Clayton Hotel Edinburgh, St Andrew Square

Clayton Hotel Edinburgh, St Andrew Square will convert a vacant, Category A-listed former bank building on one of the New Town's most prestigious squares into a 172-room, zero-carbon hotel for Dalata Hotel Group. Acquired for £12.5 million in 2023 as part of a roughly £50 million project, the room count has grown across successive planning revisions from 153 to 172, with completion targeted for the second half of 2026.

The place

The hotel occupies 28 St Andrew Square, fronting one of the most prestigious addresses in Edinburgh's New Town, close to the city's key corporate and leisure demand drivers.

The concept

Dalata Hotel Group, Ireland's largest hotel operator, bought the Category A-listed building — vacant and previously approved only for office use — for £12.5 million from Aviva Life & Pensions UK in September 2023, as part of a circa £48-50 million total investment including construction. The building had planning permission for an extension to both the rooftop and rear, and Dalata's revised planning application increased the room count across successive versions, from an initial 153 rooms in the 2023 acquisition announcement, to 167 following a later approval, to the 172 rooms now confirmed on both Dalata's own development-pipeline page and the Clayton Hotels website. The hotel is designed to operate with zero on-site carbon emissions and, once open, will be Dalata's third hotel in Scotland alongside its existing Glasgow properties.

Dining & wellness

A bar, restaurant and dry gym are planned, along with two large first-floor meeting rooms with period features overlooking St Andrew Square.