Broadsheet to Boutique
Since becoming a hotel, the former Scotsman offices have been making headlines, says Kamin Mohammadi
Once the distinguished home of Scotland’s finest newspaper, The Scotsman Hotel completed its unlikely transformation from newspaper office to luxury boutique hotel just over a year ago. The former editor’s office is now a spacious bedroom, while in the former features department guests now sit and chat while having a drink. No change there then, you might think…
But while the splendid walnut wood panelling and marble columns of the original 1905 building have been preserved, it has also been renovated to offer the latest in hi-tech, a cathedral-like restaurant and a glorious whisky bar. The service is warm and slick, while in the bedroom department you can choose from the likes of Editors Rooms, Publishers Suites and Directors Suites. Best of all is taking the private lift up to the Penthouse, a suite built into a turret which combines cosiness and sheer decadence, with a dining room, library, roof terrace and a bathroom to die for – it has a sauna and views over the city and castle. Elsewhere, there is a slick gym that is popular with locals and a health spa that features the city’s only stainless steel swimming pool, an oasis of dimly lit calm that is worth the headlines alone.
The Scotsman, 20 North Bridge, Edinburgh
T: 0131 556 5565; F: 0131 652 3652; www.thescotsmanhotel.co.uk
Since becoming a hotel, the former Scotsman offices have been making headlines, says Kamin Mohammadi
Once the distinguished home of Scotland’s finest newspaper, The Scotsman Hotel completed its unlikely transformation from newspaper office to luxury boutique hotel just over a year ago. The former editor’s office is now a spacious bedroom, while in the former features department guests now sit and chat while having a drink. No change there then, you might think…
But while the splendid walnut wood panelling and marble columns of the original 1905 building have been preserved, it has also been renovated to offer the latest in hi-tech, a cathedral-like restaurant and a glorious whisky bar. The service is warm and slick, while in the bedroom department you can choose from the likes of Editors Rooms, Publishers Suites and Directors Suites. Best of all is taking the private lift up to the Penthouse, a suite built into a turret which combines cosiness and sheer decadence, with a dining room, library, roof terrace and a bathroom to die for – it has a sauna and views over the city and castle. Elsewhere, there is a slick gym that is popular with locals and a health spa that features the city’s only stainless steel swimming pool, an oasis of dimly lit calm that is worth the headlines alone.
The Scotsman, 20 North Bridge, Edinburgh
T: 0131 556 5565; F: 0131 652 3652; www.thescotsmanhotel.co.uk
