Malmaison to open in Edinburgh’s historic New Town

Britain’s iconic boutique hotel brand has signed a development agreement with development company S Harrison to renovate a Grade A Listed property in St Andrew Square

Multi million pound investment will see 50  jobs created ahead of hotel opening in 2019

Malmaison Hotel du Vin Group, the leading lifestyle hotel brand, and leading property and development business S Harrison, are delighted to announce that they have signed a development agreement to transform the Grade A listed Buchan House, adding a second Edinburgh location to the Group’s collection of boutique hotels. Planning permission was granted for the redevelopment in November 2017 and renovation work on the historic St. Andrew Square venue that covers 44,000 square feet will begin during the first half of 2018.

Malmaison will restore the building’s period features and inject its distinctive, stylish aesthetic to make Buchan House a unique hotel offering within the famous Georgian architecture of Edinburgh’s New Town.  It is expected that the development will create approximately 50 new jobs.

York-based S Harrison has built a strong and growing presence in Edinburgh following its successful £23 million redevelopment of a site on Leith Walk in 2016. The site was formerly part of Edinburgh’s original Botanic Gardens and was transformed into a 240-bedroom, student accommodation scheme.  S Harrison has also recently bought two other sites in the Leith and Haymarket areas of the city and continues to look for other opportunities.

Offering 72 luxurious bedrooms and iconic suites, the new hotel will suit stylish, modern travellers, who after a day of work or play will be able to kick back and savour the  inspiring, modern cuisine and carefully crafted cocktails of the Chez Mal Bar and Brasserie.

The new hotel will complement the popular Malmaison Edinburgh Leith,  which famously occupies the site of a former “house of ill-repute”, and was the first ever Malmaison to open in 1994. It also marks the latest development in a period of significant growth and investment for the brand. This includes plans to introduce Malmaison to Bournemouth and York, as well as the continued roll-out of its contemporary Chez Mal bar and brasserie and its innovative Work + Play meeting and events concept.

Guus Bakker, Chief Executive Officer, Malmaison Hotel du Vin, said: “Edinburgh is a much loved global destination for tourists and business alike and Malmaison is a great fit for the City and its visitors. We are delighted to be complementing our existing Leith hotel with a great venue for visitors to the city centre.  Where better to demonstrate our commitment to Scotland than with the opening of Malmaison in the famous St Andrew Square?”

S Harrison’s Development Director, David Clancy, said: “This is an exciting project and we are very pleased to conclude this deal with  Malmaison, who will bring to life such an extremely prominent building.  Its rich history and splendid architectural features will ultimately form the foundations of a fascinating, memorable and truly unique hotel.  Malmaison’s high quality offering and sympathetic styling in other high-profile buildings throughout the UK ensures it will be the perfect fit for Buchan House.”