Sunlaws House Hotel

Sunlaws House Hotel is a large, asymmetrical Scottish Jacobean mansion house, originally designed by architect David Rhind of Edinburgh in 1853 and later restored and enlarged by John Watherston of Edinburgh between 1885 and 1886 after a fire. The building stands three storeys tall and features mostly mullioned and transomed windows, with some hood-moulded designs. It has advanced and recessed gabled bays topped with finials or apex stacks, and is constructed with stugged coursers and polished dressings.

On the north elevation, there is a Tudor-arched door with a hood-mould raised over a panel that displays a crest above. The façade includes projecting wide square bay windows with four and five lights on either side, and to the left, there are two-storey windows. A tall, slender three-stage octagonal turret connects to the main block on the right, featuring upper lancets and an open parapet, although the pinnacles have been removed. A low wing extends to the right, leading to two walled open courts behind.

The south elevation was extended to the west by Watherston and is arranged asymmetrically, showcasing single inner windows and pedimented dormer heads, along with advanced outer gables. A conservatory is located on the right, which has been remodelled since 1885 and features a canted south end. There is a corbelled oriel facing east and a modern fire escape nearby. The building has a string course above the ground floor and stacks with corniced octagonal flues, all beneath slate roofs.

Inside, the hotel features some decorative carved chimney pieces, with a particularly fine example in the stair hall that includes elaborate Gothic ornament, traceried cusped panels, and a crocketted ogival fireplace opening flanked by figures in niches. There is also decorative ceiling plasterwork, and the library contains fitted bookshelves.

The property is accessed through square gatepiers and cast-iron gates with spiked rails. The outer piers are made of ashlar with projecting caps, while the inner piers are fluted cast iron topped with cone finials.