MARRIOTT HOTEL TO OPEN SOON
For the last seven years, many locals have been anxiously monitoring the progress – or lack of it – of development at 1–3 Baxter’s Place.
As scheme after scheme failed to materialise, and the Category A-listed frontage turned green before our eyes, it seemed as if the structure was more likely to mysteriously burn down than find a new purpose.
Happily, such fears have not materialised, and now a new hotel designed by the Chris Stewart Group is nearing completion behind the scenes. Last week, Spurtle went for a look inside.
The Courtyard Edinburgh will be a 4-star, 240-bedroom scheme by Marriott, aimed mainly at European business and leisure travellers, and it’s due to open this Christmas.
Douglas Winfield (general manager) and Sarah Reid (director of sales) led the way around, focusing on the ‘Georgian’ part of the development which is nearest completion.
Behind the three-townhouse façade, the structure has been rebuilt, but the high ceilings and quirky shapes of the rooms here reflect aspects of the original interior, part of which was inhabited by the 19th-century lighthouse engineer Robert Stevenson.
Stevenson’s career is referenced throughout in paintings, technical drawings and light fittings, and in a large bust of him – reproduced from the original held at the Northern Lighthouse Board – which will feature on the hotel’s principal stair.
There are two entrances at ground-floor level, with reception desks, a ‘market’ for snacks and drinks, and a brasserie/bar – the Lantern Room – which will also be open to non-residents for breakfast, lunch, dinner and drinks. There’s space here as well for private dining.
This part of the hotel connects with the relaid terrace outside, where tables will be equipped with Scandinavian-style umbrellas, heaters and blankets for those wishing to enjoy fresh air and street culture throughout the year.
Downstairs, the restaurant continues. The emphasis, says Winfield, will be on simple and locally sourced food done excellently. Small plates and sharing platters will appeal to peckish theatre-goers who don’t want to snore or borborygmicise through all the thoughtful bits of Mama Mia! afterwards.
Adjacent to the restaurant are the rather nattily named ‘media pods’ where guests can escape the travails of relaxing and reconnect to their business and social-media existences. There’s also a 16-place board-room style meeting space at this level, with a 50” TV screen for fully immersive PowerPoint presentations.
Upstairs, the bedrooms are a variety of shapes and sizes, with views out over Picardy, Blenheim and York Places, Union and Antigua Streets, and Calton Hill.
In the adjacent 60,000 sq.ft extention to the rear, reached by three glass-walled link bridges and still full of thundering builders, there’s much more conformity in terms of layout, but all rooms will be fitted out to the same standard.
A ‘dynamic pricing’ structure will see nightly rates range from £90–£95 to £140–£150 to ‘much more at certain times of year’. Guests and visitors will be served by 100 staff members, many of whom are being recruited right now.
Winfield and Reid are keen that the Courtyard should not be an unapproachable beacon isolated from the community around it. They envisage locals patronising the bar, restaurant and terrace on a regular basis, and would welcome local associations into the meeting space on weekday evenings.
Hopefully, the traffic will be two-way, with intrepid guests venturing forth and spending money elsewhere – perhaps, like Stevenson’s velvet-jacketed grandson RLS, finding charm and delight among Leith Walk’s huge variety of small, friendly, independent offerings.
Got a view? Tell us at spurtle@hotmail.co.uk and @theSpurtle and Facebook
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Paul Burgess Great to see it brought back from dereliction
Neale Gilhooley Glad that the stone facade has been saved and that the scaffolding will finally vanish.
Lorraine Moore It's good to see it refurbished
Patrick Hadfield By Christmas? They can't be doing much inside!
Euan MacGuzzi McGlynn Thought that was going to be student flats when did it change.
Broughton Spurtle Unite’s application for listed building consent for alterations and change of use from Class 2 to student residential accommodation was withdrawn in July 2007. Consent for change of use to a licensed hotel was granted in March 2009.