Edinburgh Travel Guide
Tags: Designer Uniforms / Fashion Hotels / Missoni Hotel / Edinburgh Hotels / → All Tags
Is The Staff At The First Missoni Hotel Wearing T-Shirts?
Although the first Missoni Hotel has been open now in Edinburgh, Scotland for over two months, not many pictures or reviews have come out of it. We want to see every striped nook and polka-dotted cranny of that place, and especially what the staff is wearing.
Luckily Flickr yields a few tantalizing pictures, like this one of the dizzyingly patterned crockery in the Missoni Cucina. Still, this is a fashion hotel and its bartenders and room attendants and waiters have got to be wearing the chicest hotel duds this side of the Versace Resorts, right?
Tags: Missoni Hotels / Hotel Restaurants / Hotel Openings / Fashion Hotels / → All Tags
Missoni Hotel Gets Even More Scottish With New Restaurant
It's been almost two months since the Missoni Hotel Edinburgh debuted to the public as the first Missoni Hotel in the world, and it looks like we've still got another two months to go before it grand-opens with another restaurant.
Although there is already the Missoni Bar and Missoni Cucina, it's been announced that Roy Brett, chef-director of the Dakota Hotel Group, will get his own restaurant on the street-level of the hotel. It's to be called Ondine after a mythical sea nymph, and will focus on seafood. Brett himself describes the restaurant's concept: "Set against the backdrop of Edinburgh’s historic old town, Ondine will bring together my passion for fish, shellfish and local produce, which will offer locals and visitors something quite different."
So it sounds like, despite Missoni's Italian brand and international design flair, that Hotel Missonis are open to incorporating local businesses and tastes. This will be a Scottish restaurant after all; something we could have never imagined paired in the same paragraph as the words "Missoni Hotel." Now, when the restaurant opens in September, do you think they'll make Missoni patterns in our bowl of cullen skink?
[Photo: Missoni Cucina at Missoni Hotel Edinburgh]
Tags: Missoni Hotels / Edinburgh Hotels / Hotel Openings / Scotland Hotels / Fashion Hotels / → All Tags
Hotel Missoni Opens Today, But Why In Edinburgh?
Finally, we get another picture (the restaurant) from the interior of the Hotel Missoni which opened today in Edinburgh, Scotland. You'd think that during their recent visit to the property, the Guardian UK would have taken a few more shots, but instead they focused their energies on asking Missoni matriarch Rosita her reasons for choosing Edinburgh for the first hotel of her brand. Her response, after citing comfort over pretentiousness, is even-handed:
I admit that in the rain, Scotland can seem cold and dark and terrible, but in the sun you see its true beauty. I first came here 30 years ago for the festival, and went walking, out through the highlands, and I remember the heather and land - the colours were magnificent. Edinburgh is severe but very stylish and I tried to reflect that in the designs.
It probably also worked out in favor of the city that it's not already crowded with boutique or fashion hotels like in Milan; the Missoni Hotel will become the spot. That is, if brunching Scots can handle those blue walls and bright patterns pictured above after a night out on the town.
[Photo: Richard Davies/PR]
Tags: Hotel Openings / Missoni Hotels / Scotland Hotels / Edinburgh Hotels / Hotel News / Fashion Hotels / → All Tags
Hotel Missoni Edinburgh Now Open to Missonis; Opens to Public Next Week
Where can we score a Missoni kilt for ourselves? Oh yes, perhaps at the almost-open Hotel Missoni Edinburgh! This first entry into what will be a series of Missoni Hotels—Kuwait's coming in fall—is prepping their Italian espresso machines and straightening out the creases in the striped bedsheets with only a few days until their June 8 opening to guests.
This past weekend however, the Missoni family themselves stopped in to survey how their fashion brand has translated into a physical hotel property. As you can see in the picture above, Scottish hospitality showed in spades as the family was welcomed by Missoni kilt-wearing waiters from the Cucina Missoni restaurant as well as a traditional bagpipe player.
Rooms for this month are looking quite within range as well—$283 for a regular room, or $386 for deluxe room with breakfast. If you aren't anywhere near Scotland this summer, you can bet that all the big glossy interior design publications will be flashbulbing the heck out of the hotel later this month. After all, it's Missoni from top to bottom and that means reconciling crazy patterns and colors with the desire to create the restful environment of a hotel.
[Photo: Hotel Missoni Edinburgh]
Tags: Missoni Hotels / Edinburgh Hotels / Hotel Opening Dates / Scotland Hotels / Fashion Hotels / → All Tags
Get Psyched for the Debut of Missoni Hotels in June...in Scotland
Search the back of your closet for that Missoni piece you totally splurged on at a sale last year, because the first Missoni Hotels property is on the brink of throwing open its brightly-patterned doors in Edinburgh, Scotland.
It'll be all the colors and patterns your weary tourist eyes can handle in June, when the hotel opens and we finally get to see more than renderings of what looks to be a vibrant Italian fashion fantasyland plopped into Scotland.
The opening itself will be quite an imported spectacle, with Rosita Missoni herself cutting the ribbon to the 136-room property on the Scottish capital's historic Royal Mile. Not to mention that some of the furnishings are from her own home, and a majority of the rest are previews of the latest Missoni home lines, debuting at the hotel first.
So what's the nightly damage to your credit card for a room alone? A reasonable $268, considering that includes WiFi, laundering of 2 items of clothing, premium movies and a newspaper in the world's newest fashion hotel. Add another $22 if you'd like a Missoni breakfast delivered to your Missoni linen-otfitted bed. Here's hoping that even the room service features Missoni-branded toast and pats of butter.
[Photo: Hotel Missoni]
Tags: Killer View / Edinburgh Hotels / Radisson Hotels / → All Tags
Room With a Killer View :: Radisson SAS Edinburgh
We are suckers for a room with a killer view. We find that we are even more likely to forgive some minor hotel inconveniences if we can stare out the window at something pretty--yeah we are that shallow. Let's help out our fellow hotel mavens by uploading rooms with killer views to the HotelChatter/Flickr photo pool, or by sending the photo along to us. We will feature our favorites in this space from time to time. Remember to tell us the name of the hotel and the room number of the hot view.
We've already sent kudos the way of the Radisson SAS Edinburgh because they're doing a bunch of nice green stuff. But, as all the best home shopping networks say: there's more!
The Radisson in Edinburgh also has truly incredible views. This killer view was from one of the loft rooms--guest Robin said they couldn't remember the room number, but "it felt like a long way from reception". We would happily accept a long hike from the lobby to our room if the reward is this kind of view.
This hotel is on the "Royal Mile" in Edinburgh and is between Edinburgh Castle and Holyrood Palace, so you're already in the thick of things. Average room rates are close to $300 but at least you won't need to pay for too many taxis.
[Photo: Robin Kearney]
Tags: Celebrity Scoop / Harry Potter Hotels / Luxury Hotels / Edinburgh Hotels / JK Rowling / Celebrity Suites / → All Tags
Harry Potter and the $2,000 Hotel Room
Oh, Harry Potter fans. We smiled when we passed by the bookstore the night you were all camping out for the midnight release of book 7, costumes and all. And we like to think we were very understanding when you retreated to a quiet spot to read the book for the next 20 hours. And then we tolerated our Google newsfeeds with a good attitude as they were flooded by the news that a certain characters' sexual preference was revealed.
But even we, as supporters of crazy Harry Potter fanpeople worldwide (even though some of us at HotelChatter haven't read a single one of the books), think this is a little much.
See, room 552 at the Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh, Scotland is where author J.K. Rowling finished the very last book in the series back in January of last year. The hotel renamed the 180 square-foot room in her honor, and now, according to the Telegraph, Harry fans fly in from all over the world to stay in the legendary room.
Tags: Valentine's Day Hotels / Edinburgh Hotel Reviews / → All Tags
Valentine's Day Hotels: 'Dare to Bare' in Edinburgh
We probably couldn't come up with a cornier name for a Valentine's Day package if we tried, so we'll just cut straight to the chase: the Scotsman Hotel in Edinburgh is offering a Valentine's season special called Dare to Bare.
Yes, it is as odd as it sounds, because this package includes a professional photo shoot of naked or semi-naked pictures (of you), which will be turned into a 12-page glossy book exclusively for your loved one. The Scotsman has roped in multi-award-winning photographer Trevor Yerbury to take your pics, and hair and make-up done by pros is also included in the deal.
If this sounds like your kind of thing, you'll need to fork out £1,249 (over US$2,400) for one night's accommodation, champagne, massage oil, chocolates, breakfast, and use of the health club. And of course, the whole Dare to Bare photo shoot and souvenir book. You can add extra nights for £450 ($880) a night, and the deal is valid from February 2 - 17, 2008. Do you Dare to Bare?
Tags: Edinburgh Hotel Reviews / Eco-Hotels / Radisson Hotels / → All Tags
Edinburgh's Radisson SAS Doing Great Green Stuff
Being shortlisted for an industry green award doesn't necessarily make a hotel green, but the environmentally friendly actions of the Radisson SAS Edinburgh in Scotland are fairly admirable.
To begin with, they hired a full-time "green guru" in charge of eco-friendly measures at the hotel. Her first action was to install energy-efficient light bulbs which immediately saw a 26% drop in energy use for the same month of the previous year. Pretty impressive.
But it doesn't stop at lighting. We're quite impressed with the "e-cube device" they use in fridges at the Edinburgh Radisson. These clever gadgets measure the temperature of the food rather than of the (often empty) fridge space and don't overcool the air: another saving of around 30% of energy costs, they say.
From the guest point of view, there are the usual "don't wash my towel" programs, a reminder to turn off taps and an optional one pound per night levy to "carbon neutralize" your stay. Plenty of simple things but with a big effect: that's the green philosophy at the Edinburgh Radisson.
[Photo: johnnyfairplay]
Related Stories:
· Hotel Cateys: Green Award Shortlist [CatererSearch]
· Hotels in Edinburgh [HotelChatter]
· Does Housekeeping Really Listen When You Don't Want Your Sheets Changed? [HotelChatter]
Tags: Celebrity Scoop / Scotland Hotel Reviews / → All Tags
Sleep with Boy George (Maybe!) at the Grosvenor
We've heard of hotels recycling in an effort to go green, but the Hilton Edinburgh Grosvenor is placing a funky twist on the idea of new uses for old things.
In an effort to boldly launch a 1.2 million pound refurbishment and draw a goodly amount of publicity, the hotel recently announced it will be auctioning off all 66 of its beds as part of a charity drive, beginning April 29.
That's right - for a mere 20 pounds, you can have a mattress that Boy George slept on. Or maybe Billy Connelly? Or perhaps other "big names from the world of sport and stage?" The imagination boggles.
Proceeds will go to the Hilton in the Community Foundation, which supports young people worldwide wherever there are Hilton chains (though a large portion of their income derives from from initiatives held "primarily in in the UK.")
According to Tripadvisor reviews, the rooms are in desperate need of makeovers, so we applaud the initiative, the charity, and the celebrity, uh, dirt.
Related Stories:
· Boy George slept here and you can too (maybe) in hotel charity sell-off [Scotsman]
Tags: Edinburgh Hotel Reviews / Hotel Trends / Scotland Hotels / → All Tags
Eight is About Just Enough at Edinburgh Hotel
It seems like we're all becoming so huggy and friendly that we all want to sleep in the same hotel room: and so some hotels are starting to provide something that seems like a backwards step to a youth hostel, but is actually filling a need: rooms that sleep up to eight people.
The latest "big room" can be found in Edinburgh's Osbourne Hotel, and they're claiming their 4.5 by 5 meter room as "the world's biggest hotel room".
Apparently the trend towards family and group travel, particularly strong in Europe with the surge in budget airlines, means hotels are more often getting requests for big rooms rather than interconnected ones. Hotel staff say guests arrive in packs "for a weekend of fun and mayhem", especially for stag and hens' nights. Party on! The reviews of the Osbourne, however, are pretty mixed, so if you don't really need the world's biggest hotel room then perhaps your pick in Edinburgh should be the hallowed room where Harry Potter reached his end.
Related Stories:
· Osbourne Hotel Edinburgh reviews [TripAdvisor]
· Harry Potter's End at Luxury Hotel [HotelChatter]
Tags: Celebrity Scoop / Harry Potter Hotels / Luxury Hotels / Edinburgh Hotel Reviews / → All Tags
Harry Potter's Final Chapter Ends at Luxury Hotel
Actually, a luxury hotel is where author J.K. Rowling finished writing the final Harry Potter chapter ever. The Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh reported that Rowling signed a marble bust in her luxury hotel room after she finished the last Harry Potter book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows."
"J.K. Rowling finished writing Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows in this room on 11 Jan 2007," read the message.
Reports have it that Rowling used a black marker on the antique-style bust. Which is fine because antique-style surely means it was acquired from some large mass producing hotel furniture supply store and not worth anything. Hmmm...you're paying how much for rooms at this hotel?
At least she didn't leave any cryptic messages behind like "mondo douchebag" author Dan Brown. Or on a female masseuse like Kevin Costner did.
Related Stories:
· J.K. Rowling signed statue in hotel room where she completed final Harry Potter book [IHT]
· Dan Brown Still Riding 'Da Vinci Code' Fever Train [HotelChatter]
· Balmoral Hotel reviews [TripAdvisor]
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