Kimpton Charlotte Square Edinburgh hotel review: living the high life in the lowlands

For many years The Roxburghe - as it was long known - was synonymous with Edinburgh’s fashionable West End, and although it has had many rebrandings over the years, the latest incarnation the Kimpton Charlotte Square more than lives up to its forebears' reputation.

The hotel's Georgian townhouses sits grandly on the corner of Charlotte Square and George Street, in the heart of Edinburgh’s New Town. George Street is peppered with a range of cafés and restaurants to suit all palates, while Edinburgh’s main shopping thoroughfare, Princes Street, is just around the corner.

The hotel won both Brand Hotel of the Year and Style Hotel of the Year at 2018's Scottish Hotel Awards and on entry, it is immediately clear why. The Kimpton makes excellent use of the Georgian townhouses which make up the bulk of the building, with a labyrinthine feel combining the ambience of a boutique hotel with the impeccable guest experience of a high-end chain.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

With a design-driven, luxury boutique feel the bedrooms reference the golden age of travel in details such as wooden trunks and antique mirrors, while at the same time providing for the needs of the modern traveller, such as USB charging points.

Attention to detail is evident everywhere. Heavy velvet curtains and tartan rugs keep things cosy but luxurious, while the stylish bathroom features bulkhead lights, tongue and groove panelling and opulent baths with rainfall showers.

Completing the Scottish hospitality is a tuck box of complimentary treats, refilled every day in your room. After all, there’s nothing quite like a Tunnocks Caramel Wafer in bed.

Speaking of beds, it's quite often the case that a hotel’s never match up to your own but the Kimpton’s are some of the comfiest around, as you would expect of handmade mattresses and plush bedding.

The Garden, a stunning atrium dining room, is a delight, offering a breakfast spread where guests can enjoy eggs cooked to order, a full Scottish breakfast, or lighter continental fare under a glass roof, hanging plants, and basket pendant lights. While its not very 2019 to rave about the bacon sandwiches, they were the highlight of the weekend.

When we visited on a weekday lunchtime, the Kimpton's restaurant, BABA, was remarkably busy but the staff were attentive and informative.

BABA offers their own take on some classic Middle Eastern dishes - we shared some deliciously smoky hummus with freshly baked pitta bread, but the star of the show was undoubtedly the cauliflower shawarma with ras el hanout, pomegranate and mint. While shawarmas are usually the preserve of a meat-eater, this vegetarian offering had serious wow-factor.

A good hotel makes itself known to you gradually and that was certainly the case with our stay. Hotel staff were attentive without being overbearing and by the end of our visit, we felt a growing loyalty of our own to a home from home where we were met with warmth and conviviality normally reserved for old friends.