£2m 'Ritz of the care home world' to open in the Capital

Published on Friday 7 November 2008 09:29

IT'S set to become the Ritz of the care home world.

A former council-run home is to be given a 2 million makeover to turn it into a luxury "care hotel".

Featuring chandeliers, en-suite bedrooms with mini-bars, and hotel-style dining, the development is being marketed at both permanent residents and elderly tourists.

When complete, the former Grange Nursing Home on Chalmers Crescent – to be known as Glencairn Tower in recognition of the original name of the building when it was built in 1877 – will feature a hotel-style lobby.

Rooms at the 26-bed facility will cost up to 1000 a week – among the most expensive in Edinburgh.

Developers also expect it to be popular with family members who care for elderly relatives but need a break.

Robert Kilgour, chief executive of Dow Investments, which is behind the development, said: "The plan was always to do something different and we believe this kind of care hotel for permanent and short-term respite residents will prove very popular.

"It will be residential care for people who are reasonably fit and reasonably able as opposed to people who require round-the-clock nursing care and help with feeding and getting around."

The building is to feature a lounge area with patio doors leading to a garden at the rear, subject to planning consent.

The bedrooms are to range from 18 square metres to 32sq m, much bigger than 15sq m required to meet regulations.

Around 30 staff are to be employed at Glencairn, including a 50,000-a-year manager who is expected to have experience of the hospitality industry, and a head chef.

The care hotel, to be operated by ForthCare and due to be completed by March 2009, will feature a hotel-standard menu and residents will be able to invite friends and family for dinner.

Mr Kilgour, who previously founded and owned Four Seasons Health Care, said:

"It is a more personal domestic environment we want to create.

"It couldn't work everywhere but I believe Edinburgh is somewhere that this will work."

Ranald Mair, chief executive of Scottish Care, the umbrella group for private care home operators, said:

"This will work well for those who can afford to purchase their own care.

"But there does also need to be funding for those who cannot afford that."