Highland hostel reopens after flood
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A POPULAR Highland hostel has reopened after it was devastated in a flash flood last year.
Inverness Student Hotel, which sits on Culduthel Road near to the riverside, opened its doors this week and began to welcome guests after it was flooded in freak weather conditions last August.
Hostel owners have spent the last five months getting the dorm-type accommodation back up and running, after it was suddenly closed in the wake of the floods.
In the course of two days, last August, more than a whole months rain fell in the matter of hours, leaving Inverness and Dingwall at the heart of flash flooding.
In Inverness city centre, water flooded down Culduthel Road and Old Edinburgh Road and converged in Inverness Student Hotel.
At the time, business owner Jo Morgan said the flood triggered the fire alarm and resulted in the building being temporarily evacuated.
Immediately following the flooding, Miss Morgan asked the council to clear the nearby road gulleys, knowing further rain was forecast, but was told there was only one cleaning machine available for the area.
The backpackers hostel was full with 57 guests when the flood happened. The hostel was fully booked for the whole of August and missed out on up to £1000 a night during the closure.
It took the business owners more than six weeks to dry out the building by using dehumidifiers and industrial heaters.
Since then, staff have embarked on a complete refurbishment of the accommodation.
In a statement on social media, owners said: “ We’re ever so proud and happy to announce our grand reopening, just in time for the dawn of a new decade.
“Following months of repairs and redecoration, the Inverness Student Hotel is back, better and brighter than ever.
“Thank you for all your patience and understanding – your beautiful messages of support and hope kept us going through these tough times. To a year of new beginnings and great opportunities.”
Visitors from all over the world welcomed the news, with people as far afield as Argentina, Holland and the USA commenting on the post.
Guest, Juli Palladino Gonzalez said: “So glad you’re back.”
