The Pines Guest House, Elgin, Moray, IV30 1XG

Exceptional Guest House with Six Superb Letting Bedrooms and Excellent Owners Accommodation, set within Ever-Popular City of Elgin.

• Highly desirable, majestic and immaculate 4-Star VisitScotland Victorian Highland guest house.

• Prominent trading location on the busy A96, set within the ever-popular City of Elgin.

• Easy trading model providing a highly profitable, 'home and income' lifestyle opportunity.

• 6 exquisite en-suite letting bedrooms within a stylish house with superb public rooms.

• Includes extensive owner's accommodation with two bedrooms on the ground floor and a further attic bedroom plus spacious lounge, office and conservatory.

• Set amidst beautiful mature gardens with attractive double-entry drive and spacious external storage areas plus excellent off-road parking.

DESCRIPTION

The Pines Guest House is a substantial Victorian property with many attractive features including intricate cornicing and ceiling roses, high skirting boards and some stunning fire surrounds. This imposing property has a large footprint and is placed within a wonderful setting of mature lawns and an array of attractive trees and foliage. Located a 5-minute walk from the centre of Elgin, this impressive and elegant stone-built property enjoys a prime roadside frontage directly onto the A96; the arterial route between Inverness and Aberdeen. Operating as a 4-Star VisitScotland guest house, the property offers a warm and friendly welcome where comfort and quality feature highly.

This stunning property is presented in immaculate condition throughout offering new owners a true turn-key operation. The house has 6 beautifully appointed en-suite letting bedrooms and spacious owner's accommodation which combines to provide a lifestyle business proposition and stunning family home. Currently there are 3 bedrooms set aside for private use; new operators could easily adjust the layout to utilise more accommodation for their own purposes or equally bring more rooms into use as letting facilities. A most attractive feature of this property is the flexible owner's accommodation which includes a double aspect lounge, conservatory, kitchen, office, 2 large bedrooms and a family bathroom; all located on the ground floor. This spacious area could provide potential scope for development into additional letting rooms, subject to consents. Room 6 on the on the first floor has the benefit of a bespoke stairway which links with the other private areas of the house and as such could be retained for the owners' private use if required. This large en-suite bedroom has additional main door access from the public areas of the guest house. A further spacious living area on the second floor provides scope for additional living space for the owners, offering excellent storage and a toilet with wash hand basin. The private accommodation on the ground floor has its own private access from the rear of the property.

This excellent property with its spacious owner's accommodation, exceptional guest facilities and strong trading performance come together to form an excellent home and lifestyle business opportunity.

TRADE

Trade is buoyant and the business operates very profitably on purely a bed and breakfast basis. The Pines is open year-round but is not traded aggressively as the vendors often take break periods at regular intervals. The business currently trades beyond the VAT threshold, offering six exceptionally spacious and well-appointed en-suite letting bedrooms. The business utilises a number of portal websites to drive trade i.e. Booking.com etc. The business has a very good website with its own automated booking page. Occupancy levels are generally high and the business benefits from regular repeat trade. Elgin benefits from a mix of business and tourism trade. The business has a very good website with its own automated booking page.

REASON FOR SALE

The present owners purchased The Pines in 2009 and it has offered them an enjoyable, rewarding and successful lifestyle to date. It is their planned retirement from the hospitality sector that brings this excellent home and income opportunity onto the market.

LOCATION

The Pines Guest House is situated in a prime location close to the centre of the City of Elgin, highly convenient for guests wishing to walk to the excellent range of nearby shops, restaurants etc. Elgin has a variety of facilities for visitors and sits at the confluence of three major tourism 'trails' dedicated to golf, castles and distilleries. Elgin Cathedral was consecrated in 1224 and the City has been Moray's main centre for over 800 years. With a new leisure centre, Johnson's Cashmere Visitor Centre, the Motor Museum and Baxter's of Fochabers not far away there is a wide range of choice and activities for visitors to pursue. The ancient City of Elgin enjoys an ideal geographic location as a base from which to tour both the Highland and Grampian regions of Scotland.

Elgin is the administrative and commercial centre for Moray and has an excellent bus station, train station and a hospital. There is primary schooling in the city and two secondary schools plus Gordonstoun School is approximately 6 miles away for private schooling. The larger cities of Inverness and Aberdeen are within easy driving distance, being 38 miles and 64 miles respectively, both of which have airports and regular daily scheduled flights.

THE PROPERTY

Of traditional construction the Pines is a most attractive, detached Victorian villa, stone built under a slate roof. Set over three floors this is a spacious and highly desirable property with well-maintained landscaped gardens. The business is well-sign posted and easy to locate.

PUBLIC AREAS / LETTING BEDROOMS

Through mature gardens a tarmacadam driveway leads to the beautiful arched entrance portico which protects the property's main outer door. The partially glazed outer door opens into the entrance vestibule which in turn has an inner door opening into the spacious main reception hallway. To the left is the bright and spacious breakfasting room which has beautiful ornate cornicing, a high ceiling and deep skirtings, all reflective of the Victorian origins of this substantive property. The warming gas fire, double aspect secondary glazing and contemporary downlights are a good example of modern day comforts merging seamlessly with the character of an older property. Stairs leads up from the reception hallway past beautifully ornate stained-glass windows, to the 6 guest bedrooms configured as follows:

Room 1 - Double with en-suite shower room.

Room 2 - Family (double and single) with en-suite shower room.

Room 3 - Double en-suite with shower room.

Room 4 - 4-poster bed with en-suite shower room.

Room 5 - Double with en-suite shower room.

Room 6 - Triple with en-suite shower room.

All bedrooms benefit from modern en-suite facilities, are very comfortable, attractively furnished and have central heating, television, radio, hairdryer plus tea / coffee hospitality trays. The bedrooms benefit from generous proportions and have many attractive architectural features. Each room provides furnishings and storage for guest use. The house is Wi-Fi enabled throughout.

PRIVATE ACCOMMODATION

The spacious owners' accommodation is a tremendous feature of the business. On the ground floor there is a smart conservatory (with underfloor heating), an office, 2 bedrooms, family bathroom, and extensive lounge, with double aspect windows. The house benefits from an excellent modern kitchen and washing-up space. There is a separate boiler / laundry room and linen store.

GROUNDS

The Pines Guest House is a substantial property and benefits from a prime roadside trading location in the City of Elgin. There is private owners' parking for 3 cars which is accessed via an electrically controlled gate plus additional guest parking for 8 cars. Attractive mature gardens complement this prestigious property. A garden shed sits to the rear of the building and there is a covered drying area outside together with a large workshop, wood store, raised planting areas and greenhouse. There is a patio area for private use and the rear aspects of the grounds are enclosed and therefore suitable for pets.

DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL

Within the present range of accommodation there is scope to increase letting capacity if so desired. There is also some development potential with the accommodation on the second floor.

SERVICES

The property benefits from mains electricity, gas, water and drainage. The house has secondary glazing and a gas fired central heating system. The business is fully fire compliant.