More rooms for tourist inn crowds

Published on Friday 5 March 2010 09:44

HUNDREDS more hotel rooms are set to be created in Edinburgh as long-awaited developments get the green light.

Councillors are expected to approve two new hotel developments on currently vacant sites at Haddington Place and Shrub Hill, both in Leith.

They have also been recommended to give the go-ahead to proposals for the Capital's first no-frills easyHotel, which would feature small "pod" rooms.

The hotel, part of Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou's easyGroup empire, would see the renovation of a B-listed building on Princes Street, and would feature around 30 "pod" rooms, with prices likely to be around 25 a night.

The building at 125a Princes Street has been empty since the closure of the Edinburgh Rock Cafe in 1998.

The 15 million hotel scheme on Haddington Place, meanwhile, is being built by Leith Walk Developments, on the site of an old petrol station.

The development has been in the pipeline for several years, and a historic cottage next to the site – the original home of the regius keeper for the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh – has been carefully removed and placed in storage, allowing it to be rebuilt on a different location.

Under the plans set to be approved next week, the six-storey hotel will have 207 bedrooms, as well as ground floor retail units and a cafe or restaurant.

The application for Shrub Place will finally see the construction of a 121-bedroom apart-hotel, as well a new Masonic Social Club and associated parking and access.

The development, by Fraser Hamilton, had been held up over a dispute about its contribution to the city's tram works, but its has now agreed a reduced fee with the council, provided work on the hotel is under way within 18 months.

A similar agreement has been reached with Leith Walk Developments over the Haddington Place site, after it argued that the proposed tram contribution made the development "unviable". This means that work on both schemes is likely to start within months of approval, and the additional bedrooms will provide a welcome boost to the city's tourist economy.

City leaders have set a target of increasing tourism by 63 per cent before 2015, and have identified the need for more hotels for tourists on all budgets as essential.

A recent report estimated that the Capital needed an extra 1,500 hotel beds to have the same level of availability as cities such as London and Amsterdam.

Sinead Feltoe, VisitScotland regional director for Edinburgh, said: "Tourism growth is critical to the future of Edinburgh and Scotland, so it's encouraging to see this level of investment, which contributes to the overall visitor experience.

"A quality and competitive hotel scene helps Edinburgh compete internationally and cements the city's position as a must-visit, must-return destination."