Edinburgh could have the country’s very first luxury static floating hotel if planners approve the conversion of the former Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB) tender, MV Fingal, into a 23 bedroom hotel, which will berth permanently at the Prince of Wales Dock at Leith.
Royal Yacht Enterprises, the trading company behind the Royal Yacht Britannia, plan to invest £3.5m transforming the ship into a ‘boatique’ hotel which is expected to open at Easter 2018. Plans include a wide range of luxury bedroom suites, cabins with private balconies, duplex apartments, and a stunning Presidential Suite.
The hotel concept has been created by the Pedley Group and all the bedrooms will be named after Stevenson lighthouses nominated by the NLB. The interior design, say the company, has been inspired by Fingal’s rich maritime history, blending the avant-garde expectations of discerning guests with the functional necessities of luxury retreats.
Britannia’s Chief Executive Bob Downie said, “Having excelled in the visitor attraction market for nearly 20 years, we are very much looking forward to the challenges of operating in the luxury hotel market and the benefits it will generate for Britannia over the years to come”.
One of the UK hospitality industry’s most eminent and respected figures, Peter Lederer, past UK Hotelier of the Year, and former Chairman of the Gleneagles Hotel said, “This new ‘boatique’ hotel has the potential to be the best hotel experience in Edinburgh, and given the quality of the Britannia experience, I am really looking forward to seeing a new benchmark in Scotland.”