The Scotsman Hotel

For other uses, see Scotsman (disambiguation).
The Scotsman Hotel
Scotsman Hotel Exterior at night
General information
Location Edinburgh, Scotland
Coordinates

55°57′4″N 3°11′17″W / 55.95111°N 3.18806°WCoordinates: 55°57′4″N 3°11′17″W / 55.95111°N 3.18806°W

Entrance to The Scotsman Hotel
Opening 2001
Owner

JJW Hotels & Resorts

Originally the reception to The Scotsman Newspaper, the new North Bridge Brasserie retains many of the original features.
Management JJW Hotels & Resorts
Technical details
Floor count 10
Other information
Number of rooms 56
Number of suites 13
Number of restaurants 1
Parking Available offsite at Edinburgh Waverley Train Station.
Website
Scotsman Hotel

The Scotsman Hotel Edinburgh opened in 2001 in the Edwardian (1905) building which had housed The Scotsman newspaper for nearly a century. The hotel is located on North Bridge between the Royal Mile and Princes Street, thereby straddling Edinburgh’s Medieval Old Town and Georgian New Town.

Ownership

The Scotsman is part of JJW Hotels & Resorts and was purchased by Sheikh M.B.I Al Jaber for £63 million in 2006.[1] In August 2007, JJW acquired The Eton Collection.[2]

Building history

In the 1900s the North Bridge running between the New and Old Town's of Edinburgh was widened and as part of this expansion a 190 foot high tower was built, into which The Scotsman newspaper moved their offices. The building cost around £500,000 and after the rest of the North Bridge extension was completed teamed with the Carlton directly opposite, it formed an imposing entrance to the Old Town.

The direct access from Market Street to the building was an ideal distribution outlet for the papers to be packed directly onto the trains at Edinburgh Waverley Rail Station straight from the printing house that took up the entire basement. The middle floors of the building were originally used for the editorial offices. The current penthouse used to be the Pigeon lofts. The site now occupied by the North Bridge Brasserie originally held the reception and trading rooms where bartering over advertising took place.

In 2001 the Newspaper moved to their own purpose built offices in Holyrood and the building was renovated into The Scotsman Hotel

Hotel

Image of one of the old Editor offices, now a luxury bedroom at The Scotsman Hotel

The press room in the basement now houses the Scotsman Health Club and Spa with a vast state of the art gym. Facilities include a steel swimming pool, steam and sauna, tropicarium, 60-station gym, spa treatment rooms and a relaxation suite.

Originally the reception to the old The Scotsman Newspaper, the new North Bridge Brasserie retains many of the original features, such as marble pillars.

Ghosts

In a link to its time as former offices of the Edinburgh Evening News, the building is reported to be "haunted by a host of ghosts, including a phantom printer and a phantom forger."[3]

Awards

Exterior image of The Scotsman Hotel, taken from Princes Street during the day.

References

  1. ↑ Colin Donald (February 1, 2006). "Scotsman hotel sold to Saudi for GBP 63m". The Scotsman. Retrieved 2009-02-01.
  2. ↑ Michael Blackley (August 16, 2007). "City's Scotsman Hotel booked in for a six-figure makeover Revamp ahead after group buys Eton Collection for GBP 70m". The Scotsman. Retrieved 2009-02-01.
  3. ↑ The Scotsman (Edinburgh). November 8, 2004 http://news.scotsman.com/features/Why-youve-more-than-a.2578441.jp. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. ↑ Frank ODonnell (September 28, 2002). "Scotsman Hotel wins AA Hotel of the Year award". The Scotsman. Retrieved 2009-02-01.
  5. ↑ http://www.scottishhoteloftheyearawards.com/docs/2008/SHOTY%202008%20Winners.pdf

External links