The purpose-built, architecturally imposing Radisson SAS Glasgow lies in the heart of Glasgow city centre and opened in late 2002.     With 247 spacious bedrooms, a whole floor dedicated to meeting rooms and business, three restaurants, two bars, a leisure club the Radisson is an excellent new addition to Glasgow’s hotel scene.  The stunning interiors were designed by local Glaswegian architects Donald+Murray and are very stylish, in keeping with Glasgow’s reputation as a cosmopolitan and chic city.

Situated near Peebles in the Scottish Borders, the Macdonald Cardrona Hotel, Golf and Country Club is due to open in May 2003 and will feature 100 bedrooms, a 100-seat restaurant, 3 bars, luxurious Spa, leisure club and golf course. Meetings for up to 200 people can be accommodated, with the main meeting room boasting floor to ceiling windows and views over the golf course and Tweed Valley.  Only 30 miles from Edinburgh, yet in the heart of rolling Borders countryside, the hotel will also be able to offer a variety of activities in their extensive grounds.

The Glasshouse is a new boutique hotel in Edinburgh, a new venture in Scotland for the Eton Town House Group, which presently has 4 hotels in England.  The hotel is situated in the increasingly fashionable East End of Edinburgh, which has seen a massive face lift in the last year, including the recently opened Harvey Nichols Store.   This contemporary hotel, opening in late Spring 2003, will boast 66 bedrooms, which either have an individual patio garden or a balcony with views across the city.   This £3 million property will offer guests a homely atmosphere

Other News: New Spa at the Old Course Hotel

The five star Old Course Hotel at St. Andrews have recently launched their new Spa.  The Spa, with a new Suite of therapy rooms supported by Clarins, Thalgo, and Pevonia Botanica, positions the Old Course resort as a leading spa destination.   Guests can even enjoy treatments looking out over the famous Links Courses!  In addition to a wide range of treatments, the Spa also offers a sparkling indoor swimming pool, cardiovascular gym, resistance weights suite, sauna, and steam room.  The new Spa adds to the Old Course Hotel’s existing facilities, which include 136 luxurious bedrooms, a selection of meeting rooms, 3 restaurants, 2 bars and a championship golf course.

EICC Expansion

Plans have been unveiled by the Edinburgh International Conference Centre to expand their existing facilities. The proposal is to double the additional function space within the centre with the addition of an extra 2000 square metres of high quality, high specification space to meet the needs of the changing conference market.  Expected opening of the new facility will be in 2006 at a cost of approximately £25 million.

 Loch Lomond Shores

This £60 million complex opened its doors in 2002, and brings together the elements that visitors to Scotland want; outstanding scenery, unbeatable heritage, culture and high quality facilities.   At the heart of the project is a stunning visitor attraction building.  Designed by one of Scotland’s leading architects, the contemporary design is reminiscent of an ancient Scottish castle with a 6 storey glazed wall overlooking the loch and Ben Lomond. In addition there is a lovely lochside shopping gallery including Jenner’s, the longest established department store in the world, and a choice of cafés and restaurants.  Also part of Lomond Shores is the “National Park Gateway Centre”, the gateway to the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park.   The park is one of Europe’s outstanding natural environments and is home to one of the greatest concentrations of wildlife in the UK.

The Falkirk Wheel

An engineering icon for the 21^st century is an apt description for The Falkirk Wheel.  The 115 ft high wheel – built at a cost of £17 million – links the Forth and Clyde and Union canals and allows small craft to traverse the country from coast to coast.  A substantial visitor centre has been erected at The Wheel and four futuristic amphibious vehicles will allow landlubber visitors to experience the wheel for themselves.

The Sheraton Grand in Edinburgh has recently launched Europe’s most advanced Urban Spa.  Already voted as Britain’s top Spa, “One Spa” aims to combat the stresses and strains of modern life with its many features, including unique heat treatments, a wide range of holistic therapies, and even a hydropool where you can indulge in some hydrotherapy massage outdoors overlooking Edinburgh’s rooftops!  Both residents and non-residents can benefit from use of the Spa, so Kudos can arrange packages as required for clients who wish to recharge their batteries during their stay in Scotland

Apex Hotels are shortly to be adding to their Edinburgh hotel portfolio with the launch this summer of their new 4-star deluxe hotel, the Apex City.   Located in the Grassmarket near their International Hotel, the City is the result of a conversion of a former Bank of Scotland building.  With 119 bedrooms, some with Castle views, an art gallery, Library lounge areas on each floor and a new Agua Restaurant and Bar, the City Hotel is destined to be yet another Apex success story.

Gleneagles, the world-famous 5-star resort property in the heart of Perthshire is soon to launch their exciting new development, Braid House.  This four storey building is due for completion in Autumn 2002 and will be linked to the main hotel by a glazed corridor.  Featuring 59 bedrooms, four syndicate rooms and its own reception, Braid House will bring Gleneagles’ total number of bedrooms to 275.  More exciting news for Gleneagles was recently announced with the Drambuie Scottish Chef of the Year Award going to the hotel’s very own Andrew Fairlie for his fine dining restaurant of the same name.  The restaurant, which opened only last year already boasts a Michelin star.

The Edinburgh Malmaison Hotel, which is situated in Leith, the waterfront area of the city, is soon to be adding 40 bedrooms to bring the total number of bedrooms to 100.  The additional bedrooms will be launched in July and will of course be in keeping with the elegance and style we have come to expect from the Malmaison brand.  The Malmaison group now has hotels in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Newcastle, Manchester, Leeds and are currently building in Birmingham and London.   Malmaison was voted best UK Hotel Group 1999, 2000 and 2001 by Guardian and Observer Publications.

The Society of Incentive & Travel Executives (SITE) has set up a Scottish Chapter.  The Scottish chapter was officially launched at Dundas Castle in April 2002 with an initial 34 local members signed up.  The Scottish chapter’s aim is to promote Scotland’s profile as a world-class incentive destination.

Radisson SAS will be opening their new five-star property in Glasgow this October.  The launch of the 250-bedroom hotel represents only the second venture in Scotland for the international chain, their Airth Castle property is located near Falkirk, between Edinburgh and Glasgow.

A new Superfast Ferry Service now links Edinburgh with the Continent.  Two ultra-modern cruise-class passenger ferries provide daily links between the port of Zeebrugge in Belgium and Rosyth near Edinburgh.  The service, launched in May 2002 by Superfast Ferries, a subsidiary of the Greek company Attica Enterprises, has a journey time of 17.5 hours.