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 Edinburgh Airport is an airport located in the Ingliston area of Edinburgh, Scotland. It was the busiest airport in Scotland in 2019, handling over 14.7 million passengers. It was also the sixth-busiest airport in the United Kingdom by ...

South Queensferry Queensferry, also called South Queensferry or simply "The Ferry", is a town to the west of Edinburgh, Scotland. Traditionally a royal burgh of West Lothian, it is administered by the City of Edinburgh council area. It lies ten miles to the n ...

, and in

Eurocentral Eurocentral is one of the largest industrial estates in Scotland, situated on the edge of Holytown and Mossend, North Lanarkshire, just off the M8 motorway, about east of Glasgow city centre and west of Edinburgh. The nearest communities to th ...

Motherwell Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lana ...

South East of Glasgow. The brand has now expanded into Central Glasgow,

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popul ...

, and

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

. The brand was founded by

Ken McCulloch Kenneth Wilfred McCulloch (born November 1948) is a British hotelier, the founder of the hotel chains, Malmaison and Dakota Hotels. He was born in November 1948. References 1948 births British hoteliers Living people {{UK-busine ...

and is owned by Evans Property Group. Hotel Exterior, Dakota Glasgow

History

The brand was named after the

Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper versi ...

aircraft introduced in 1936 for commercial air travel in the United States, which was designated the Dakota in

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

service. The press have reported celebrities as staying at Dakota Hotels including

Hugh Jackman Hugh Michael Jackman (born 12 October 1968) is an Australian actor. Beginning in theatre and television, he landed his breakthrough role as James "Logan" Howlett / Wolverine in the 20th Century Fox ''X-Men'' film series (2000–2017), a role ...

Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, film producer, businessman, retired professional bodybuilder and politician who served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. ''Time'' ...

Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Known for her influence on modern pop music and her campy style, she has been referred to ...

Liam Gallagher William John Paul Gallagher (born 21 September 1972) is an English singer and songwriter. He achieved fame as the lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis from 1991 to 2009, and later fronted the rock band Beady Eye from 2009 to 2014, before starti ...

, Stereophonics,

The Stone Roses The Stone Roses were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. One of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the band's classic and most prominent lineup consisted of vocalist Ian Brown, ...

, Glenn Close,

Melanie Brown Melanie Janine Brown (born 29 May 1975), commonly known as Melanie B or Mel B, is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. She rose to fame in the 1990s as a member of the girl group Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Sc ...

Noel Gallagher Noel Thomas David Gallagher (born 29 May 1967) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. He was the chief songwriter, lead guitarist, and co-lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis until their split in 2009. After leaving Oasis, he formed ...

Christian Slater Christian Michael Leonard Slater (born August 18, 1969) is an American actor and producer. He made his film debut with a leading role in ''The Legend of Billie Jean'' (1985) and gained wider recognition for his breakthrough role as Jason "J.D." D ...

Gary Lineker Gary Winston Lineker (; born 30 November 1960) is an English former professional footballer and current sports broadcaster. He is regarded as having been one of the greatest English strikers. His media career began with the BBC, where he has ...

, and

Andy Murray Sir Andrew Barron Murray (born 15 May 1987) is a British professional tennis player from Scotland. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 41 weeks, and finished as the year-end No. 1 in 2016. Murray ...

Brand Expansion

Dakota Eurocentral was opened in 2006 as a new build in Motherwell, off the M8 motorway in

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark ( gd, Siorrachd Lannraig; sco, Lanrikshire), is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the central Lowlands of Scotland. Lanarkshire is the most populous county in Scotl ...

, followed subsequently by another new build in

close to

by the

Queensferry Crossing The Queensferry Crossing (formerly the Forth Replacement Crossing) is a road bridge in Scotland. It was built alongside the existing Forth Road Bridge and carries the M90 motorway across the Firth of Forth between Edinburgh, at South Queensfer ...

in 2007.

A third hotel and the first city centre location was opened on West Regent Street in Glasgow in 2016 followed by a fourth on Greek street in Leeds in early 2017. The largest hotel is in

Manchester city centre Manchester City Centre is the central business district of Manchester in Greater Manchester, England situated within the confines of Great Ancoats Street, A6042 Trinity Way, and A57(M) Mancunian Way which collectively form an inner ring road. ...

, near to

Manchester Piccadilly railway station Manchester Piccadilly is the principal railway station in Manchester, England. Opened as Store Street in 1842, it was renamed Manchester London Road in 1847 and became Manchester Piccadilly in 1960. Located to the south-east of Manchester city ...

, with 137 bedrooms opened in May 2019. MCR mcr2

Founder

Dakota was created by Glasgow born hotelier

. Other hotels previously launched by McCulloch include

One Devonshire Gardens One Devonshire Gardens (officially known as ''Hotel du Vin at One Devonshire Gardens'') is a luxury hotel located in the West End of Glasgow, Scotland. The hotel holds a licence as a marriage venue. History Devonshire Gardens is a B-listed t ...

in Glasgow, the Malmaison brand, the Columbus Hotel Monaco, and the Aviator Hotel at

Farnborough Airport Farnborough Airport (previously called: TAG Farnborough Airport, RAE Farnborough, ICAO Code EGLF) is an operational business/executive general aviation airport in Farnborough, Rushmoor, Hampshire, England. The airport covers about 8% of Rush ...

. Hotel interiors were designed by Amanda Rosa Interiors (Ken McCulloch's wife), who also designed the Malmaison brand and Columbus Hotel Monaco. The Champagne Room - Dakota Leeds

Educational partnerships

Dakota Hotels has established links with

Queen Margaret University Queen Margaret University is a university, founded in 1875 and located in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is named after the Scottish Queen Saint Margaret. History The university was founded in 1875, as ''The Edinburgh School of Cookery and Domestic ...

and

Fife College Fife College is a further and higher education college in Fife, Scotland. Campuses The college's main campuses are located in Dunfermline, Glenrothes and Kirkcaldy with smaller campuses in Leven, and Rosyth. The college also operates commun ...

to provide internships to hospitality students. Dakota Hotels is part of the Mentor Scheme formed between the Manchester Hotelier’s Association (MHA) and

Manchester Metropolitan University Manchester Metropolitan University is located in the centre of Manchester, England. The university has over 40,000 students and over 4,000 members of staff. It is home to four faculties (Arts and Humanities, Business and Law, Health and Educat ...

(MMU). The hotel has previously established awards for university students at

, focusing on dissertations in hospitality. 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.

Awards

* TripAdvisor Travellers' Choice Awards 2021 – Top 25 Hotels in the UK *The Caterer – Top 30 Best Places to Work in Hospitality 2021 * The Michelin Guide – Michelin Plate 2021 *The Caterer – Top 10 Best Places to Work in Hospitality 2020 *

GQ Magazine ''GQ'' (formerly ''Gentlemen's Quarterly'' and ''Apparel Arts'') is an American international monthly men's magazine based in New York City and founded in 1931. The publication focuses on fashion, style, and culture for men, though articles o ...

2018 Best Hotel – Shortlist of 5 * TripAdvisor Travellers' Choice Awards 2018 – Top 25 Hotels in the UK *

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

2018 Best in Contemporary Design *

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...

Cool Hotel Guide 2013 *

Jamie Oliver James Trevor Oliver MBE OSI (born 27 May 1975) is an English chef, restaurateur and cookbook author. He is known for his casual approach to cuisine, which has led him to front numerous television shows and open many restaurants. Oliver reach ...

Best Kept Secret Award 2013 *

Condé Nast Traveller ''Condé Nast Traveller'' is published by Condé Nast Publications Ltd, from Vogue House in Hanover Square, Mayfair, London. It is a luxury travel magazine aimed at the upmarket, independent traveller. It can be differentiated from the America ...

Hot list 2005 Ken McCulloch was the 2018 winner of the "Very Special Achievement award" at the Scottish Style Awards and was the 1993 winner of The Caterer's Hotelier of the Year.

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dakota Hotels Hotels in Scotland Hotels in England 2004 establishments in the United Kingdom