Luxury brand W Hotels has confirmed it is opening its first Scottish property in the controversial St James development in Edinburgh.

The W Edinburgh will be in the centre of the £850m city centre project, where the current shopping centre will be demolished and replaced with up to 250 homes, 30 restaurants, shops and a multi-screen cinema.

Completion of the 1.7 million square foot development is expected by 2020 and the new hotel is due to open the following year.

The 214-room hotel will have a rooftop bar and outdoor terrace with views across the city skyline, as well as a spa, restaurant and event space.

It will be the second W hotel in the UK after the Leicester Square hotel in central London, which opened in 2011 and recently hosted a karaoke event with tennis champion Serena Williams.

Michael Wale, a senior manager of the hotel chain owners Starwood Hotels and Resorts, said: "As an established business hub with a thriving global tourism industry, we are confident that there will be a huge appetite for our innovative lifestyle brand in the Scottish capital."

Work is already under way at the site off Leith Street.The St James centre will be taken down in phases, while the adjacent John Lewis store will be retained in the new development.