An Irish operator has revealed plans to open a 153-bedroom hotel on St Andrew Square in Edinburgh, its first property in the Scottish capital.
Dalata Hotel Group, Ireland's largest hotel operator, has acquired a development site at 28 St Andrew Square in Edinburgh for £12.5 million from Aviva Life & Pensions UK Limited.
The Irish group, which flagged its growing presence in the UK and continental Europe, said: “The development site is superbly located fronting on to St. Andrew Square, and, subject [to] successful revised planning, it will incorporate a new 153-bedroom, four-star Clayton Hotel.
This will be Dalata’s third hotel in Scotland.
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Dalata's chief executive, Dermot Crowley, highlighted ambitions to expand into Edinburgh city centre in an exclusive interview with The Herald in November but at that time flagged great challenges in finding a site.
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The interview coincided with the official launch of the 303-bedroom Clayton Hotel Glasgow City in the A-listed former Custom House building on the River Clyde.
This launch followed the opening of the 300-bedroom Maldron Hotel Glasgow City in 2021.
Detailing its plans for the St Andrew Square development, the hotels group said today: “The site includes a Category A listed building which is currently vacant and approved for office use, with planning permission granted for an extension to both the rooftop and rear of the property.
"The group plans to submit a revised planning application in Q1 next year, enabling the construction of a new four-star Clayton Hotel, which is expected to be completed by mid-2026.
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It added: “The group’s hotel scheme is designed to work within the new building envelope permitted under the existing planning permission. Subject to a successful revised planning application the hotel will incorporate 153 bedrooms, a bar, restaurant, dry gym and two large meeting rooms with stunning period features on the first floor overlooking St. Andrew Square.”
Dalata revealed the overall investment in the project, including the site purchase, would be around £48 million.
It will create about 60 employee positions when the hotel is operational, the group added.
Dalata said: “The new hotel, as part of our sustainability strategy, will be one of our first to be designed to operate with zero on-site carbon emissions. As a conversion scheme, it will also have considerably lower embodied carbon than a new build.”
The consideration for the St Andrew Square site was paid from Dalata’s existing cash and banking facilities.
Last November, Mr Crowley, highlighting Dalata’s targeting of central locations in cities with strong corporate and leisure demand, noted the difficulty in finding centrally located sites in Edinburgh.
Asked at that stage if Dalata had tried much so far in Edinburgh, in terms of finding a site, Mr Crowley replied: “We have tried lots. We have the scars. There is never a time we are not working on something in Edinburgh.
“We will get in there eventually. It will be well worth waiting for the right opportunity.”
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