Islay Hotel Reconstruction Started

The view of Port Ellen will change dramatically now that the old Islay Hotel, a prominent feature of the village, will be demolished in the next few weeks. The Islay Hotel is located on the corner of Charlotte Street and Frederick Crescent at the entrance of the harbour. Already on September 13 last year I wrote about the reconstruction of the Hotel and the fact that it would open in 2008, which is now not very likely. A lot of people are used to the view the old hotel offers, a bit desolate, old, deserted but not without a certain charm and memories of times past. Some like it, others hate it and this is all going to change....

Last week the first phase of the demolition started, with years of delay, due to capacity problems of Scottish Water to bring enough water to the new hotel, and other unforeseen matters. In this first phase most nonstructural elements will be removed before the real demolition of the outer structure will commence in the next few weeks. The initial rebuild will see the creation of eight high quality letting rooms plus a 40 seat restaurant and bar. Another ten rooms will be added as the project progresses. The new hotel will look very much like the original structure and will also have a traditional exterior. It has been designed to blend as sympathetically as possible with its surroundings and so while it will retain many of the original features it will not be quite as high as the existing building.

Islay hotel seen from the back