Prestigious 9 Bedroom Hotel on the NC500 Route

• Attractive fully licenced small hotel located in an excellent trading position on the NC500.
• The Belgrave Arms Hotel has a strong reputation for good food.
• Trades throughout the year generating a good level of profitability and turnover.
• Includes a popular public bar, modern restaurant, 9 attractive letting bedrooms.
• Spacious and comfortable owners’ accommodation and well-equipped service areas.

DESCRIPTION
The Belgrave Arms Hotel is a prestigious detached property, dominating the A9 in the centre of Helmsdale. The original building was built in 1819 and has been developed and extended over the years. Purchased by the current owners in 2007, the building has enjoyed some significant upgrades to create this very successful operation.

The hotel is well-known and enjoys a good reputation for the quality of the provision offered. With a highly regarded reputation as evidenced on TripAdvisor, there is no doubt that the purchase of The Belgrave Arms Hotel offers an exciting opportunity. The business currently trades year-round, with the majority of trade occurring during the main tourist season (April to October). This hotel offers guests a great standard of accommodation throughout, with the 9 letting bedrooms being of a good standard. The owner’s accommodation is spacious and comfortable and would be suitable for a family.

REASON FOR SALE
Having purchased the property in 2007 the current owners have upgraded the facilities to generate the successful operation it is today and are now ready to move on to their next venture closer to family. It is therefore their desire to bring this successful business to the market.

LOCATION
Helmsdale is a Sutherland coastal village steeped in history and with a strong maritime tradition. The hotel is located on the ever-popular North Coast 500 tourist route. The village boasts a good level of local amenities for both visitors and residents. The area has an association with Viking history and attracts a great many tourists. The broader region is renowned for its gold panning at Kildonan and the Timespan visitor attraction within the village depicts the region’s diverse history.

The village has approximately 750 inhabitants and is one of the main centres of population in Sutherland. It boasts an excellent links golf course and is within easy reach of the famous course at Royal Dornoch which lies to the south. The area is famed for its whisky production, with distilleries located in Brora, Wick and Tain. Slightly further afield the Falls of Shin and Dunrobin Castle provide for an interesting day out. Touring and genealogy are other favourite pastimes, together with the prospect of visiting nearby Scottish castles and other historic sites. These attractions, combined with the varied natural scenic beauty of the surrounding area, make it highly popular with a wide range of visitors and tourists.

Fishing is a very important part of the tourist mix. The river Helmsdale flows through the village and has its source in the three interconnecting lochs of Loch Badanloch, Loch nan Clàr and Loch Rimsdale. It is one of the most productive salmon rivers in the whole of Scotland.

For the outdoor enthusiast the Highlands of Scotland are famous for spectacular scenery and rugged mountains, a reputation which is comfortably upheld by Helmsdale. The wonderful un-spoilt scenery of the famous coast line and surrounding hills combine to make this a most attractive location. The region draws in a high customer footfall from visitors which generates a strong potential customer base for the business in the summer months as there is no shortage of opportunities in the immediate area for holiday makers. For walkers, the beautiful Sutherland terrain offers varied degrees of challenge from the more leisurely hillwalking to more stretching mountaineering.

The hotel is located in the middle of the village of Helmsdale where amenities include a village shop, primary school, doctor’s surgery, cultural centre, art gallery, post office and a railway station. Secondary education is provided in Golspie High School, a 25min drive south of Helmsdale.

THE PROPERTY  
The Belgrave Arms Hotel was originally built around 1819. The hotel is a substantial detached villa of traditional stone construction under a slate roof, which has been extended and sympathetically adjusted internally over the years. The result of these works is a well laid out hotel with much potential.

TRADE
This profitable business currently has a reliable and locally sourced team of staff, who are used to working throughout the hotel, resulting in a high-quality flexible staffing provision. The business operates all year with a reduced offering in the winter months due to lower demand. Over the winter months the room trade is mostly for commercial patronage, some of whom are regular visitors to the hotel. In contrast, the public bar trade revolves around largely local support in the quieter part of the year.

The hotel has it’s own web site and can take direct bookings online. This, together with their listing on booking.com, ensures a good level of accommodation trade.

PUBLIC BAR
The bar is located to the west end of the property and has a pleasant, warm ambience. The area around the wood burning stove is particularly cosy and has capacity for 20 to 30 people. The public area of the bar is split into 3 sections: the snug area adjacent to the door in from outside; the seated area around the stove; and the pool / darts area. The toilets are located to the left-hand side. The bar is ‘U’ shaped and sits off the wall opposite the entrance thus ideally located to ensure a high level of prompt service. The décor is fresh, offering a mix of bar stools, tables and chairs, in front of a well-equipped and sizeable bar. The flooring is timber. There are the usual range of bar facilities, such as rented jukebox and games machine. The bar is a very popular destination for locals throughout the year.

RESTAURANT
The restaurant is located to the front of the building and accessed via the main entrance to the hotel. It enjoys open views over the River Helmsdale to the hills beyond. The restaurant is set to seat 36 customers and has a separate bar, thus allowing the area to be easily controlled.
There is a breakfast room adjacent to the restaurant, which is set to seat 6 people at tables and a further 8 people can sit on sofas to enjoy a relaxed coffee. Private functions can be comfortably accommodated seating 10 people on one table.
The hotel’s main kitchens are located adjacent to both. The areas are attractive with comfortable tables and chairs, pleasant decoration and good lighting. The restaurant’s atmosphere is relaxed and offers a quieter dining experience where guests can enjoy good quality food away from the main public bar.
The restaurant has its own dedicated toilets.

LETTING ACCOMMODATION 
Entry to the guest accommodation is via the main stair from reception.  All accommodation is located at 1st floor level.

In total, the hotel offers 9 letting bedrooms which are light, airy and well-equipped with attractive furniture. All rooms have comfortable beds and are heated. The in-room services include TV and hospitality trays. Ironing boards and irons are stored centrally. The shower rooms are presented to a high standard throughout. The letting rooms are configured as follows:

Room 1 – Twin or double bed (zip and link), with ensuite shower room
Room 2 - Twin or double bed (zip and link), with ensuite shower room
Room 3 – 4-person family room with double and bunk beds, with ensuite shower room
Room 4 – Is the entrance to the owner’s accommodation 
Room 5 – Triple or double and single bed (zip and link), shared shower and toilet facilities
Room 6 - Single room, shared shower and toilet facilities
Room 7 – Twin or double bed (zip and link), shared shower and toilet facilities
Room 8 – Single room, shared shower and toilet facilities
Room 9 - Single room, shared shower and toilet facilities
Room 10 – Triple or double and single bed (zip and link), shared shower and toilet facilities

OWNER’S ACCOMMODATION
The spacious owner’s accommodation is a secure and separate area of the building located to the east end of the hotel. The accommodation is arranged over 2 floors and comprises a large lounge and bathroom on the 1st floor, with stairs to the second floor, where there is a master bedroom to the east and double bedroom to the extreme west end of the building with a sitting area between that and the stairs up. The second floor is within the roof void and is surprisingly spacious.

SERVICE AREAS
The hotel benefits from a well provisioned and laid out commercial kitchen. It is fully equipped and includes a large LPG range stove with oven under, LPG grille, electric hot plate, double electric friers, double pizza oven and a microwave. Above the range there is a suitable extraction system. A separate prep and wash up area contain ample servery and storage including fridges, freezers and dry stores together with a commercial dishwasher.

Adjacent to the kitchen is the laundry, where there are 2 commercial washing machines and driers. There is also a flat press iron. Throughout the building there is a good level of distributed storage for linen and cleaning materials and hoovers etc.

GROUNDS
The area in front of the hotel is hard finished car parking and delivery spaces with a raised grass border between the car park and the pavement. The car park is located directly outside the main entrance into the reception. There is great signage in the middle of the grass to attract passers-by from the north. This signage is over and above the conspicuous hotel name sign on the façade of the building.

To the rear of the hotel there are a number of areas including a beer garden adjacent to the public bar at the west end (part of which is covered), a vegetable garden (set in the lower section of the gardens to the south west), an owner’s sun area (including space for an external hot tub and a drying green). The rear areas all benefit from sun throughout the day and have excellent views to the hill to the south west and the Moray Firth to the east. The gardens have been designed with simple maintenance in mind. To the side there is also a direct access to the kitchens and public bar, allowing for easy delivery of produce. The external area could be further developed to enhance the guests stay, with the appropriate permissions.

SERVICES
The property benefits from mains electricity, mains water and drainage. The central heating is a mix of gas fired central heating and electrical heating. The electrical heated hot water. LPG gas is used for cooking. The hotel complies with environmental health requirements, has an integral hard-wired fire alarm system and is Wi-Fi enabled throughout.