Premier Inn opens new sites in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Hamilton, Aviemore and Thurso

Budget hotel operator Premier Inn will open five new sites in Scotland during 2020, creating some 200 jobs.

The hotel group is in the process of fitting out a new site on Princes Street in Edinburgh. Picture: Contributed

Parent company Whitbread said it was strengthening its presence north of the Border with the latest hotels, which include a new “super-sized” 249-bed establishment in Glasgow’s St Enoch Square.

A 136-bed hotel on Edinburgh’s Princes Street, which had also been previously flagged, is due to open during the course of 2020.

The openings also include a 96-bed hotel in Hamilton, a 60-bed hotel in Aviemore and an 85-bed offering in Thurso, which is set to become Premier Inn’s most northerly site in the UK.

Additional capacity is being added at the Inverness West site. Picture: Contributed

In total, the firm is on course to launch 735 additional beds this year – a mixture of the five new hotels and some hotel extensions. The openings represent an investment of more than £70 million, and will create an estimated 200 additional jobs.

Premier Inn managing director Simon Ewins said: "We’re gearing up for an exciting year in Scotland with a variety of new hotels ranging from a 249-bed mega-hotel in one of Glasgow’s most iconic central locations to our most northerly site in the UK in Thurso."

Additional room capacity is being added to Premier Inn hotels at Edinburgh East, Fort William and Inverness West.

UK-wide, the group is opening 37 hotels during the course of 2020, comprising some 4,000 rooms.