Works started on site this week on another Whitbread hotel and restaurant development in Scotland.

The £4m hotel and restaurant development, designed by Lawrence McPherson Associates, is situated on a prominent site on the A82 Inverness to Fort William road directly adjacent to the Caledonian Canal.

This development is on the site of a derelict Victorian villa that had previously been in use as family run hotel.

The existing flat roofed, 2 storey, bedroom extension to rear of existing hotel will be demolished to allow a new single storey extension be developed as Beefeater restaurant; one of Whitbread's more well known restaurant brands. The façade of the existing building will be retained and the restaurant fitted out retaining the character of existing building with the existing cornices, woodwork and panelling replicated in the new construction.


In line with the aspiration of Highland Council's design guidance, to create a landmark building on the site, a contemporary design for the 4 storey, 76 bed, Premier Inn hotel was developed which is juxtaposed with the existing building. Copper cladding is used on the Premier Inn and a curved copper faced corridor links the new and old buildings, a material which is present in the existing building and acts to unify the different.

Completion of the development is programmed for February 2012.

The project is the one of a number of projects in Scotland for Whitbread, designed by Lawrence McPherson Associates, currently on site or in the design stages.

(GK)