'Perfect time' for newest Highland hotel to open to guests as staycation boom expected to be fuelled by post-pandemic recovery
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The Highland capital's newest hotel opens its doors to guests today with operators hoping for a post-pandemic visitor boost.
The River Ness Hotel at 83-97 Church Street, in the historic heart of the city centre, includes 76 bedrooms, a bistro, bar and gym, and is aimed at both business and leisure travellers, and replaces a redundant office block previously occupied by the Department of Work and Pensions.
Scotland’s first Radisson Individual Hotel, the Church Street site has been developed by Axcel Hospitality – whose portfolio includes Hilton, Marriott and Accor Hotels – with support from strategic real estate adviser Avison Young.
The real estate advisor has highlighted the ‘staycation boom’ expected for the Highlands over the coming months, as the city’s newest hotel prepares to officially welcome its first guests through its doors.
The acquisition and investment in the River Ness Hotel was supported by Avison Young, who provided a feasibility study on behalf of Axcel Hospitality.
Avison Young’s hotels and leisure team director Ian Derrick is looking forward to an extended summer holiday boom for the latest addition to the Inverness hospitality offering.
“Inverness has been one of the UK’s top performing hotel markets in recent years," Mr Derrick said.
"This has been driven by the increasing tourism profile of the city and the wider Highland region, and reinforced by the limited supply of new hotel developments. The market also benefits from strong corporate demand, providing the city with a good blend of midweek and weekend hotel custom all year round.
“The River Ness Hotel is opening at a perfect time to take full advantage of the incoming Highland staycation boom this summer.
“After an extremely tough 18-month period for the industry, the hotel market in Inverness and the wider Highland region are already enjoying an uptick in bookings, which we expect will continue right through to the autumn.”
Axcel Hospitality director Oushan Deeljore added that Inverness is a market the company had been trying to invest in for some time.
"We are confident this will be a great addition to our existing portfolio of hotels in the UK,” he said.
