New Town offices to transform into 102-bed hotel – Daily Business

Regeneration specialist Artisan Real Estate aims to transform offices in Edinburgh’s New Town into another Premier Inn.

Albany House at the end of Albany Street and Broughton Street will be converted to a 102-bed hotel over five floors.

The building was constructed in the 1980s to complement the adjacent Georgian town houses.

Artisan has agreed terms with Whitbread to operate the completed hotel under its Premier Inn brand, adding to its stock in the city. The two worked together on a Premier in Market Street and Whitbread is also converting offices in Festival Square to operate under the brand.

The Albany House proposal will mean retaining much of the external structure of the building while replacing the top floor facade with a contemporary cladding and finish to meet current building standards.

Artisan’s managing director for Scotland, David Westwater, said: “This design proposal will bring continued interest and investment to a vibrant corner of Edinburgh’s eastern city centre.

“The existing sandstone building is well-suited to hotel development with high levels of natural daylight and an established entrance area.”

Whitbread currently welcomes close to a million visitors to its established network of hotels within the City of Edinburgh Council area, generating more than £32 million a year to the economy.

Jill Anderson, acquisitions manager for Whitbread, said budget hotels such as Premier Inn account for 20% of the city’s bedroom stock.