| From today the hotel will trade under the Swallow brand and, with the further announcement the company has also acquired the Gleddoch House Hotel in Renfrewshire, three Freedom of the Glen hotels in the Western Highlands and the Huntly Arms in Aboyne, Swallow are now firmly established as the largest hotel group operating in scotland.
Hotel director Iain Fleming said, “This is great news for Carnoustie. We will be undertaking a review of the hotel to see what improvements we can make.
“It’s been a very successful hotel for many years and we intend building on that by introducing the Swallow way of working, which guarantees maximum satisfaction for all our customers.
“I am very excited by the new challenge.
“Now that Swallow has landed in Carnoustie, I’m confident that the level of service and quality can only fly higher.”
The hotel and spa resort complex is next to the first tee and 18th green of the world-famous Carnoustie Championship golf course, which played host to the 1999 Open and is recognised as having some of the most challenging golf in the world.
Next year it will be in the international spotlight again when it is the venue for the 2007 Open.
The hotel has 85 bedrooms, including 10 suites, a restaurant and bar and a golf pro shop.
Spa and conference facilities for up to 350 delegates are also on site.
Swallow Hotels chief executive Peter Gray said today, “Including the latest acquisitions, Swallow Hotels now has 67 properties in Scotland.
“We are aiming to have 100 hotels in Scotland by the end of the year and, so far, we are well on track.
“We already own a wide range of hotels that are enjoyed by thousands of customers, offering exceptional standards of service and a wide range of facilities and affordable prices.
“These acquisitions will give customers an even greater choice.”
Tom Graham, Swallow Hotels’ operations director for Scotland, said, “The new acquisitions will also benefit our staff as they will now have even more opportunities to develop and grow within the business.
“This year we will be investing heavily in staff training and development through programmes like the Chefs’ Academy, a comprehensive management training programme and a staff training programme.
“We have also introduced a new staff benefit package and a staff bonus scheme and are attracting some of the highest calibre staff from a variety of our competitors.”
The hotel was built in 1999 at a cost of £6.5 million, by a company that was led by Dundee businessman Michael Johnston.
In June last year it emerged the establishment had lost £700,000, taking its total deficit since opening to £5.9 million. |
