Following the announcement that the Marcliffe Hotel is to remain open, we take a look at the history of the hotel.
The original Marcliffe Hotel opened in Aberdeen in 1948 as a place to stay for touring performers, who were appearing at the city’s famous Tivoli Theatre.
It was the brainchild of Clifford Jordan, the band leader at the celebrated Guild Street venue, who spotted an opportunity and decided to convert a house in the city’s Queen’s Terrace.
The venue was known as the Mar-Cliffe – a marriage of Mr Jordan’s Christian name and that of his wife Margaret.
Stewart Spence bought the hotel in 1979 and, in 1983, he moved the business to Queen’s Road, where it was named the New Marcliffe.
In 1993, it was given a new lease of life when it was moved to its current home.
The Marcliffe at Pitfodels was opened by former Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev.
He and his entourage spent a night there during a visit in which the ex-leader was presented with the Freedom of Aberdeen.
From these auspicious beginnings the five-star venue’s reputation was cemented and it became the preferred destination for celebrities and world leaders visiting the north-east.
In the 22 years since, rock star Rod Stewart, actor Charlton Heston and former prime ministers Tony Blair and Margaret Thatcher have all graced the plush corridors and luxury rooms of the hotel.
The North Deeside Road Marcliffe site was originally part of the Wood of Pitfodels, which was set out to feu – a category of Scottish land-holding similar to having a lease in perpetuity – in 1846 by John Menzies, the Laird of Pitfodels.
The feu was purchased by Francis Smith, head accountant of the North of Scotland Bank in Aberdeen in June 1848.
Francis Smith took up residence at the completed Balnagarth, named after the Garthdee area, in 1852.
Subsequent owners included solicitor George Collie, timber merchant Alfred Cordiner and Charles Mitchell of Mitchell’s Car Hire.