Hilton Hotels has signed an agreement which will see Scotland’s first Doubletree by Hilton open in 2010.

The historic Dunblane Hydro Hotel - in the Perthshire countryside 45mins from Edinburgh and Glasgow - will undergo a multi-million pound conversion.

Managed under the Doubletree by Hilton brand and owned by Ability Hotels (Dunblane) Ltd, it will offer 206 bedrooms and suites; conference, meeting and banqueting space and leisure facilities.

“Dunblane Hydro was an excellent site to convert into a Doubletree with it already being an established hotel with an excellent reputation,” said Hilton area president UK and Ireland Simon Vincent. “Dunblane is an ideal location for the first Doubletree by Hilton hotel in Scotland with easy access to both Glasgow and Edinburgh.”

This comes after the debut of the Doubletree by Hilton Cambridge Garden House last month, the first of the brand outside of the Americas.

“This hotel opening represents yet another important milestone in our brand’s worldwide development and complements our upcoming openings in Milan, Italy and Kosice, Slovakia by year-end,” said Doubletree by Hilton brand management senior vice president Dave Horton. 

 
Vincent added: “We believe Doubletree’s success in the US will be continued here. We are aiming to have at least 20 Doubletree hotels within the UK and Ireland in the next five to ten years.”

Hilton has 11 hotels across Scotland including Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dunkeld and Aberdeen, with plans announced earlier this year to build a new £18m ($35m) 175-room Hilton Garden Inn at Aberdeen Airport.