New lease of life for the Sannox Bay Hotel
The future looks bright again for the Sannox Bay Hotel after it was bought by a Scottish company which specialises in bringing closed hotels back to life.
It is the fifth in a series of hotel purchases by propetry co-operative the Real Dragons’ Den and member Russ McLean, who grew up on Arran, plans to return home to oversee its restoration.
Since 1999 some 27 closed-down buildings have been refurbished and reopened by the Real Dragons’ Den team to date. The group completed the purchase of the Sannox hotel last month after seeing it advertised for sale in the Banner at the end of last year.
Refurbishment will begin as soon as it has the new lighthouse offices near John O’Groats up and running.
The Arran project is scheduled to start later this month or early May and take a significant part of the season.
While the company says the timing is not ideal it hopes the hotel may reopen in time to catch some of the 2018 season, athough it said it should be ready for the early shoulder season in 2019 when university geologists from all over the UK descend on Arran and give local businesses a welcome boost.
Mr McLean, who grew up at his parents Blackrock House B&B in Corrie, said: ‘From experience, we know that the contemporary public house side of this type of business is dying off. So we shall be concentrating more on the self-catering element – with residents having the option to eat in the tearoom if they wish.
‘This is a fairly subtle change in the business model, but important if the future viability of these premises as a tourist facility is to continue.
‘In addition we shall be making efforts to increase the accessibility for people with disabilities.’
The new owners say the hotel has been kept in good condition during the period of closure, although a redecoration plus new furniture and carpets will be part of the 2018 refurbishment.
There are other areas of the hotel requiring a significant amount of work and the conservatory is in need of repair and an overhaul.