Irish hoteliers reveal plans for £40m designer hotel in Edinburgh

An Irish hotel company has revealed plans for a new £40m designer hotel to open in central Edinburgh in 2010.

The Fitzpatrick Design Collection, owner of the Beacon and Morgan hotels in Dublin, is to create a 167-bedroom designer hotel on Baxter's Place, next to the Playhouse Theatre in the east end of the city.

The outline plans lodged this week mark the company's first move into the UK and will create over 100 jobs for the city.

The hotel will feature a contemporary 150-seat restaurant, cocktail bar and lounge with Parisian-style terrace, as well as conference and business facilities.

While the front of the building will be restored, architects have also included in their plans a modern extension to the rear of the building plus a glass-constructed penthouse for luxury suites with garden terraces.

Paul Fitzpatrick of Fitzpatrick Design Collection, said: "Edinburgh is a fantastically cosmopolitan city and one of the most desirable places in Europe to invest, visit, work and live. The site at Baxter's Place offers us exactly the opportunity we've been looking for which is an architecturally rich building in a gateway location, brimming with restaurants, bars and entertainment.

"Our plans are to create a designer chic contemporary hotel which would add a lively and attractive venue to the east end, complementing the many plans for the redevelopment of the area."

The Fitzpatrick Design Collection was set up in 2001 by Paul Fitzpatrick to create a portfolio of design-focused boutique hotels.

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By Gemma Sharkey

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