Aurora Hotels boss Steven McLeod has lavished a cool £1.5m (excluding the purchase price) on refurbishing The Cairn in Auchterarder. The new 10-bedroom boutique hotel opens next month and will boast a 100-cover steak restaurant, a 40-capacity cocktail bar, plus a brand new glass-fronted elevation at the front with a 60-seater terrace. There is also a separate five-bedroom lodge that can be used in conjunction with the hotel or separately. Steven told DRAM, “The unit had gone into receivership and was in a very dilapidated state, as it the work back in October and have made structural as well as design alterations, including a brand new glass reception area and carport to the front of the building. Inside, I worked on the design concept with the Stirling-based Guardian Group, and our objective was high end and luxuriant.” A significant amount of the spend was earmarked for the upgrading of the kitchens, and the inclusion of Josper Grills, which cook the food at 750 degrees. Explains Steven, “Only a handful of UK restaurants use these type of grills, including Gleneagles, and I will be rolling the same steakhouse grill concept across all my units in due course.”
