Hotel investment growth boosts Edinburgh's appeal

A recent study from the Royal Mail named Edinburgh the most attractive city in the UK to both live and work in—an accolade that can be credited to the Scottish capital's uptick in investment, including in the hospitality sector.  

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The city's booming tourism industry has been boosting the economy. In response, Edinburgh has been seeing strong demand from hotel and serviced apartment operators looking to capitalize on the year-round tourism industry success. 

Recent hotel development and redevelopments across the city include the Edinburgh Grand and the Nira Caledonia. The Grand opened in early June 2018 with 50 apartments. The former Royal Bank of Scotland building was converted into the hotel as part of first phase of The Registers £85-million renovation program. Meanwhile the 28-room Nira Caledonia hotel, which the Shanti Hospitality Group owns, recently reopened. The property also underwent renovations totaling £1.4 million after one of the two townhouses sustained damages following a fire. 

Scotland is also slated to get its own floating hotel scheduled to begin operating in late 2018. The Royal Yacht Britannica will permanently dock the former Northern Lighthouse Ship the Fingal in the Port of Leith. The 23-cabin hotel is scheduled to open in November 2018.  

St. James Quarter in Edinburgh's New Town is next in line to get a hotel. The Wine House 1821, which is designed by architect Claudio Silvestrin and created by restaurateur Sep Marini and Italian wine producer Zonin 1821, will have four guestrooms. 

According to a survey from PwC, the one setback from all this investment is the rising coast for consumers. A night's stay in Edinburgh last year rose three times faster than the UK average. Occupancy also grew last year along with ADR, which reached £100, driving the city to be named the second most expensive UK city to visit after London.