In A UK First – Travelodge Opens Its 508th Hotel with Topshop

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Edinburgh’s largest hotelier Travelodge is delighted to announce the opening of its 13th hotel in the city with Arcadia Group Ltd – the UK’s largest privately owned clothing retailer.

In a UK first, Travelodge has opened a 96-room Travelodge hotel above Edinburgh’s largest Topshop store in the city’s prestigious retail heartland, Princes Street. The four storey hotel which represents an investment of £10 million has been built in Scotland’s very first steel frame grade ll listed building. In addition to this hotel, Travelodge has also opened an 85-room hotel in a grade ll listed property on Queens Street. This development represents an £8.5 investment and has been built in line with the Company’s ‘Metro’ style hotel model. Both investments have created 40 new jobs within the Edinburgh community.

Travelodge’s Managing Director, Paul Harvey was joined by Malcolm Roughead OBE, Chief Executive of Visit Scotland to officially open both hotels.

Paul Harvey, Travelodge, Managing Director said: “As Edinburgh largest retailer we are delighted to be opening a further two new hotels in the city centre. Since 2008, we have invested £64 million into Edinburgh and today we have 13 great hotels across the city. By offering rooms from £19 we are making Scotland’s capital more accessible to business and leisure customers.”

“With over 16 million people annually visiting Scotland, the need for good quality low cost accommodation is in great demand and our objective now is to grow our properties in other key areas across Scotland. To fulfil this need we are working with our retained property agents Sandy Cameron & Co to find new sites.

“This autumn we are opening a 60-room hotel in Fort William and I am delighted to announce that we have just exchanged on a new property in Glasgow city centre.”

Malcolm Roughead, Chief Executive of VisitScotland, said: “Investment in Scotland’s tourism industry is key to Scotland’s future. There are almost £2 billion worth of projects underway to improve tourism infrastructure across the country and Travelodge’s investment is another welcome addition to this. Edinburgh continues to be one of the jewels in the crown for Scottish tourism and the opening of another two hotels is testament to the city’s eternal appeal.”

Daniel Fountain / 08.06.2012

Editor, Hotel Designs

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Fun fact: I’m usually the person friends rely on to organise trips, schedules, and group plans.

Workhighlights: Successfully coordinating events from planning through to delivery and seeing everything come together on the day.

Fun fact: I’m a keen cyclist and will happily bore people with copious amounts of cycling chat. My top cycling experience (so far) would have to be riding in the spectacular mountains of Crete.

Work highlights: Charles joined Forum Events in 2022. With a background in publishing, editorial media and events, Charles brings a wealth of experience to his role as Senior Production Manager. Having being involved with SPACE from the outset, he is excited to see the brand grow and develop.

Fun fact: People tell Sienna she gives off Bridget Jones vibes, and she loves to bake, always making sure there are shortbreads floating around the office

Work highlights: Sienna joined Forum Events & Media Group while studying Communications and Media, starting in the sales team where she managed and helped launch the first the PA Life Leading Venues of London SHOWCASE, where she built relationships with luxury venues across the capital. Drawn to the stories behind these spaces, she naturally transitioned into the editorial team, creating social media and editorial content. Upon graduating in June 2026, she is excited to be joining as Assistant Editor for Hotel Designs and SPACE.

Fun fact: When not working, Jess can usually be found tending to her kitchen garden in the Sussex countryside or foraging for herbs in the nearby woods. A keen grower, she recently studied a RHS Level 2 Diploma in the Principles of Horticulture during her spare time.

Work highlights: Jess joined SPACE magazine in 2022 and has since progressed from Assistant Editor to Editor. During this time, she has worked across many aspects of the publication – from shaping editorial strategy and overseeing operations to contributing to art direction and representing the brand on stage at industry events including Surface Design Show and WOW!house.

Alongside her role at SPACE, Jess has built a creative career spanning the arts, culture, design and travel sectors. Prior to joining the magazine, she spent more than a decade in the commercial art industry, in artist liaison, gallery management, and curating collections for the hospitality sector across hotels and cruise ships. During this time, she also worked on freelance projects as a writer, photographer, and creative content producer.
 
Jess studied photojournalism at London College of Communication and the Danish School of Media and Journalism and holds a first-class BA (Hons) in Culture, Criticism and Curation from Central Saint Martins.

Fun fact: Katy has spent years perfecting all kinds of accents and loves a good impersonation!

Work highlights: Katy has been with Hotel Designs since the beginning, way back in 2015 when Forum Events & Media Group acquired the brand.

During this time, she has fostered many meaningful relationships with clients from across the hospitality spectrum, as well as playing a pivotal role in the launch of The Brit List Awards, Hotel Designs MEET UPs, client-led roundtables and panel talks, brand and website redesigns, HD Wellness Sets, DESIGN POD podcast, Hotel Designs LIVE panel talk series, Accessible Design Talks and more. Katy is always on the lookout for the next opportunity to help grow the Hotel Designs brand even further.
 
Most recently Katy has stepped in to the role of Publisher at SPACE magazine, the printed bi-monthly publication focused on hotel design, architecture, and development.

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