The Glenburn Hotel: Major Scottish islands hotel goes into administration

The Glenburn Hotel on the Isle of Bute has filed for administration.

Originally built in 1843 on a hilltop location overlooking Rothesay, it opened as a classic grand seaside hotel in 1892.

Situated on the Isle of Bute, it became Scotland’s first ‘hydropathic’ hotel, with affluent guests coming for its health spas and stunning surroundings.

The Glenburn Hotel has been closed since November 2020, with staff initially being placed on furlough.

Scotland’s first ‘hydropathic’ hotel opened in 1892

However, it was confirmed on Friday all staff will be made redundant with immediate effect.

The Glenburn Hotel was extensively refurbished in 2016 and features around 121 guest rooms, ballroom, restaurants, bars, terrace, conference facilities and extensive terraced gardens.

The hotel, which overlooks Rothesay Bay, was popular with package holiday businesses and independent travellers, many of whom would return regularly. There are also three cottages located within the grounds of the hotel.

The hotel had traded briefly since the start of the first lockdown in early 2020.

The administration has been caused by significant operating costs, coupled with the fall in revenue due to the Covid pandemic whilst still having to meet significant maintenance and running costs.

All remaining staff will be made redundant with immediate effect and joint administrators Stuart Robb and Chad Griffin from FRP Advisory will begin the process of marketing the hotel for sale and are urging any interested parties to contact FRP Advisory as soon as possible.

In a statement released on Friday, Mr Robb said: “Unfortunately, having explored all its options, the hotel was unable to survive the significant fall in revenue caused by the Covid-19 pandemic whilst still having to meet significant maintenance and running costs.

“We will now focus our efforts on assisting employees, many of whom have worked at the hotel for many years, to submit their claims for redundancy and other sums due to them whilst preparing to market and sell the hotel.

“Whilst this is a sad day in the Hotel’s history, this is an outstanding opportunity to acquire an iconic hotel on one of Scotland’s most accessible islands, and we would encourage any interested parties to contact Kris Tosh at [email protected]”

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.