HotelChatter

Tags: Hotel News / Ken McCulloch / Scotland Hotel Reviews / → All Tags

Meat Trolleys Return to One Devonshire Gardens

Where: 1 Devonshire Gardens,, Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom, G12 0UX

Yesterday we looked at Scottish hotelier Ken McCulloch who started his hotel career by opening Scotland first boutique hotel, One Devonshire Gardens Hotel. However, the place was recently sold to the upscale UK group, Hotels du Vin. With the pairing comes a new bistro that Hotel du Vin is so known for, while at the same time one that takes careful consideration to Devonshire Gardens' past.

Sticking true to the preferences of its people, guests can expect a trolley lunch at the bistro's opening tomorrow and the trolley will be there to stay. (What is with the U.K. and their trolleys?)

Hotel du Vin will also be supplying alcohol as wine is now a major highlight at the bistro and Again, sticking to tradition, the bistro will feature Sunday afternoon tea hours as well as a roast.

After all this gorging guests can relax in the 5-star quality that One Devonshire Gardens has always provided. A few new changes by Hotel du Vin include, big surprise, a wine theme. You'd really think the Hotel du Vin group came out of France or Italy. But nope, U.K. it is and soon this Scottish hotel will have some brand new rooms to go along with their tasty trolley and stocked whisky room:

While the restaurant has been given its own new look, the rest of the hotel is also being revamped, with Hotel du Vin spending £11.5m on the purchase and refurbishment. A total of 14 new bedrooms are being created, with each named after a different wine. In the whisky bar, bistro and main bar, paintings and iconic photographs of vineyards and wine bottles hang on the walls.

Despite all the wine themes and upgrading, it's nice to hear the hotel is sticking to its old world charms. Those are really the only reason anyone goes to Scotland anyway--for the Scottish accents and meat trolleys.

Related Stories:
· Return to tradition for luxury hotel [The Herald]
· One Devonshire Gardens Reviews [TripAdvisor]
· Hot Scottish Hotelier News: Ken McCulloch [HotelChatter]

Tags: Hot Hotelier News / Ken McCulloch / → All Tags

Hot Scottish Hotelier News: Ken McCulloch

Ken McCulloch, the proprietor behind the swank Columbus Hotel in Monaco, may be the Ian Schrager of boutique hotel chains in Europe.

Back in the 1980s,  McCulloch turned a Glasgow townhouse into the city's first boutique hotel, One Devonshire Gardens which was later visited by celebs like Bob Dylan, Madonna and now famous chef Gordon Ramsay, who oversaw the hotel restaurant.

One Devonshire Gardens was the jumping off point for McCulloch who then started the Malmaison hotel chain in 1994 (the first new UK hotel chain in 30 years) which he later sold. Now he is intent on expanding both the Columbus chain and the Dakota Hotels chain throughout the UK. A sensibly  priced boutique brand, the first Dakota hotel has opened in Nottingham and was listed as one of Conde Nast 2005 top hotels pick. Similarly, the Columbus Monaco was rated best independent hotel in the UK.

However unlike Schrager who depended on the artist Julian Schnabel to decorate his Gramercy Park Hotel, McCulloch uses his wife Amanda Rosa who is an award-winning hotel designer.

And while Schrager made his mark with the Studio 54 nightclub, McCulloch made his millions and fames as the man who started the Spaghetti Factory. He later sold it off to a US company so that they could grace us with this hokey dining experience across the heartland.

Having been in the hospitality industry his whole life and having been successful too, McCulloch really has no need for modesty as his explains his life work:

You're blessed with mediocrity. You're cursed with high standards. I never want to get good at hindsight. I've never done anything just in order to sell it because you can't do anything with passion if that's your goal. Having said that, I've sold everything I've done."

Related Stories:
· Ken Mcculloch: Hotel giants, check this out - 'I am absolutely going for these people' [The Independent UK]
· Ken McCulloch: Restless Native [Scottish Hospitality Jobs]
· Columbus Monaco reviews [TripAdvisor]