Undertaken by property developer RRH Hanover A Limited, the series of five under-used buildings in Hanover Street and Rose Street will be carefully repurposed into a hotel, with associated guest amenities and ancillary accommodation.

The hotel is designed to operate as a bespoke apartment-style destination, with each room and suite unique and individually styled. The 60 bedrooms have been designed to be accommodated within the existing and proposed buildings which carefully knit together the fabric of the site, respecting the historical context.

The development will serve to consolidate the unused space above several commercial units into a series of interlinked properties, with ground floor units reorganised to make the most of their central location, giving opportunities to businesses leasing the ground floor retail units.

The key concept of adaptive re-use of existing properties is to be reinforced by new build additions at Rose Street and Rose Street Lane. These elements knit together the five blocks of accommodation while improving neglected rear portions of the site and improving the overall universal value of the site.

The development comprises 60 premium bespoke hotel rooms and will be operated by RÌGH Properties. The development also includes the reintroduction of a tearoom on Hanover Street, of benefit to both the local community and visitors. These were once occupied by Crawford’s Tearooms, and development returns these to their former glory, reviving the building’s historical charm.

The founder of the tearooms in the 1920s, William Crawford, wanted them to be an ‘oasis of calm’ in the city centre, and the rooms were decorated and furnished by the artist Robert Burns, a key figure in the Scottish Art Nouveau scene in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Other offers include rooftop terraces, providing dramatic skyline views, a fitness studio and guest lounge overlooking the Mound and Princes Street Gardens.

The development will complement the 27 serviced apartment units which are currently being developed by RRH in a refurbished category-A listed at 71 George Street and will be operated under the RÌGH Properties brand. The company also plans to refurbish 73-75 George Street into managed serviced apartments.

David Grieve from RRH said: “We are incredibly excited to be submitting a planning application for this development, which includes the delivery of 60 unique and individually styled flexible stay hotel suites and luxury bedrooms, as well as returning the fabulous Crawford’s Tea Rooms to their former glory.

“It is anticipated that guests will be discerning and experienced travellers, looking for a boutique stay in a prime location, but without the fuss of a busy city centre hotel. Offering a calm, flexible and luxurious stay, they will have the opportunity to enjoy unique views across the New and Old Towns of Edinburgh and the Firth of Forth beyond the capital’s skyline.

“Delivering a highly sustainable development, this will consolidate unused space above the retail units into a series of linked properties, and conscious of its location, we have been highly sensitive to retaining all buildings and features considered to be of architectural and historic merit.”