Scotland

Restoring The Royal Hotel

Royal Hotel

A £2.8 million redevelopment project to repair and restore The Royal Hotel in Campbeltown is now complete.

The project was finished in April 2012 and included the refurbishment of the existing hotel, along with the erection of a bedroom extension over the former function suite.

The project was completed for Southworth Development LLC, a Massachusetts based company that specialises in the development of residential resort and hospitality communities. In addition to The Royal Hotel, Southworth Development LLC has recently completed a similar refurbishment of the Ugadale Hotel in nearby Machrihanish.

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Work began in March 2011, with Graham Construction as the main contractor and Glasgow based practice GD Lodge as the project architects. Tim Sullivan of Southworth Development LLC was the project manager, W.A. Fairhurst & Partners was the structural consultant, J. R. Cant Building Services Design was the mechanical and electrical consultant and Van Dijk Design conducted the interior design work.

The Royal Hotel is a four-storey C listed hotel that was built in 1908. During the 1940s, the hotel underwent significant refurbishment following a German bomber attack on Campbeltown Harbour. A function suite was added to the west end of the hotel in the early 1980s but little has changed since then.

Royal Hotel

The hotel is in two distinct halves, comprising the historic stone and brick structure and the function suite. Under the project, the existing concrete and steel structure of the function suite was retained for the ground and first floor levels, whilst a new timber structure was added above to form the remaining two floors of the building. This new extension features a painted render facade with ashlar stone window details to compliment the distinctive character of the building.

Internal works involved substantial alterations to the existing structure to create 23 luxury guest rooms above the remodelled reception, restaurant and public bar.

In addition to these works, the internal fabric of the building was stripped back to the masonry shell and upgraded with insulating plasterboard and new acoustic partitions. Ceilings were then stripped back to the existing joists so that an acoustic separating ceiling could be installed. The existing stair and service hoist was also removed to make way for a new stair and lift core.

Royal Hotel

A similar design layout was incorporated on each level of the upper floors which has helped achieve a uniform design throughout the building.

Care was taken with the interior design to utilise many of the building’s original features, including existing fireplaces, plaster detailing and historic stained glass windows. Plumbing and electrical services were also distributed around the building and communication and fire safety points were installed.

External works included replacing the existing slates and the replacement of matching cast iron gutters and downpipes. The existing sash windows were also replaced with new sash and case windows by Blairs Windows. Substantial stone repairs were undertaken sensitively and deliberately avoided works to stones that had been marked or pitted as part of the historic bomb damage. These works were implemented in association with Campbeltown Townscape Heritage Initiative (THI).

Royal Hotel

Public realm works included the formation of an outdoor seating area and the upgrade of the existing hard landscaping. This part of the project was implemented in conjunction with Kinloch Road Regeneration (KRR).

The Royal Hotel will reopen in May 2012.

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