New jute mill hotel ready for summer

A £23 MILLION hotel development in a Dundee jute mill will be ready for guests before this year’s Open Championship tees off at Carnoustie in July.

One half of the former Baxter Brothers jute mill in Constable Street is being turned into a boutique hotel, while the remainder of the building will house serviced apartments.

Run by Focus Hotels Management, Hotel Indigo Dundee will boast 102 guest rooms, while the Staybridge Suites will have 85 apartments.

Builders have been working on the development for more than a year. It will also see the demolition of the former Marquee building before the hotel opens. It includes a restaurant, named Daisy Tasker after a former mill employee who arranged social functions for workers.

Builders are expected to finish at the start of June and it is hoped the hotel will welcome its first guests soon after.

General manager William Inglis said he believes the new hotel will attract visitors to Dundee in its own right. He said: “Regardless of the V&A, hotels have been looking at Dundee and seeing there is a gap in the market.

“The V&A is a bonus — we’ll work with places such as Verdant Works and the Discovery but it is our responsibility to bring more people to Dundee.”

Mr Inglis said he believed the market in Dundee can sustain the growing number of hotels.

In addition to Hotel Indigo and the Staybridge Apartments, and the existing Apex and Malmaison, Marriott has plans to open a boutique hotel opposite the V&A and the Sleeperz above the railway station will open within a few weeks. He said Hotel Indigo will stand out because of the building’s heritage.

Exposed brick has been retained in the ceilings, while jute has been used to make the throws that will cover the beds.

Other local industries have influenced the decor — one of the completed rooms features cheat codes for Grand Theft Auto along a wall, while artwork inspired by Arbroath drinks firm Bon Accord is also on show.

One of the new Hotel Indigo rooms.