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St Andrew Square boutique hotel opens doors after 20-month project



The much-anticipated new Malmaison boutique hotel in St Andrew Square, Edinburgh, is open for business after a 20-month development project.

Grade A listed Buchan House, on the north-west corner of the square where it meets North St David Street, has become a stylish 72-bedroom hotel complete with Malmaison’s renowned Chez Mal Bar and Brasserie.

York-based developer S Harrison is behind the project in Edinburgh’s New Town, which has created around 50 new jobs.

Work on the 44,000 sq ft, building started in May 2018 and S Harrison appointed Edinburgh based Sharkey as principal contractor. It was financed with a forward funding agreement from a FTSE 100 pension fund, and cost more than £25 million.

David Clancy of S Harrison said: “This development has brought a prominent building back to life, along with all its rich architectural heritage and Georgian period splendour. It’s in a fantastic location, on one of Edinburgh’s most prestigious and important squares, and it complements all the other work taking place in the surrounding area, including the new £1 billion Edinburgh St James development.

“Our experience of sympathetically restoring historic and heritage buildings, combined with Malmaison’s vision for creating interiors that are distinctive, stylish and extremely luxurious, has ultimately created one of Scotland’s finest boutique hotels. There’s no doubt it’s going to be hugely popular with both business and leisure travellers, from across the world, who want an exceptional and memorable place to stay.”

Malmaison’s Edinburgh Leith hotel was the first to open under the brand in 1994.

Guus Bakker, CEO EMEA at Frasers Hospitality, who own the Malmaison and Hotel du Vin brands, said: “Returning to the heart of where Malmaison started is a real milestone for us and we are looking forward to offering a fourth offering in the city, in addition to our Malmaison property in Leith and our Hotel du Vin and Fraser Suites locations in Edinburgh’s old town.

“Edinburgh is such an integral and exciting city and the boutique elements of Malmaison and Chez Mal’s offerings really tie in well to the atmosphere and spirit of the Scottish capital.”

The main part of Buchan House was built in 1775 as five houses by renowned architect and builder John Young, the first tradesman to build in Edinburgh’s New Town. Politicians, lords and business leaders lived in Buchan House during its time as a private residence.

It became an office for IBM in 1974 but has been empty in recent years. It is part of Edinburgh’s New Town Conservation Area and the Old and New Towns of Edinburgh World Heritage Site.

S Harrison’s completed work on a luxurious Hotel du Vin for the Malmaison group in Stratford-upon-Avon last year. The developer recently secured planning permission to turn a 1970s office building in Edinburgh’s Osborne Terrace into a new 157-bedroom hotel, with a restaurant and bar on the ground floor.

In October, the company was granted planning permission to develop a 394-bedroom student accommodation scheme, on the corner of Westfield Road and Westfield Avenue, and is exploring opportunities for a 0.6 hectare site on Ocean Drive in Leith and a site on Gorgie Road next to the Water of Leith.



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