A new hotel in a former office building on Albany Street has been granted a premises licence, allowing it to serve alcohol when it opens.
The office at Albany House is being converted into a Hub by Premier Inn hotel.
The hotel chain’s Hub line offers small, no-frills rooms, usually at cheaper prices than those in its mainline locations.
At Monday’s Licensing Board meeting, solicitors for Whitbread PLC, the owner of the chain, asked for a new premises licence for the property.
Councillors approved the application with standard licensing conditions attached, including one that amplified music and vocals should not be an audible nuisance to nearby homes.
The licence will come into effect when a completion certificate has been granted after the renovation is finished.
Built in the 1980s, Albany House, although modern, was said to be designed to blend in with the Georgian townhouses around it.
Most of the external structure of the building will be preserved, with only the façade of the top floor replaced.
The hotel will have 102 bedrooms, as well as a lounge and dining space for guests.
Previously, the firm said it would be completed by summer 2027, but the applicant’s solicitor told the Licensing Committee it could possibly be finished by the end of 2026.
The solicitor added that works were to begin imminently, if they had not already begun.
Albany House previously hosted the offices of Simpson & Marwick, subsequently Clyde & Co, which moved to Saltire Court on Castle Terrace earlier this year.
There are three other Hub by Premier Inn locations in Edinburgh – one at Haymarket, one on Rose Street and a third on the Royal Mile. There is also a larger style Premier Inn on York Place.
By Joseph Sullivan Local Democracy Reporter
