An Aberdeen hotel that has been closed for more than three years has been taken over.
Honiley 1 Ltd has bought the former Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express near the old Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre (AECC) in Bridge of Don.
Work is ongoing to revamp the buildings, although a date for reopening is yet to be announced. They will be operated by Countrywide Hotels Ltd.
Despite local suggestions the hotels will be used by asylum seekers, the Home Office confirmed to The Press and Journal they have no plans to do so.
Who are Honiley 1 Ltd?
Honiley 1 Ltd is owned by brothers Ravi and Sanjay Kathuria, and was previously known as Talash Hotels No 1 Ltd.
Accommodation within its UK-wide portfolio includes Risley Hall Hotel in Derbyshire and Stoke Rochford Hall Hotel and Golf Resort in Lincolnshire. It also previously owned the Huntly Arms Hotel in Aboyne.
But in 2021, the Kathuria brothers were fined nearly £430,000 for running a “deathtrap” hotel in Warwickshire.
A total of 38 fire safety laws were breached, with smoke alarms covered in plastic bags, fire escapes blocked by laundry, and faulty fire alarms. The walls and ceilings were also found to be crumbling.
Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service said at the time if a fire had broken out, it would likely have led to a “widespread loss of life”.
It was not the first time the firm landed up in court for breaching health and safety regulations, with a further £50,000 fine issued in 2012 for failings at the Allesley Hotel in Coventry.
According to Companies House, there is an “active proposal to strike off” Talash Limited. Its accounts are overdue, while Talash Hotels Ltd has both its accounts and confirmation statements overdue.
Why have the hotels been closed for so long?
Both of the Bridge of Don hotels have lain vacant for a number of years, with the newer Holiday Inn Express shutting for the final time during the pandemic in March 2020.
The older Holiday Inn and the attached restaurant has been closed for over five years.
They were ideal for visitors to the old AECC, but when the events complex relocated the site was split up. The conference centre part of the old AECC – including the iconic observatory tower – is now owned by King’s Church and the old arena has been earmarked for housing.
A spokeswoman for Countrywide Hotels said: “The hotel is currently undergoing a refurbishment. We do envisage the hotel and restaurant opening in the near future, however, as works are still ongoing, we do not currently have a date for this.”