact of the new hotel would be significant for Edinburgh and the whole of Scotland.
The project is expected to create up to 260 jobs in the hotel while supporting a further 310 roles in the supply chain and 270 in the tourism industry over the next 10 years.
It is estimated the hotel could contribute £31.5m to Edinburgh and £36.7m to Scotland’s economy on an annual basis.
In one rival plan, the Royal High School Preservation Trust said it wants to return the building to its original educational use.
St Mary's Music School, in the city's Grosvenor Crescent, is considering it in its future accommodation options.
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