Is Bridge of Allan's lack of tourist accommodation holding it back?

“Are you thinking about buying it?”

Pausing outside Bridge of Allan’s former Royal hotel, the local woman asking the question smiles hopefully.

She’s one of many residents who walk past the large, derelict building on the town’s main thoroughfare on a daily basis, and has watched it degrade since its closure in 2020.

It’s a stark contrast to the rest of the bustling high street, which is home to a variety of independent shops, restaurants, bakeries and other businesses.

But The Royal isn’t the only hotel in the area that has closed recently.

Douglas Ross, owner of Allanwater Brewhouse, has been in Bridge of Allan since 1983 and used to own The Queens Hotel.

“This was an amazing village. It had nine hotels and it was vibrant,” he recalls.

“Every hotel had its function room and its bedrooms and a bar, so all these people were spending money in the community.

“And then, one by one, they’ve closed down. The Meadowpark is the only hotel in town.

“They’ve either been turned into flats, or they’re lying derelict. And it’s a real shame, because we are a tourist village.”

In our analysis of Bridge of Allan’s tourist accommodation provision we investigate:

• Why the area has loved and lost so many hotels
• What tourists are really looking for – according to local business owners
• How a lack of function spaces is negatively impacting Bridge of Allan
• The likelihood of The Royal hotel ever reopening

Why did so many Bridge of Allan hotels close down?

“We shouldn’t lose sight of this: we still do very well for day tourism,” argues Euan Bain, owner of the aforementioned Meadowpark bar, kitchen and rooms.

“You walk up that high street on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon and it is rammed with thousands of people that have come here for the day.”

Douglas and Euan refer to Bridge of Allan as ‘Stirling‘s West End’ – a destination for high-quality food and drink just outside the city.

And they are joined by other local business owners in feeling frustrated about the decline in tourist accommodation in their town.

They argue that if there were more visible hotels and holiday lets (and perhaps fewer run-down empty hotel buildings) those daytime tourists would stay longer.

“I think the hotels closed down because they weren’t getting busy,” says Euan.

‘Where I think the opportunity lies is for an £80, £90, £100-a-night room’

“But not because there wasn’t demand – because they’d failed to evolve and they’d failed to modernise.”

The hotelier admits that his own business model of four luxury rooms at a higher price point isn’t necessarily what Bridge of Allan needs.

“Where I think the opportunity lies is for an £80, £90, £100-a-night room,” he explains.

Lack of function spaces has knock-on effects

The answer might seem simple to an outsider, or even to people living in the town: refurbish The Royal, make its bedrooms more affordable, and reopen its function space.

Local property manager Alastair Heron believes the return of large function rooms would be a huge benefit to the wider town.

He says: “On a Saturday night 10 years ago, you would have gone into the Westerton Arms and there would have been loads of people in kilts and fancy dresses because they were evening guests at a wedding at The Royal. And that just doesn’t happen anymore.”

These days, a large marquee outside The Meadowpark is where the majority of Bridge of Allan’s celebrations and parties take place.

“It’s booked every single weekend in the summer because there are no function facilities in the whole village. And that’s a tent in a car park,” Euan explains.

Will The Royal hotel reopen?

But The Royal’s current dilapidated state means serious investment would be required to renovate and reopen the hotel.

The C-listed Victorian property was purchased by Fairview International School in 2021, with a plan to convert it into boarding accommodation for pupils.

The high costs quoted for this work, and the sheer scale of the project, prompted the school to put the hotel back on the market.

It is currently listed for sale at £1.25 million – a drop from its original £1.5 million price.

There are several Airbnbs operating in Bridge of Allan, and Alastair feels an aparthotel would be successful in the town. But he says it’s unlikely to be inside The Royal, as it stands.

“I can’t see The Royal ever getting reopened in its current condition, just because it’s so bad,” says Alastair.

“The last time I walked around it was about a year ago. It was terrible then, and it’s only going to get worse now.”

Douglas agrees: “It would be great if a big hotel company came in. I would love to see The Royal resurrected. But that’s a demolition job.”

The impasse is clear; the solution is not.

Nonetheless, there is a sense of untapped potential that motivates the Discover Bridge of Allan community development trust (of which Douglas and Euan are founding members) to keep promoting the area and pushing for investment.

“I think we’re perfectly placed as a base,” says Euan, who suggests tourists flying into Edinburgh or Glasgow could enjoy a few days exploring the village before heading to the Highlands or the Borders.

“One of the reasons I live here is that I can be in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee, all in less than an hour, whether I’m in the car or on the train.

“And that attraction has got to be the same for tourists.”