Planning approval secured for Zedwell Hotel, Edinburgh

— Mar 12, 2025, 10:00:05 AM by Sarah Watt

CDA is thrilled we have secured unanimous planning approval for 109-112 Princes Street on behalf of Criterion Capital to bring the first Zedwell Hotels project outside London, to Edinburgh.

The first Zedwell Hotel in Scotland brings a high-quality, mid-range lifestyle hotel to Edinburgh’s prestigious Princess Street in the heart of the UNESCO World Heritage site.

CDA is working with Criterion Capital, as Architect and Lead Consultant for the conversion of the late 1970’s former Debenhams department store to hotel use. The building extends across multiple buildings from Princes Street to Rose Street.

The building occupies a prominent position overlooking Edinburgh Castle and presents an opportunity to create a landmark hotel with a unique identity, catering to a market which doesn’t currently exist in Edinburgh on the scale proposed.

The proposal re-uses the existing building and proposes the insertion of a mix of traditional rooms, windowless rooms and hostel beds with a proposal which deals with conversion in a carbon sensitive way and allows for an efficient redevelopment on a tight city centre site.

Omar Aziz, at Criterion Hospitality commented, "Princes Street reflects our ongoing commitment to heritage preservation and sustainable urban transformation. We are excited to bring our first Zedwell Hotels project outside London to such an iconic location - offering an unparalleled stay for both leisure and business travellers, right at the heart of Edinburgh’s historic city centre."

Key Highlights

A New Hotel Experience for Edinburgh: 652 beds across our three innovative accommodation types, designed to enhance urban hospitality.

Honouring Heritage: As custodians of this prominent listed building within Edinburgh’s UNESCO World Heritage Site, we are delighted to be revitalising and reimagining this much-loved former Debenhams space.

Sustainability First: Our low-impact adaptive reuse approach means we are enhancing, not demolishing. Through optimised waste and water management, we aim to drive energy efficiency and urban biodiversity.

Economic Impact: Creating 50+ on-site jobs, while forging partnerships with local businesses to stimulate economic growth and community engagement.

We are proud to be working on this exciting development with Criterion Hospitality, a rapidly growing, lifestyle-focused operator with 6 hotels currently in service across London and an additional 14 hotels under construction across key UK cities.

Project team

CDA team: Craig Masson / Selina Haggerty / Claire McCracken / Neil Mair / Julia Stachelska / Daria Zielonka

Client: Criterion Capital / Criterion Hospitality
Operator: Zedwell Hotels
Architect: CDA
Heritage Consultant: Simpson & Brown
Planning Consultant: Montagu Evans
Economic Consultant: Turley
Structural Engineer: Goodsons Associates
Services and Sustainability Engineer: Wallace Whittle
Fire Engineer: Jensen Hughes
Acoustic Consultant: Sandy Brown
Ecology Consultant: Mackenzie Bradshaw
Transport Consultant: SLR Consulting

In the Press

Boutique Hotelier / Zedwell Hotels gets green light for first site in Scotland