JET-SETTING international hotelier Gordon Campbell Gray has announced that he has come home to Scotland to launch a new venture, the Wee Hotel Company.
Renowned for developing a string of luxury hotels across the globe, the award-winning hotelier has bought the first of what could many premises to be owned by the new company, namely the 12-bedroom Pierhouse Hotel and Seafood Restaurant in Port Appin on the shores of Loch Linnhe in Argyll.
Hospitality industry publication The Caterer has reported that the property, which was the winner of the Good Hotel Guide 2018 Editor Choice Award for Eco-Friendly Hotels, has been bought by Gray from Nick and Nikki Horne, who took over the premises in 2006.
Gray is known for his advocacy of the hotel industry being more environmentally friendly and has pledged to make that aim part of this new boutique hotel company.
He says he will invest in new facilities at the Pierhouse, but has vowed to maintain the award-winning venue’s “reputation for outstanding Scottish seafood and genuine hospitality”.
Now taking “a more ambassadorial role” within Campbell Gray Hotels, which also manages the Machrie that opened last year on Islay, Gray said there would be “further acquisitions” by the Wee Hotel Company which will be announced later in the year.
Gray is renowned for taking a personal involvement in the development and management of hotels across the world, including hotels he has under his name in Beirut, Malta, Bahrain, Liberia, Amman and Zurich.
He received the first Leading Legend award from Leading Hotels of the World in 2010 and was recognised again, this time by the Hotel Cateys in 2011 with an outstanding contribution award.
Gray gained his initial experience working in large hotel companies, but has always had a desire to focus on the smaller individual hotel sector.
Needless to say, Gray, who was named the Hotelier of the Year by The Caterer in 2002 and has many other awards, is looking forward to working in his native country near his home in Argyll and Bute.
He said: “I’ve been lucky enough to live and work in many countries across the world but I really feel that few can rival the sheer magnificence of Scotland when it comes to scenery, food and drink, and I’m now ready to come home.
“I live in Argyll and realised one day that I always had that going back to school feeling when I was leaving to head off on more travels, so I finally said to myself – then why am I leaving?
For several years I’ve wanted to come home to Scotland. The Wee Hotel Company is the result of this ambition and the start of an exciting new chapter in my life.”
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