DESCRIPTION
Craigatin House & Courtyard is a delightful traditional Victorian country house dating from early 1800 with an established history. It is said that the property was owned by a doctor, who was physician to Queen Victoria when she was in Scotland. The original character of the property has been retained throughout. In 2004 a sensitively designed modern extension with slate roof and timber cladding was added to accommodate a beautiful garden room. This space is used as the breakfast room and has soft seating set around a wood burning stove. The main house offers seven beautifully appointed ensuite bedrooms with a separate annex (“The Courtyard”) in the grounds offering a further seven ensuite bedrooms.
The property respects its Victorian origins beautifully whilst providing a modern business platform for anyone wishing to own a prestigious trading operation in Perthshire. It is located in Pitlochry, set in the heart of Scotland, which enjoys a thriving tourism trade. The Craigatin House and Courtyard trades as a bed and breakfast each room having been individually designed to an exceptional standard.
Set back from Atholl Road, the main road through Pitlochry, the Craigatin House & Courtyard is situated within easy walking distance to the North West of Pitlochry town centre. The property has a stunning aspect with panoramic views towards hills of Meall a Charra, Creag a Choire and beyond, also taking in the Tay Forest Park. It is very well located on a busy tourist route between the centre of Scotland and the Highlands.
The bed and breakfast trades 14 superior en-suite letting bedrooms with a 4-Star Gold award from the Scottish Tourist Board. The property includes excellent service areas. These features coupled with the private 2-bedroom owners / staff accommodation make this a strong trading proposition and home.
TRADING ASPECTS
The current owners of the Craigatin House & Courtyard are hands on operators, dealing with the practicalities of breakfast and room services. The business operates with minimal additional staffing, utilising two full time and one part time staff members throughout the trading period. The Craigatin House & Courtyard, by choice of the owners, currently operates from the 1st of February until the 31st of October reopening for December (including a short break period over New Year) but is closed over Christmas. The existing business model does not include the provision of evening meals, lunches or afternoon tea; thus, presenting new owners with a sound prospect of increasing the food trade.
The accommodation led business trades successfully maintaining a strong level of turnover and high profitability. Income is generated by the 14 exceptional en-suite letting bedrooms. Trading as an independent bed and breakfast, the proprietors ensure that the standard of accommodation and level of service is maintained at an exceptional level, reflected by the reviews and awards being received by the business. There is considerable potential for new owners to expand the trading aspects by focussing on greater food provision and offering a broader range of meal service times. There may also be capacity to take more advantage of the winter trade. These opportunities would give new owners the ability to increase turnover and generate even greater profit levels.
The Craigatin House & Courtyard has a well-established and credible reputation, being a popular destination venue benefiting from a high level of repeat trade and being highly commended on numerous visitor review websites. The business has an active modern website with an automatic booking service. In addition, the business has a good social media presence and utilises a number of portal on-line booking websites.
The bed and breakfast clientele derives from the many tourists and business people who visit Pitlochry and the surrounding areas. The location and stature of the bed and breakfast is such that it is easy to locate for those who have booked via the internet or for the casual passer-by. The vast majority of room occupancy is booked in advance and forward bookings are always at a high level.
AWARDS
Over the years Craigatin House & Courtyard have developed a great reputation for quality which has resulted in numerous awards. These include a 4-star Gold Award from the Scottish Tourist Board, VisitScotland, Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence, Scottish Rural Awards and Scottish Hotels Awards to name but a few.
THE PROPERTY
Of traditional stone construction, the original aspects were built in the early 1800s. Craigatin House is a substantial detached villa under a pitched slate roof. In 2004 the property was renovated and extended. Throughout, the business is deceptively spacious with accommodation being laid out across 3 floors. The property retains many of the original Victorian features which adds to the charm of this impressive bed and breakfast. Within the grounds there is a traditional stone construction 7-bedroom annex (the Courtyard) offering further excellent accommodation.
GUEST ACCOMMODATION
Craigatin House & Courtyard offers a distinction in quality and comfort. The main entrance is situated to the front of the villa and leads into a charming reception hallway. To the right hand side is the breakfast rooms, the newer part being built in 2004. Following on into the hallway and to the right, is the stair to the bedroom floors above. To the left is a corridor leading to the kitchens and staff sleeping accommodation.
The breakfast room provides seating for over 30 covers. The breakfast room is split into two areas, the original room within the main house and the 2004 extension. The extension is open to the underside of the pitched roof with a fully glazed gable and views over the garden. In front of this window there is a wood burning stove with some soft seating. The breakfast room has patio doors which lead on to an external paved seating area affording an alfresco breakfast option during the warm summer mornings.
LETTING BEDROOMS
An impressive feature of this boutique bed and breakfast is the excellent quality and individuality of the letting rooms which have been decorated to a high standard and have been finished with some beautiful touches. The quality en-suites provide modern facilities. All rooms are spacious and comfortable. The rooms are well-appointed with charming fixtures and fittings of the highest standard. In-room service is in keeping with the demands of the modern-day holiday maker which include TV, hospitality trays, hairdryers and toiletries. Rooms have controllable central heating and are configured as follows:
Main Building – 1st floor
Room 3 - Super king bed with en-suite shower room.
Room 4 - Super king bed with en-suite shower room.
Room 5 - King bed with en-suite bath with shower over.
Room 6 - Super king bed with en-suite shower room.
Room 7 - King bed with en-suite shower room.
Main Building – 2nd floor
Room 8 - Super king bed with en-suite shower room.
Room 9 - King bed with en-suite shower room.
Courtyard Rooms – ground floor
Room 15 - Twin room with large 4ft. beds easily accessible by wheelchair with walk-in wet room.
Room 16 - Super king bed with en-suite shower room and separate toilet
Room 17 - Twin Room with large 4ft. beds with en-suite shower room.
Courtyard Rooms - 1st floor
Room 10 - Super king room with en-suite shower room.
Room 11 - Craigatin Suite with super king bed, lounge & en-suite shower room.
Room 12 - Super king bed with en-suite shower room.
Room 14 - Super king bed with en-suite shower room.
All rooms have a hairdryer and a hospitality tray which includes bottled water / tea, coffee, fruit teas and handmade local biscuits and free Wi-Fi access.
SERVICE AREAS
The business has a wide range of service and storage areas. The substantial and attractive kitchen comes with a range of modern fitted units and an extraction unit. The kitchen provides ample workspace and has plenty ancillary areas and storage space. There is a separate fridge and freezer area as well as a separate preparation and cleaning space. The food production facilities allow ample capacity to meet the demands of the current food service offered and could be utilised throughout the day for alternative uses if desired.
GROUNDS
With excellent signage, Craigatin House & Courtyard is a substantial property benefiting from being set back from the road, creating private gardens. The property sits in around 2 acres which is set to a mix of mature garden areas with shrubs and trees and well-tended lawns. The property is surrounded by stone walls and mature shrubs and trees. The stone wall provides significant privacy to the lawn areas. There is an area of patio off the breakfast room which affords a wonderful space to enjoy the splendour of the property’s surroundings. There is a covered seating area located close to the breakfast room. The gardens and courtyard area are accessed under an original stone arch.
The grounds around Craigatin House & Courtyard can accommodate parking for at least 15 cars. Carefully placed within the grounds there are a number of sheds housing gardening equipment. The vendors are in the process of developing a vegetable patch and seating area behind the courtyard building for their own use.
DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL
The Craigatin House & Courtyard presently trades seasonally, through personal preference, thus offering the opportunity for new owners to expand the trading model, if so desired. The business also does not open for lunches and afternoon teas, again affording a degree of further trading development.
SERVICES
The property benefits from mains electricity, mains gas, mains water and drainage. There is gas-fired central heating and hot water system. The Craigatin House & Courtyard is in possession of current fire and environmental health certificates. The property is double glazed. There is guest Wi-Fi access available throughout.
