Marcliffe Hotel Staying Open

Aberdeen hotelier, Stuart Spence, surprised everyone (including his staff) last month when he announced that he had decided not to retire, and that he was keeping Aberdeen’s Marcliffe Hotel (above) open and family run. The plan had been to sell the hotel to house-builder Stewart Milne, who was planning to demolish it and build houses instead. Now the two parties have, they say, ‘walked away’ from the deal but in mutual agreement. Stuart’s son, Ross, head chef at the Marcliffe, now plans to take over from his father’s front of house role in the long term.