Leisure group hotels target Scots capital

Two Scottish leisure groups plan to open hotels in Edinburgh's George Street next year.

Bar, restaurant and nightclub operator Saltire Taverns, whose brands include Frankenstein, Espionage and Illicit Still, is converting an old office block into an 18-bedroom hotel.

It will open in February as La Monde hotel, followed later in the year by the 25-bedroom Rutland hotel off Princes Street in Edinburgh. Each hotel will sit above a bar, restaurant and nightclub.

At the same time, Edinburgh bar, restaurant and hotel operator Montpeliers's will open its second boutique hotel and restaurant in the city by early summer. The group, whose venues include Assembly, Indigo (Yard), and Opal Lounge, is spending £5m to revamp a derelict five-storey Georgian building in George Street.

A spokeswoman said it would be much larger than Montpeliers's 10-bedroom Rick's boutique hotel, restaurant and bar and would employ up to 100 staff.