06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Mar Hall has re-opened after a £20million renovation
The hotel has played host to stars such as Harry Styles, Beyonce and David Beckham and long served as a training base for the Scotland national men's football team ahead of international matches, before they switched to the new national performance centre at Oriam in 2016, but went into administration in 2023.
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Work began in March 2024 on the first phase of a multi-million pound renovation of the former Erskine hospital, which is seeking to reposition itself as one of Scotland's best resorts and an international destination.
Experienced hotel operators Michels & Taylor were instructed to support the Joint Administrators in managing the resort, pending a sale.
A major renovation has now been completed to enable it to rival destinations such as Cameron House and Gleneagles.
The £20million renovation includes 74 rooms and suites, two restaurants and two bars, with a 22-person private cinema, a gaming room, and a billiards room to follow.
The building was left derelict when the Blantyre line died out, but was re-opened during World War I as the Princess Louise Scottish Hospital of Limbless Sailors and Soldiers.
Due to the number of casualties on the battlefields of Europe there was a shortage of artificial limbs, and one of the hospital's founders, William MacEwen, developed a new prosthetic called the Erskine Limb with the help of engineers and workers at the nearby Yarrow Shipbuilders.
The innovation was to make the limbs very light, by creating a basket made of willow and leather into which the stump of the upper leg was fitted, with a long piece of lightweight wood below that and a rubber cap on the bottom.
A purpose-built veterans' care home in Bishopton was opened in 2000, with the former hospital building converted into Mar House hotel.
