Aberdeen's Marcliffe hotel plans £50m upgrade

Aberdeen's only five-star hotel, The Marcliffe Hotel and Spa, has unveiled plans to invest £50m upgrading and extending the property.

Plans include the addition of 200 bedrooms to the existing 35, an international standard conference centre for up to 400 delegates, dining facilities and a modern spa.

The owner of The Marcliffe, Stewart Spence, said that, as the oil capital of Europe, Aberdeen needed more "modern day five-star hotels with conference facilities".

"Our aim is to attract international conferences, provide five-star tourist facilities and continue to offer the people of Aberdeen the best possible place to enjoy weddings and other important occasions," he told the Scottish Herald.

The hotel, on the western outskirts of the city, was opened by the former Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev in 1993.

Aberdeen has seen a spate of new openings in recent months, with a 135-room Holiday Inn Express, Malmaison's Aberdeen Mal and a Doubletree by Hilton all set to open in the next two months.

Next year will also see several more openings, including a 203-room Jurys Inn hotel, a 184-room Park Inn and a 181-room Courtyard by Marriott hotel at the airport, all scheduled to open in 2009.

Another 119-room hotel with no confirmed operator has received planning permission in the city, as well as a Radisson Edwardian hotel planned to open in 2009/10, with a 107-room Ibis hotel planned for early 2010.

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By Gemma Sharkey

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