The Resident Edinburgh: New city hotel to transform eyesore office block in West End

A new hotel is to open in Edinburgh’s West End, with a UK-wide chain bringing another 166-rooms to the Capital.

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Resident Hotels will open The Resident Edinburgh in 2024 after a full revamp of the eyesore building on Drumsheugh Gardens.

The property will take the group’s UK portfolio up to six hotels.

The hotel will be at the site of the old HMRC office.

The site, Meldrum House, was constructed in the 1960s as the Edinburgh office headquarters of Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs.

Mactaggart Family & Partners (MF&P) acquired the building from the development arm of Mapeley.

William Laxton, CIO of MF&P, said: “Edinburgh - and this micro location within it - is perfect for The Resident guest product and operating model and we are thrilled to be bringing our amazing team to this world class capital city.

The old office building has been considered an eyesore for some time.

“The acquisition and development adds to our momentum, having rebranded the group in early 2020 and achieved exceptional guest feedback through TripAdvisor.

“The transaction also demonstrates our belief in the operating model, at a time we begin the implementation of our ambitions to grow Resident Hotels as an operator of third party owned hotels.”

The new hotel is designed by Scottish Architects Michael Laird and Associates, who were appointed by the vendors Mapeley/Cannon Capital to use the structural core of the building with the aim of creating an elegant property befitting the prime location. Planning permission was secured in November 2020.

Resident Hotels will operate The Resident Edinburgh under a management contract, marking its first launch since The Resident Covent Garden, which opened in February 2019 and is currently the No1 hotel in London on TripAdvisor.

David Orr, CEO, Resident Hotels, who is from Edinburgh and has been responsible for creating over 3,000 hotel rooms across the UK and Europe, said: “Edinburgh is perfect for The Resident brand, being rich in arts and culture, education and entrepreneurial businesses attracting a wide range of both domestic and international visitors, eager to immerse themselves in the city.

“We want people to stay in genuinely interesting places and we hope that by creating welcoming, well-designed hotels with highly-engaged team who know their neighbourhoods, we can play a role in those communities while creating a wonderful guest experience.”

Resident Hotels currently offers 379 rooms across five city-centre hotels.

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