The Kintyre Forum

Just noticed on Ourproperty email

The Royal Hotel, Main Street, PA28 6AG - Sold for £150,000 on 12-02-2008

Have i missed something?

Bit odd, isn't it, given that Brian Keating was only saying in the Courier six weeks ago that the hotel would be re-opening this year. Maybe that's what he meant, but under new ownership?

Anyone know what the current status of the new golf course is?

I went onto our property. Don't think it's been sold as such as it's an 'updated' sale. Think this means that probably it's been remortgaged. This would be done if theres buildings warrants etc on it.

It doesn't mean hee-haw to be honest.

It happens all the time. You quite often see a sale of a sale of a property. (in terms of a sale within a sale of a company)

Aye like Scott Lithgow selling the shipyard last february to Lithgow Holdings. Same board, same chair.!! (allegedly)

S

I had a wee scroll through this our property. Apparently, a few years ago one of my neighbours sold his house in High Askomil for over 3million! Think that might also be a mistake,eh! Don't think the value of property has jumped that much!!

Just out of interest how much money was it Brian Keating offered this forum?

bit like the rumour I heard that the Auld Clubhouse at Machrihanish had been sold and would be staying open as a bar ??

Just noticed on the AIE site that the developers already had £70000 in 2004 for redoing the Royal!
http://www.hie.co.uk/openness-april-2004.pdf

Says in the Courier today that work on the Royal won't start until next year after development at Ugadale.

How long are they going to pull the wool over the eyes of the Campbeltown people? This hotels is very much the public face of Campbeltown. Right next to the harbour, at the cross, where the bus arrives yet has remained closed for 5 years.

I don't see the point about waiting until the golf course is completed. Campbeltown is crying out for a good hotel. If it was done right it would make money regardless whether or not there is an additional golf course on Kintyre.

Given the cost of rebuilding the Royal properly is almost £2m, and the Ugadale £4m, it makes good business sense that neither would be done without the new golf course open and ensuring demand for such facilities was there. There isn't much point in building average hotels or opening great new hotels and them failing. Most developers would have planned a big new hotel next to the new course (like Trump has done), Machrihanish's Dunes have decided to invest in local facilities that already exist and need significant investment, however the demand for quality hotel beds because of the new course, is not expected to start until summer 2009.

The developers and other local businesses are currenty spending hundreds of thousands of pounds promoting golf in Kintyre to ensure the demand for the golf and accomodation is there when the new course comes on stream. Golf Kintyre has had booths this year at golfing events in Mexico, Orlando, Gothenburg and last weekend at the Scottish Golf Show in Edinburgh, where 20,000 scottish golfers visited. This week they are in Aberdeen promoting Kintyre to the travel tour operators with a booth at Visitscotland expo (http://www.visitscotlandexpo.com/index.php).

They have been paying to fly journalists (over 30 so far) in to visit Machrihanish, to play the existing course and see the new one and write articles in their magazines and newspapers about why golfers should come, they have hired a leading PR firm to get good stories into the general media about Kintyre (surfing, food, music and walking). They have also been working with Loginair, Loch Lomond seaplanes and the Kintyre Express (who have all contributed in kind support for the Golf Kintyre initiative) on developing new and easy ways to get to Kintyre. Rome wasn't built in a day... the golf Kintyre initiative (focused marketing promotion of Kintyre) will run for the next 3 years 2009, 2010 & 2011) and will intensify after the new course opens.

Provided the building warrants to start the building in Machrihanish are granted in the next few weeks and Scottish Water gives the building works the green light the builders will start the works there on the 11th of May.

Golfmad wrote:Given the cost of rebuilding the Royal properly is almost £2m, and the Ugadale £4m ....

So is this £6m the cost for rebuilding the properties (i.e. should they burn to the ground) or the value of the refurbishment? I'm guessing it's the latter(?) as the the former would be a pretty pointless statement.

Golfmad wrote:Machrihanish's Dunes have decided to invest in local facilities that already exist and need significant investment.

The cynic might say this is because this option is significantly cheaper than the cost of building a brand new hotel? What investment, other than the puchase costs, have been made in these buildings?

Golfmad wrote:Provided the building warrants to start the building in Machrihanish are granted in the next few weeks and Scottish Water gives the building works the green light the builders will start the works there on the 11th of May.

Would it not have made "good business sense" to make sure these were in place before the project started?

Golfmad from another thread wrote:the last date I heard for opening to paying customers was.. July or August 2008, but I believe it's also dependant on the Ugadale Hotel accomodation being started.

Still valid and still on track?

according to the original plans the course was pretty much on track so why the delay with the Royal?
I agree with mrn that the Royal is a very prominant building and is in danger of becoming an eysore. That would be such a shame for what I think is a nice looking building.
Oh and the original plans also included facilities next to the course...just like Mr Trump !!!

Golfmad wrote:Given the cost of rebuilding the Royal properly is almost £2m, and the Ugadale £4m, it makes good business sense that neither would be done without the new golf course open and ensuring demand for such facilities was there. There isn't much point in building average hotels or opening great new hotels and them failing.

Why then say work on the Royal will start before Christmas to then announce that work won't even start until next year?

Given the town is crying out for a decent hotel do you not think demand is already there? Perhaps I have missed something but we already have golf courses here with one in particular a huge draw to visitors.

Don't get me wrong I am willing this to suceed all the way but it isn't very nice for us locals to be stuck looking at a decaying hotel in our town centre, is it?

Nevertheless, all the more guests for us.