Website www.dakotahotels.co.uk Number of locations 2 (Edinburgh, Glasgow) | Founded 2004 Type of business Private | |
 | ||
Industry Tourism, Travel, Hotel, Hospitality, Restaurant Key people Ken McCulloch
(Chairman) Owner McCulloch Unique Hotels, Evans Property Group | ||
Dakota Hotels (jointly owned and operated by McCulloch Unique Hotels and Evans Property Group) is a lifestyle hotel brand providing hospitality and restaurant services in two boutique hotels based in South Queensferry near Edinburgh Airport and Motherwell near Glasgow.
Contents
The company maintains its corporate headquarters in Glasgow and has begun an expansion across the UK. The brand's new city centre hotels, Dakota Deluxe, are currently under construction in Glasgow and Leeds, with expansion plans underway.
History
Dakota Glasgow was initially opened in 2006 as a new build in Motherwell, off the M8 motorway in Lanarkshire, followed subsequently by another new build in South Queensferry close to Edinburgh Airport in 2007. The concept for these hotels was based on the Dakota airliner (the Douglas DC-3) introduced in 1936 for commercial air travel in the United States.
Currently there are two new hotels under construction. The next is located on West Regent Street in Glasgow, opening in Spring 2016, followed by a fourth hotel on Greek Street in Leeds early 2017.
Other hotels previously launched by McCulloch Unique Hotels include the award-winning One Devonshire Gardens in Glasgow in 1986, the Malmaison brand and the TAG Aviation at Farnborough Airport.
Dakota Deluxe
Dakota Deluxe is a new luxury sub-brand developed by the company suited for city centre locations in the UK. The first instantiation will be Dakota Deluxe Glasgow, opening in Spring 2016 with 83 bedrooms and 11 suites. Leeds will be the second, opening in early 2017. Tentative plans include expansion into other cities in England, including Manchester, Birmingham and Cambridge.
Dakota Deluxe hotels are "more confident and more polished, with larger bedrooms" compared to existing Dakota hotels, to suit the needs of city centre travellers. Dakota Deluxe Glasgow will feature a Dakota Bar & Grill, serving "interesting, fresh, sophisticated comfort food." The manager will be Andrew Ovenstone, previously the general manager of Dakota Edinburgh.
The hotels are being developed in conjunction with Evans Property Group, which also has a stake in the two current Dakota properties.
Design
Dakota was conceived and developed by Ken McCulloch, with design being a founding element of the brand. Hotel interiors were designed by Amanda Rosa Interiors (Ken McCulloch's wife), who also designed the Malmaison brand and Columbus Hotel Monaco with McCulloch Unique Hotels.
Educational Partnerships
Dakota Edinburgh has established links with Queen Margaret University and Fife College to provide internships to hospitality students, and with the Edinburgh College of Art to sponsor local artists. The hotel has established two awards for University students at QMU, focusing on innovative and entrepreneurial dissertations in hospitality.
Both hotels regularly host students under placements and internships across departments.