Second Scotsman hotel planned for Aberdeen

by XPRESS, 20 February 2019

NHS Grampian sold the building to local property developer CAF Properties, which has just received full planning and listed building consent to transform the A-listed (Scotland’s highest listed building rating) Simpson Pavilion building into a £10m, 52-bedroom luxury hotel and leisure complex. The project is expected to take four years to complete.

Glasgow-based hospitality firm G1 Group, who will undertake ownership of the hotel and 27 serviced apartments, plans to open the property under the Scotsman brand following its acquisition of the 69-bedroom, five-AA-star Scotsman hotel in Edinburgh in 2017, which had been in liquidation.

The planned refurbishment will see the former hospital turned into a luxury hotel with wood-panelled bedrooms similar to its sister hotel, a bar, restaurant and ‘cinema club experience’.

There will be a range of function areas for weddings and private functions, which will have the exclusive use of a central courtyard and garden area.

There are also plans to turn an old brick vaulted basement area into a late-night jazz bar. Subject to planning, the B-listed Stephen building will become 27 serviced apartments to be operated by the hotel. A further two B-listed buildings will be developed into 42 apartments, which will not sit under the ownership of G1 Group.

Charlie Ferrari, director of CAF Properties, said: “This deal marks the culmination of four years’ hard work with the possibly of another four to follow to ensure that we finish with a prime product in this new up and coming area of the city.”

Construction of the original hospital, to a William Christall design, began in 1740. Archibald Simpson, Aberdeen’s most famous architect, designed the Simpson Pavilion in 1833.

James Morrison, associate, commercial agency at Shepherds in Aberdeen, added: “We are delighted to conclude this sale on behalf of NHS Grampian, which marks a vote of confidence in the buoyancy of Aberdeen’s leisure sector and a significant step in the resurgence of the local economy, all adding to a recovery from the well-publicised dip in the oil and energy sector.”

G1 Group’s hotel portfolio also includes the Grassmarket hotel, the Murrayfield hotel and the Inn on the Mile in Edinburgh, and the Palm Court hotel in Aberdeen.

Article Credit: The Caterer