Artisan Real Estate has secured planning consent to transform the Albany House office building on the edge of Edinburgh’s New Town into a 102-bedroom hotel.
Artisan has agreed terms with Whitbread to operate the hotel under its hub by Premier Inn brand.
Located at 58 Albany Street on the corner of the capital’s Broughton Street, the sandstone building was constructed in the 1980s and was designed to reflect the adjacent Georgian neoclassical town houses along Albany Street.
The redevelopment will retain much of the external structure of the building while replacing the top floor facade with a contemporary new cladding and finish.
David Westwater, managing director for Scotland at Artisan Real Estate, said: “This exciting hotel development will bring continued interest and investment to a vibrant corner of Edinburgh’s eastern city centre. We are pleased to be once again working with Whitbread to create a modern and contemporary hotel interior providing the high levels of insulation and energy technology, delivering both a sustainable and attractive addition to Edinburgh’s successful hospitality sector.
“The existing sandstone building is well-suited to hotel development with high levels of natural daylight and an established entrance area. Albany House is the latest in a succession of high-profile planning proposals delivered by Artisan in Edinburgh’s city centre during the last 12 months and reinforces our stated commitment to bring substantial investment coupled with high quality development to the heart of Scotland’s capital.”
Jill Anderson, acquisitions manager at Whitbread, added: “Albany House is an excellent location for a hub by Premier Inn hotel, and I am very pleased to be working with Artisan to expand our footprint in the city in a sustainable way through the proposed conversion of the 1980s office building. Our hub by Premier Inn hotels are designed to appeal to budget, short-stay travellers, looking to stay in the most interesting and connected city centre locations. It offers all the comfort, consistency, and reliability of Premier Inn, but with a smaller bedroom and the format allows us to offer great value rooms in the most vibrant places.
“Premier Inn has been part of Edinburgh’s hospitality scene for more than 30 years. We’re incredibly proud to have built a network of popular, good value hotels across the city, and we see great potential for further investment driven by our own high occupancy in the city and the fact that budget hotels like Premier Inn account for just 20% of the city’s bedroom stock.”
