A five-star Perthshire hotel has been plunged into administration, with debts of more than £4 million.
The demise of the Dunalastair Hotel Suites at Kinloch Rannoch is being blamed on low occupancy rates and a shortage of skilled staff.
The 32-bedroom landmark, which dates back to the 1700s, is still open for business.
And administrators are working on a strategy to sell it as a going concern.
The Dunalastair Hotel Suites went on the market for £3.25m at the end of last year.
Administrators for Grant Thornton UK LLP say it was put up for sale after the directors advised their bank they were unable to meet their loan repayments.
However, it failed to secure a buyer at that attempt.
In their report on the case, the joint administrators say: “While there was interest in acquiring the hotel, the level of offers submitted were below the asking price.”
Dunalastair Hotel Suites owes bank £3.6m
The hotel is owned by Dunalastair Hotel Ltd and run by a different company Dunalastair Hotel Suites Ltd.
There were 15 employees when the administrators were appointed, but some have since been made redundant.
The administrators say the luxury hotel ran into financial difficulties after it was “unable to maintain occupancy levels at full capacity”.
Their report goes on: “The shortage of skilled staff in the local area resulted in a reliance on agency staff which increased costs and created additional pressures on the cash position of the companies.”
Debts to the bank amount to £3.6m alone.
More than half a million pounds – £555,912 – is due to 56 unsecured creditors.
And another £127,595 is owed to HRMC.
Dunalastair Hotel Suites goes from awards to administration in seven short years
The Dunalastair Hotel Suites shut down previously in 2012, reopening in 2017 after a multi-million-pound refurbishment.
It went on to collect a slew of honours.
In 2018, it was named Boutique Hotel of the Year at the Scottish Hotel Awards and given five-star accreditation by VisitScotland
It was also a Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice Winner for 2023.
However, some recent reviews have been less than forgiving.
One disappointed guest wrote: “Do not book with this hotel. Gone into administration. No cooked breakfast and poor service. If I had know this I would not have booked.”
Another said: “There was no cooked breakfast, no dinner available for anyone and no bar at all. Not quite what one would expect from a 5* hotel.”
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