Pitlochry Hotel completes £250 000 Townhouse

Development follows £1.25m rooms investment

A Pitlochry institution has expanded its portfolio in the Highland Perthshire town by investing six figures to convert a former café into an elegant Townhouse accommodation.

McKays Hotel Bar and Restaurant, part of the Turas Hotels group, has completed the £250 000 conversion of a former Italian café, Caffe Scozia, to create the new McKays Townhouse.

Set in an original Victorian building, The Townhouse sees 7 en-suite bedrooms developed over the top two floors, with 2 spacious luxury self-catering apartments on the ground and basement floors.

Located across Atholl Road from the main hotel, the addition of the Townhouse comes just three years after McKays invested £1.25 million to create 12 new bedrooms and a 100-seat function suite.

Meeting demand

“It has been an incredible journey,” said McKays Co-Owner, Richard Drummond.

“With McKays developing into more rooms and a much bigger food and beverage business, we decided to convert the cafe into rooms because we felt there was demand for more up-market self-catering accommodation in Pitlochry and we wanted The Townhouse to offer something slightly different to the rest of McKays.

“I am really proud of what we’ve achieved.”

Visitor hotspot

Furnished and decorated in contemporary Scottish style, the addition of the Townhouse expands McKays’ accommodation offering as Pitlochry continues to attract domestic, UK and international visitors.

Around half a million people annually visit the Victorian Highland Perthshire town, situated off the A9 highland arterial route.

The appointment of Hollywood star Alan Cumming as Artistic Director at the town’s Festival ‘Theatre in the hills’ is also expected to attract even more visitors, with showcase events taking place throughout the year. See the 2026 theatre programme, here.

“As a business, we are always looking to invest and improve and that is the same philosophy across the whole Turas Hotels portfolio,” added Mr Drummond.

“Pitlochry, as a town, punches above its weight. It is a great hub for tourists to come and that encourages businesses to invest.

“What is magic about Pitlochry is that you get tourists from Glasgow, Edinburgh and down south but, equally, you’ll be welcoming guests from Brazil.

“In terms of McKays Townhouse, the apartments in particular are more likely to appeal to those who want to stay for 3 or 4 days rather than 1 or 2 nights.

“We like to exceed expectations so that is what we are trying to achieve with the McKays Townhouse.”

To find out more about Turas Hotels, visit our Businesses to Watch page.