Balmoral Hotel one of Edinburgh's first major hotels to announce post-Covid 19 reopening plans

The Balmoral Hotel in Princes Street, Edinburgh, was boarded up in a bid to stop vandals and thieves during lockdown | PA (Press Association)

The Balmoral Hotel is the first of the city’s major hotels to announce its plans to reopen following the Covid-19 lockdown.

The hotel will reopen to paying guests on August 1, while adhering to social distancing and hygiene guidelines outlined by the Scottish Government.

The business was boarded up in March when lockdown was announced, leading to one of Edinburgh’s most iconic businesses giving the impression it had been abandoned.

On Wednesday March 25, the front door of the hotel was boarded up for the rest of lockdown, but a spokesman confirmed the hotel would reopen on August 1.

Hotels are expected to be allowed to reopen with social distancing when the Scottish Government moves to phase three of its lockdown easing routemap.

The reopening date follows news that the hotel’s famous clock is working once more.

Technicians reset it on Monday nearly two months after it broke down during the most stringent period of lockdown.