4-Star Hotel
Dunblane, Scotland
Temporary Kitchen & Refrigeration
Phased - 2 Installs
Short Notice
Apex Hotels' Dunblane Hydro is one of Scotland's most celebrated destination hotels - a landmark property with a long-standing reputation for hospitality, fine dining, and events.
When the hotel's management team committed to a significant investment in modernising their main catering facility, they faced an immediate operational challenge: how do you keep feeding guests, staff and events at full capacity when your permanent kitchen is entirely out of commission?
Extensive refurbishment works were planned across the production kitchen, refrigeration infrastructure and back-of-house areas. The scale and complexity of the project meant that the hotel's kitchen would be unavailable for an extended period - a period during which the hotel's full food and beverage operation still needed to function without interruption.
The client required a fully functioning temporary kitchen that matched the output demands of a professional catering environment - not a compromise solution.
Operational continuity was non-negotiable. As a busy hotel operating year-round with restaurant covers, events, conferencing, and room service obligations, any disruption to the food and beverage operation would carry serious commercial and reputational consequences.
Adding complexity, the refurbishment was structured in multiple phases, with different areas of the kitchen coming offline at different times. This demanded a hire partner capable of coordinating a phased equipment deployment - precisely synchronised with the contractor's build programme - rather than a single blanket installation.
Timeline pressure was significant. As with many capital refurbishment projects, final decisions on temporary kitchen requirements were confirmed at short notice, meaning our team had to mobilise quickly and deliver a fully commissioned solution within a compressed lead time.
Rather than applying a one-size-fits-all solution, we worked closely with the hotel's catering management team to understand the precise sequencing of the refurbishment works, identifying which kitchen functions were needed first and structuring our delivery around the build programme.
Refrigeration & Dishwash Kitchen
Establishment of the walk-in cold room refrigeration units and the dedicated dishwash kitchen, providing the cold storage and warewashing infrastructure needed to support the hotel's catering operation from the outset of the refurbishment.
Production & Preparation Maxi Kitchens
Bringing the production Maxi kitchen and preparation Maxi kitchen online, completing the full temporary catering facility and enabling the hotel's kitchen brigade to operate at full capacity for the remainder of the refurbishment programme.
Each installation date was planned and executed by our in-house installation team, ensuring complete continuity of knowledge between phases and avoiding the coordination problems that arise when multiple contractors are involved in a single project.
The temporary facility was specified to professional catering standard throughout - using the same quality of equipment the hotel's kitchen team were accustomed to working with, ensuring no drop in operational output or food quality during the refurbishment period.
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Modular walk-in refrigeration providing the cold storage capacity required to support a full hotel catering operation - bulk ingredients, prep output, dairy, meat and fish storage - all maintained at correct food-safe temperatures throughout the hire period.
The production kitchen was equipped with Rational combi ovens - the industry-leading choice for high-volume professional catering - combined with a Blue Seal prime cooking equipment suite covering the full range of hob, griddle, char-grill and fryer functions. This specification ensured the kitchen team could maintain full menu output with familiar, professional-grade equipment throughout the refurbishment.
A dedicated dishwash kitchen was established around a Sammic pass-through dishwasher - delivering the high-throughput warewashing capacity needed to service a busy hotel dining operation. The dedicated dishwash space was kept operationally separate from the production kitchen, maintaining correct hygiene zoning and workflow efficiency.
All units were delivered, installed and fully commissioned by our own in-house installation team - a critical distinction from hire suppliers who subcontract installation work.
With our team, the people who specify the equipment are the same people who install and commission it, ensuring every unit is set up correctly for the specific site and operational requirements.
Gas-fired equipment was connected and commissioned by our fully qualified, GasSafe-registered catering engineer, in full compliance with all relevant gas safety legislation and industry codes of practice. All equipment was signed off and verified operational before handover to the hotel's kitchen team, with full documentation provided.
Registered Engineer
Installation Team
Short Lead Time
The Apex Dunblane Hydro Hotel's catering team operated continuously throughout the full refurbishment period with no loss of service to guests, events or internal catering operations.
The phased delivery model aligned precisely with the project programme, ensuring equipment was on site and operational exactly when needed at each stage.
The client was highly satisfied with both the quality of the temporary kitchen solution and the professionalism of the installation and commissioning process.
This project illustrates what sets On-Site Kitchen Rentals Ltd apart in the temporary catering market. With over 25 years of experience supplying temporary kitchen and refrigeration solutions across the UK, we understand that hotel and hospitality clients cannot afford compromise.
Our ability to deliver professional-grade equipment on short notice, coordinate phased installations, and provide fully qualified in-house commissioning - including GasSafe-certified gas engineering - means we can support even the most demanding projects without disruption to your operation.
If you have a planned refurbishment, emergency kitchen breakdown, or seasonal capacity requirement, speak to our team today about a tailored temporary kitchen solution.
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