News from The McMillan Hotels

Celebrations at McMillan as group takes top hotels awards

McMillan Hotels are the toast of Scotland after being voted the country’s top hotels group and picking up the Scottish Luxury Hotel of the Year Award.

The family-run group, which began in 1962 with the North West Castle in Stranraer, now owns seven hotels in South West Scotland and the Borders, including the Hydro and Park Hotels in Peebles which it acquired last November. The others include the Cally Palace in Gatehouse of Fleet, Kirroughtree House in Newton Stewart and the Fernhill Hotel in Portpatrick.

Its Glenapp Castle in Ballantrae in South Ayrshire, a member of the Relais & Chateaux Association, was named Luxury Hotel of the Year in the Scottish Hotels of the Year Awards at a sparkling ceremony attended by 350 guests in Edinburgh.

The nominations and voting process ran for three months, and was judged by an expert panel including the Chief Executives of VisitScotland.com and the Scottish Tourism Forum.

Glenapp, whose 17 bedrooms and suites look out over the castle’s gardens or across the Irish Sea to Ailsa Craig, beat off competition from some of Scotland’s best known hotels including Greywalls at Gullane, and the Howard and Balmoral in Edinburgh.

Glenapp’s head chef Tristan Welsh was also Very Highly Commended in the Hotel Chef of the Year category.

In their citation, the judges said the Hotel Group of the Year Award had been hotly contested and described McMillan’s acquisition of Peebles Hydro as a smart business move. They added:

“The group’s hotels are distinctive and have a charming lack of uniformity."

They described Glenapp as:

“A castle hotel in an enviable, elevated location. Transformed with dedication by owners Fay and Graham Cowan, it is the epitome of a luxurious country estate hotel.”

Director Douglas McMillan said the Awards were further endorsements of the high standards which the group maintained in all its establishments.

“We are particularly pleased that these accolades are based on the votes of guests who have enjoyed our hotels and the opinions of some of Scotland’s leading experts in the hotels and hospitality sector,” he added.

Graham Cowan, who manages Glenapp Castle with his wife Fay, described the Award as:

“a magnificent tribute. It is very satisfying and encouraging to be given this honour in the face of fierce competition from many larger hotels.”

Glenapp, opened in 2000 following a six-year restoration, has three AA red stars and rosettes, four red turrets from Michelin, five stars from the Scottish Tourist Board, and won Johansen’s Most Excellent Country House Award in 2002.

Peebles Hydro was first runner-up in the family hotel category, and Highly Commended in the spa section of the Scottish Hotels Awards.

And to round off a splendid night for the McMillan group, the Cally Palace Hotel was Commended in the family hotel category.

ENDS :: Latest News >> 2005 news