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A £13 million expansion at Norton House Hotel &
Spa by parent-company Hand Picked Hotels will bring an additional £14 million to Edinburgh’s
economy every year.
The development includes a luxurious spa resort to rival the best in Scotland and new state
of the art conference facilities. Norton House Hotel & Spa will also increase its bedroom
capacity from 47 to 83 rooms.
Ronnie MacKay, General Manager for Norton House Hotel & Spa explained: “Edinburgh is
continuing to attract a growing number of conferences from across Europe and beyond, as well as
more business and leisure guests.
“The expansion of Norton House Hotel & Spa will enable us to take advantage of increasing
demand and ensure that Edinburgh is able to provide greater choice than its competitors. Our
investment, according to a comparative study by Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, will generate £14
million for the city, underlining the significance of this development for the whole city.
“We also envisage that we will need up to 40 new members of staff, generating employment in
the local area in catering, conferencing and spa positions to ensure we can continue to provide the
high levels of service our guests are accustomed to.”
Norton House Hotel & Spa’s new meeting and conference facilities, which are due to open
in December 2007, will cater for parties between two and 200 people and will be fully equipped with
free broadband and Wi-Fi access.
Ron Hewitt, Chief Executive of Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce said: “We are continually
striving to ensure that our City is the most attractive proposition for inward investment which it
can be. The Norton House Hotel is an outstanding example of the level of quality our
hospitality sector can offer, so we take this substantial investment as a vote of confidence from
Hand Picked Hotels that Edinburgh is a good place to do business. We are also sure their
confidence will be repaid as the West Edinburgh development plan kicks in and the area achieves new
heights as an attractive part of the City to site world-class enterprises.
The new spa, which will also be completed by the end of the year, will provide exclusive
treatments in seven treatment rooms, an 18m x 7m indoor swimming pool, an eight-person hydrotherapy
pool, as well as a new health and fitness suite with personal trainers.
All of the 36 additional bedrooms and suites, which will open in September 2007, will include
LCD TV panels above bathtubs to encourage relaxation after a long day of meetings, sightseeing or
celebrations. Guests will also benefit from the services of a new Internet Protocol Television
service. This will enable guests to record their favourite television programmes so that they can
attend functions, enjoy the hotel’s facilities or travel into the city centre for sight-seeing at
times convenient to them.
- Ends -
Notes for editors:
- Hand Picked Hotels is a unique collection of 14 luxury country house hotels across the UK and
Jersey. The company was created by former City lawyer Julia Hands MBE, the exclusive Hand Picked
Hotels are 14 architecturally splendid former country houses, renowned for stunning interiors,
exquisite food, fine wines and excellent service in a relaxing atmosphere. The hotels are
conveniently located across the UK, from Surrey, Kent and East Sussex, to the New Forest, Jersey
and Edinburgh.
- Julia Hands, Chief Executive and Chair of Hand Picked Hotels was awarded an MBE in the Queens
Birthday Honours List in June 2007 for services to the Hospitality Industry.
- Hand Picked Hotels won AA Hotel Group of the Year 2004-2005 and was presented with the Business
Excellence Award last December by the Tourism Minister for its commitment to customer service and
developing the brand. Julia was presented with the top award in the Tourism and Leisure business
sector of the First Women Awards, organised by the CBI, in conjunction with Real Business magazine,
in July last year.
For further information about Norton House, please contact Jacqueline McDonald
or Yvonne MacFarlane at Barkers PR on 0141 248 5030 or on our mobiles: 07980 783 041 / 07718 641
079. Alternatively, please email:
jmcd@barkers-scot.com or
ymacfarlane@barkers-scot.com
Media Information on Hand Picked Hotels can be obtained from Marion Hardman at Four
Communications on 0870 066 8738 or marion.hardman@fourcommunications.com
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