Cairnbaan Hotel to be renovated and reopen
The Cairnbaan Hotel near the Crinan Canal has been bought by a company with big plans for major investment and renovation.
Husband and wife team Mark and Jennifer Watson own Advanced Group Scotland building company based in Glasgow – and say they have the resources required to bring the hotel up to a high standard.
They picked up the keys to the Cairbaan Hotel on Friday, but have also bought the Royal Hotel in Tighnabruaich and have big plans to redevelop that too.
Mark said: “Because we are very keen boaters and the Royal Hotel is in such a brilliant spot for the Kyles of Bute, it was something we could really develop.
“We only wanted one hotel but after visiting Oban, we drove into the car park at Cairnbaan, looked at the canal and within 20 minutes decided we had to have a go at this.
Work has started on renovating the Cairnbaan Hotel. Photograph: Advanced Group Scotland
“It is a fantastic location. We are spreading ourselves a bit thinly, but we think it could work quite well. While we are waiting for red tape with one project, we can hopefully be making progress with the other.
“We are fairly experienced professional builders.”
They have already had structural engineers in looking at Cairnbaan. Mr Watson said the extension, which went up the 1960s is not visually attractive, but they have plans to futureproof the building.
There will be lots of glass to let the light in and doors which can be opened in sunny weather.
All of the bedrooms will be properly insulated and the entire hotel will be refurbished to a high standard.
The Watsons have experience of creating five star B&B accommodation. It was during a planning hearing last year that a question from Councillor Jan Brown got them thinking.
Mark said: “She asked why we were turning private houses into B&Bs when quality hotels are what is needed in Argyll and Bute. It stuck with me.
“We have got the capital to do bigger projects so let’s invest.
“We want to hit the ground running. We understand what we are doing. We want to achieve a futureproof, insulated building, to make it sustainable.”
They plan to modernise the hotel, provide a nice bistro style restaurant to attract locals, boaters and visitors to Scotland.
Mark added: “There are so many beautiful things about the location of Cairnbaan. The cliffs behind the hotel – those need to be up-lit. Can you imagine how that would look at night?”
With renovations getting underway now, the couple hope the Cairnbaan’s restaurant could be open in 12-14 months and the hotel another six months from then.
There is a similar timescale with the Royal at Tighnabruaich.
The previous owner of the Cairnbaan Hotel was forced into insolvency in December 2023 after a series of set-backs, starting with the Covid lockdown, winter closures of the Crinan Canal and finally the prolonged closure of the A816 due to a landslide south of Ardfern in October last year.
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