First look at £3 million luxury sea view Scottish spa amid Ayrshire hotel makeovers
An Ayrshire hospitality group has released the first images of a new £3 million sea view spa ahead of its planned opening next spring.
The Waterside Hotel at West Kilbride, North Ayrshire, is set to be home to a state-of-the-art facility which promises “commanding sea views” over the Firth of Clyde towards the Isle of Arran. New computer-generated images have been released offering a first impression of what people can expect to see when the hotel opens the doors to the new spa and 17 additional guest rooms early next year.
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Hide AdWork is set to begin on the transformation of the site over the winter months. Once complete, the project is expected to create 30 jobs - 25 in the spa and an additional five people in housekeeping. Special features will include six treatment rooms, a four-person Rasul experience, indoor thermal area with sauna and steam room, as well as three “experience” showers. The new spa will overlook the beach and have a “strong focus on the outdoors” with a large hydro pool, outdoor shower, cold bucket, a sheltered firepit and seating area.
Hospitality group SimpsInns is the driving force behind The Waterside Hotel, as well as the group’s flagship venue, The Gailes Hotel & Spa, which is located around 20 minutes’ drive away in Irvine.
Unveiling the latest images, Jack Simpson from SimpsInns, said: “The Waterside has quickly established itself as one of the region’s leading hotels, leisure and wedding venues since its launch in 2015.
“Our latest £3m investment for 2025 will introduce guests to a new luxury spa experience with an iconic Ayrshire coast backdrop. We’re creating the perfect oasis to escape the stresses of everyday life and offer people the opportunity to take back time for themselves to relax, rejuvenate and renew.”
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Hide AdHe stressed that the images offered an early indication of what to expect when the spa launches though these initial plans are subject to change. Prices for an overnight stay will start from £120 per room, per night, based on two people sharing.
The Irvine-based Simpson family run a collection of hotels, restaurants, bars, spa, golf and leisure activities along the Ayrshire coast. Other visitor venues and experiences in the group include The Potting Shed and The Terrace in Irvine; Gailes Golf:Leisure; and Old Loans Inn at Troon.
News of the major investment came as a Prestwick-based restaurant owner secured a funding deal worth more than £1m to complete the transformation of a four-star boutique hotel. Perry Uppal of R&J Uppal Holdings hopes that the investment will also unlock business growth opportunities within the area’s lucrative golf tourism industry.
The funding has enabled him to transform the upstairs area of his restaurant, The Taj Bar and Kitchen, into a ten-bedroom luxury hotel. The family-run restaurant and hotel business is part of R&J Uppal Holdings, which encompasses other commercial and residential properties in Prestwick.
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Hide AdThe new DeiRa Hotel & Apartments are designed to meet the increased demand for high-quality accommodation from golf tourism - a market that is worth some £40m each year to the Ayrshire economy. The area is world-renowned for golf, boasting more than 40 courses, including many of championship standard such as Trump Turnberry, Royal Troon and Dundonald Links.
The funding package amounting to £1.14m to develop almost 4,000 square feet of space above the restaurant was provided by alternative finance lender Reward Funding. The Fife-based lender provides property investors and businesses with asset-secured funding products and has this year reached the milestone of lending more than £25m to companies across Scotland. The deal between R&J Uppal Holdings and Reward Funding was introduced by Robert Perrie from TWO Business Finance.
Uppal, director of R&J Uppal Holdings, said: “We recognised that expanding our existing restaurant business - by creating a new luxury boutique hotel - would enable us to drive further business growth and capitalise on the lucrative golf tourism industry across the Ayrshire coast.
“The team at Reward have gone above and beyond to provide working capital at a pace needed to meet construction deadlines, minimise disruption to our restaurant business and open before the end of the golf tourism season.”
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Hide AdLucie Martin, business development director for Reward Funding in Scotland, said: “We are seeing a significant increase in Scottish property investors and businesses approaching us because they have been unsuccessful in securing finance from traditional funders.
“Our purpose is to fill the void left by banks and offer an alternative solution which unlocks business growth opportunities for companies across a range of sectors. This also plays a wider role in ensuring the Scottish economy doesn’t stand still or even retract due to a shortage of finance.
“It’s been a pleasure working with Perry to provide the funding as a catalyst for future business growth and we look forward to supporting them every step of the way,” she added.
A report earlier this year noted that Scottish hotels held “enduring appeal” for investors after transaction volumes nearly doubled in 2023. The total value of hotel sales in excess of £1m reached £310m last year, up 98 per cent on 2022’s figure of £156m. Overall, Scotland accounted for about 14 per cent of all UK hotel deals last year as the market remained resilient despite “ongoing economic headwinds”, the study from property agency Savills showed.
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Hide AdThe firm recorded 31 transactions in 2023, most notably the sale of the landmark Waldorf Astoria in Edinburgh - better known as The Caley Hotel - for £85m to Henderson Park and Klarent Hospitality, reflecting a sizeable 27 per cent of overall volumes.
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