Red Carnation Hotels will open a luxury hotel in the former Royal Overseas League building on Princes Street in Edinburgh.
The luxury hotel operator says the 30-room hotel, 100 Princes Street, will open on November 1 and will have a residents-only Explorers’ Club which will offer guests a ‘quintessentially Scottish experience’ and signature local dishes. Guests will be able to sample from a wall with over 200 fine wines and a selection of Scottish whiskeys. The hotel also comprises a curated collection of furnishings and artwork from local artisans.
The Royal Overseas League building, dating back to 1879, was originally known as the Windsor Hotel. In 1930, the Royal Overseas League private members club was opened by the Duke of York, boasting 20 bedrooms, a bar and restaurant, with patrons including the prime ministers of Canada, Australia and New Zealand. In January 2018, it closed its doors for repairs estimated at £2 million and a refurbishment programme costing a further £3.5 million.
The newly-reopened hotel – which will have prime views of the castle - is Red Carnation’s first in Scotland and its 19th property worldwide.
Why it matters
This is yet another indicator of confidence in the Scottish luxury hotel market following Henderson Park’s £85 million acquisition of Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh – The Caledonian as well as the sector’s steady interest in luxury hotels as they continue to offer a good hedge against inflation. Red Carnation’s transformation of a historic building into a luxury hotel could also serve as a blueprint for others looking to explore the same path in a period where ground-up development is prohibitively expensive.