Stewart Spence, the well-known and much-respected Aberdeen hotelier, has died at the age of 77.
Over the years Stewart owned a number of hotels in the city but he was best known for his role in establishing the The Marcliffe as Aberdeen’s only five-star hotel.
Stewart started off at the Station Hotel in Aberdeen in 1962 and worked in Paris and London before returning to Aberdeen in 1972 when he bought the families first hotel – The Atholl. He went on to own and operated six hotels and one restaurant in the city – The Capitol.
The Marcliffe Hotel and Spa was opened in 1993 by former Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev, the family sold the hotel last year to he Balmoral Group. Stewart had retired in 2021 leaving son Ross in charge.
Aberdeen City and Shire Hotels’ Association chairman Frank Whitaker described the news of Mr Spence’s death as “truly the passing of an icon”.
He said, “Stewart was a real professional, recognising at an early stage that Aberdeen needed to work hard together to have legacy success from a burgeoning oil industry.
“Having positioned The Marcliffe as Aberdeen’s luxury place to stay, Stewart was a role model for business leaders. He worked as hard on external influencing, knowing that his business would benefit from better economic conditions in the region, as he did on his own hotel.
“Stewart was one of four individuals who founded the Aberdeen Hotels’ Association in the 1980s with a focus on marketing the region. He recognised that standards needed to be raised, and skills’ gaps needed to be filled. He was one of 14 hoteliers who created The Grampian Hotel and Catering Training Association in November 1990, which now trades as Hospitality Training. Many hospitality professionals who have learned, and developed their careers, in this region have done so because Stewart was able to turn his passions into actions that still hold influence today.
“The hotel community in Aberdeen and the North East is saddened by the loss of a truly inspirational hotelier, whose vision and leadership benefitted not just his own establishment, but many businesses and careers in region too. We extend our deepest condolences to Stewart’s family.
“The Aberdeen Hotels’ Association widened its influence and became The Aberdeen City & Shire Hotels’ Association (ACSHA), continuing his vision for a hotel community working together to improve the environment in which we do business.
“At heart, Stewart was the consummate hotelier; as comfortable playing host to international figures like Mikhail Gorbachev as he was teaching young hotel team members his standards of perfection. He was a towering figure in the region’s hotel world and many of us in the industry would be proud to leave a fraction of the legacy that he has; this truly is the passing of an icon.”