Best Western Station Hotel, Dumfries

The Best Western Station Hotel sits at 49 Lovers Walk in Dumfries, opposite the town railway station. It is one of several Mears Scotland contingency sites used during the post 2022 contingency programme, sitting alongside the Mercure Cargenholm House outside the town as part of the regional UK Government refugee estate^[2]Press.

The Scottish Government FOI release on immigrant housing and accommodation in Scotland confirms the cross departmental coordination and contingency planning around Mears Scotland sites in the period, with the Station Hotel named in associated press reporting^[3]GOV.UK.

On 25 September 2024 The Ferret reported that a video had been posted on social media showing a man phoning the reception of the Station Hotel and falsely claiming to be a Home Office inspector. The receptionist, who had not been forthcoming with information, gave details about the number of people accommodated, their meals and access to leisure facilities once the impersonation began^[1]Press.

Internal Scottish Government emails released subsequently show officials worked to protect the staff and residents of the Station Hotel after the building was targeted by what the Government labelled as protest activity. The hotel received a large number of abusive calls and was forced to close its phone line^[1]Press^[3]GOV.UK.

The £170 per-person per-night Migration Observatory and NAO benchmark^[4][5]NAO applies notionally to the Station Hotel under the Mears Scotland regional contract, with a typical 70-resident occupancy implying about £11,900 per night and roughly £4.34 million per year of live use.