Company type | Private |
---|---|
Industry | Hotel, Hospitality, Restaurant |
Founded | 2006 |
Number of locations | 5 (Edinburgh, Eurocentral, Glasgow, Leeds, Manchester) |
Key people | Ken McCulloch (Founder) |
Owner | Evans Property Group |
Website | dakotahotels.co.uk |
Dakota Hotels is a UK-based hotel brand with five locations, each with a brasserie-style Grill and cocktail Bars. Dakota Hotels first opened two boutique hotels near Edinburgh Airport in South Queensferry, and in Eurocentral, Motherwell South East of Glasgow. The brand has now expanded into Central Glasgow, Leeds, and Manchester. The brand was founded by Ken McCulloch and is owned by Evans Property Group.[1]
The brand was named after the Douglas DC-3 aircraft introduced in 1936 for commercial air travel in the United States,[2] which was designated the Dakota in Royal Air Force service.
The press have reported celebrities as staying at Dakota Hotels including Hugh Jackman,[3] Arnold Schwarzenegger, Katy Perry, Liam Gallagher, Stereophonics, The Stone Roses,[4] Glenn Close,[5] Melanie Brown,[6] Noel Gallagher, Christian Slater,[7] Gary Lineker,[8] and Andy Murray.
Dakota Eurocentral was opened in 2006[9] as a new build in Motherwell, off the M8 motorway in Lanarkshire, followed subsequently by another new build in South Queensferry close to Edinburgh Airport by the Queensferry Crossing in 2007.[10]
A third hotel and the first city centre location was opened on West Regent Street in Glasgow[11] in 2016[12] followed by a fourth on Greek street in Leeds in early 2017.[13]
The largest hotel is in Manchester city centre, near to Manchester Piccadilly railway station, with 137 bedrooms opened in May 2019.[14]
Dakota was created by Glasgow born hotelier Ken McCulloch.[15] Other hotels previously launched by McCulloch include One Devonshire Gardens in Glasgow, the Malmaison brand, the Columbus Hotel Monaco, and the Aviator Hotel at Farnborough Airport.
Hotel interiors were designed by Amanda Rosa Interiors (Ken McCulloch's wife), who also designed the Malmaison brand and Columbus Hotel Monaco.[1]
Dakota Hotels has established links with Queen Margaret University and Fife College to provide internships to hospitality students.[16] Dakota Hotels is part of the Mentor Scheme formed between the Manchester Hotelier’s Association (MHA) and Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU).[17]
The hotel has previously established awards for university students at Queen Margaret University, focusing on dissertations in hospitality.[18]
Dakota Hotels is a 2021 sponsor of HIT Scotland, a scholarship programme designed to support people working and studying in the hospitality industry in Scotland.[19]
Ken McCulloch was the 2018 winner of the "Very Special Achievement award" [32] at the Scottish Style Awards [33] and was the 1993 winner of The Caterer's Hotelier of the Year.[34]