A stylish new development combining an aparthotel and flexible working spaces has opened its doors in the heart of Stirling.
The B-listed stone building at 45, King Street houses a boutique hotel featuring 15 individually styled suites and a community of private offices and co-working hub for small businesses, remote workers and sole traders.
King Street Aparthotel & WorKing Flexispaces are run by entrepreneurs Neil Munday and Paul Murray who offer a first-class, self-service hotel experience for business and leisure travellers plus a comfortable and well-equipped working environment for the business community.
Managing Director Neil, whose working background is in corporate sales and IT leadership spanning 30 years, developed the business after deciding on a change of direction several years ago.
He says: “Around the time of the first Covid lockdown I decided I wanted to change direction, move on from working in the corporate space and do something different.
“I had a well-paid job, a successful career and a nice lifestyle but also large family outgoings and wondered how I would sustain everything and support my family if I ever lost my job, or indeed anything worse happened. The pandemic was a wake-up call.”
Neil, a father-of-two, was fascinated by the concept of `Rich Dad Poor Dad’ – a book about the personal experiences of Robert T. Kiyosaki which spells out the importance of financial literacy and advocates creating wealth and achieving financial freedom by investing in assets and owning businesses.
Along with his wife Marie, Neil began his move out of the corporate world by investing in a property portfolio – the former Castle Campbell Hotel in Dollar which had been transformed into luxury apartments for short and longer-term rentals.
This proved a good first investment and the catalyst to deciding to establish a more significant cash flowing business in a more central location.
The couple released capital through an innovative type of self-administered pension scheme – known as a SSAS – which is aimed at company directors/entrepreneurs and allows members to invest their pension funds in assets such as commercial property.
Neil began looking for potential redevelopment sites in Stirling city centre and was shown the four-storey, 19th century building at 43-51 King Street which had lain empty for years and which proved the perfect premises for his ambitious project.
He says: “I was looking for the right site for an aparthotel and a surveyor contact who knew about the King Street building told me about it and how there had been plans to develop it pre-Covid which never got off the ground. I was shown around and decided there and then that this was it – I was in the right place at the right time and had found the premises I was searching for.”
Neil’s vision was to combine an aparthotel on the second and third floors of the building with flexible working spaces on the first floor.
He commissioned an interior designer named Dominic Paul (Interiors by Dominic Paul) to begin work on the site last January and from there the project quickly took off with a major redevelopment and refurbishment plan undertaken by various contractors.
Neil says: “We wanted to create a world class product which would be unlike anything else in Stirling – a boutique self-service aparthotel and a real community-based workspace. The concept was all about getting people collaborating and working together.”
As the project grew, Neil soon realised that he needed more investment and collaboration and his long-time friends Paul and Louise Murray came on board as fellow owners, directors and investors.
The two couples are equal shareholders and jointly invested in the two businesses which Neil and Paul run together. The working spaces and the aparthotel are soon to open with most offices and desks already signed up and the hotel already taking around a dozen bookings a day for the coming months.
The WorKing Flexispaces business includes 13 fully furnished private offices, a co-working hub with 14 desks and two private, sound-proof telephone booths, a business lounge and meeting/boardroom space, a professional podcast studio and a fitness suite with showers and changing facilities.
Its aim is to foster a working community in addition to providing workers with offices, desks and essential facilities such as high-speed internet.
Neil says: “The offices are all about building a thriving community of like-minded individuals and businesses and enabling that community to grow together with the opportunity to collaborate with or draw inspiration from each other.
“We also want to encourage businesses to invest in Stirling and bring them into the city by offering a superior working environment which they can be proud of.”
There are a variety of options available for business owners who want to secure a private office, book a meeting room or use the podcast studio and there is also a tiered membership programme available. Full details can be found on the website – www.workingflexispaces.com
The development features colourful murals on five walls and oil paintings in the rooms highlighting local landmarks and landscapes by Stirling artists David Galletly and Daniel Martin. There is also a 20-space car park behind the building which can be booked by working spaces or hotel users.
Meanwhile, collaboration and community engagement are also very much part of the ethos of the aparthotel which offers luxury suites with separate sleeping and living areas plus a small kitchenette with fridge and sink.
Neil says: “We’re aiming for lots of collaboration with the rest of the business community – for example we don’t have a bar or restaurant and can’t accommodate dining, so instead we have established partnerships with other businesses who will supply what we need.”
These include neighbouring business Vera Artisan Bakery, based at 51 King Street, who will provide breakfasts for hotel guests and nearby Chester’s Coffee House, at 3 King Street, who supply high quality coffee for the office and hotel guests.
Another collaboration will see several of the hotel’s rooms named after local charities with the owners making a donation every time someone stays in the room.
These include rooms named after Maggie’s Forth Valley which offers support for cancer patients and their families, Strathcarron Hospice and the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Regimental Museum at Stirling Castle.
The rooms are called Maggie’s, Strathcarron and Cruachan after the Shetland pony which is the regiment’s mascot – and there are possibly more to come..
Neil and Paul also strive to offer a personalised, concierge-style service to hotel guests ensuring they make the most of the fantastic attractions, restaurants, bars, shops and cafes available in Stirling and the surrounding area.
Neil says: “Our aim is to keep people in Stirling for more than one night. We’re hoping to attract visitors for three-to-four night stays and will become something of a destination marketing company creating bookable packages depending on what people want to do.
“For example, we will work with Geoff Morrison who runs the Stirling City Pass offering entry into multiple local attractions, with coach tour operators and local companies such as Made In Stirling and Radical Weavers who offer creative opportunities for our guests.
“Then further afield, we can organise for guests to visit The Kelpies, local distilleries and other attractions. We can help them build a package around a multi night stay which differentiates us as well as bringing in custom for other businesses in the area.”
The hotel – www.kingstreetaparthotel.com – will also offer guests recommendations of places to eat, drink and visit in Stirling with vibrant front-of-house manager Laura Chalkley providing a personalised service.
Neil says: “The hotel is small enough to care about its guests and Laura will be able to look after them and help them build an itinerary. Our objective is to get to know them and what they are looking for before they arrive so we can personalise the experience and really engage them once they are here.”
King Street Aparthotel & WorKing Flexispaces are already making their mark in the city and were a finalist for New Business of the Year at the 2025 Stirling Business Awards.
Neil and Paul are determined to make a success of the King Street development and provide exceptional experiences for all users.
Neil says: “We took a significant risk and embarked on a big journey to achieve our vision but we never looked back and now we are at the fun stage.
“We’re looking forward to delivering a first-class experience for our business and leisure guests and what’s most exciting is the evolution of our collaboration with other Stirling stakeholders – working with local businesses and individuals to bring to life a landmark building which will be a legacy for the whole community.”
