McKays Hotel bar and restaurant has expanded its Pitlochry footprint with the £250,000 conversion of a former Italian café into new townhouse accommodation in the Highland Perthshire town.
The business – part of Turas Hotels – has created seven en-suite bedrooms across the top two floors of the Victorian building, with two self-catering apartments on the ground and basement levels. The site sits on Atholl Road, opposite the main hotel.
The development follows a £1.25m investment three years ago to add 12 bedrooms and a 100-seat function suite.
Co-owner Richard Drummond said: “It has been an incredible journey. With McKays developing into more rooms and a much bigger food and beverage business, we decided to convert the cafe into rooms because we felt there was demand for more up-market self-catering accommodation in Pitlochry and we wanted the Townhouse to offer something slightly different to the rest of McKays. I am really proud of what we’ve achieved.”
The new rooms, furnished in a contemporary Scottish style, expand the group’s offer as Pitlochry continues to draw domestic, UK and international travellers. The town attracts about 500,000 visitors each year and sits just off the A9 arterial route.”
Tourism interest has been boosted further by the appointment of Hollywood actor Alan Cumming as artistic director of Pitlochry Festival Theatre – billed as “the theatre in the hills” – with events planned throughout the year.
Drummond said ongoing investment was central to the group’s approach. He added: “As a business, we are always looking to invest and improve and that is the same philosophy across the whole Turas Hotels portfolio. Pitlochry, as a town, punches above its weight. It is a great hub for tourists to come and that encourages businesses to invest.
“What is magic about Pitlochry is that you get tourists from Glasgow, Edinburgh and down south but, equally, you’ll be welcoming guests from Brazil. In terms of McKays Townhouse, the apartments in particular are more likely to appeal to those who want to stay for three or four days rather than one or two nights. We like to exceed expectations so that is what we are trying to achieve with the McKays Townhouse.”
