Ten Hill Place Hotel

There is nothing better than being a tourist in your own city and over the past year of travel restrictions, it has given me the perfect opportunity to do just that. Even though I cast my gaze over the stunning sights of Edinburgh on a daily basis, being able to explore the city as a tourist has reignited my wonder and opened my eyes to the beauty this historic city holds. Even if you’re not from Edinburgh or haven’y yet had the chance to visit, a staycation here will definitely make you fall in love with this magical city. With staycations on the rise, many hotels across Edinburgh have come up with a range of fantastic offers to make your stay even more enticing. I recently experienced the ‘Scotcation’ offer at Ten Hill Place in the Surgeons Quarter.

Situated a mere ten-minute walk from the historic centre is the city’s largest independent hotel, Ten Hill Place. This four-star hotel opened its doors back in 2006. This central hotel is owned by the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and all of its profits go back into training surgeons worldwide. With its fantastic location in Edinburgh’s Old Town, Ten Hill Place is the perfect place for a city staycation as its within walking distance to all the shops, bars, restaurants and sights.

To showcase what Edinburgh has to offer, Ten Hill Place Hotel has recently introduced its ‘Scotcation’ package. This value for money package provides guests with a two-night stay in the hotel, a £100 voucher to spend on food and beverage throughout their stay and a 24hr ticket on the Edinburgh City Sightseeing Bus Tour. After such a turbulent period, the travel and hospitality industry needs as much support as possible, therefore I especially admire that with this offer 10% of the revenue generated goes directly to the employees as a gratuity. Additionally, a further 10% will go to the Hospitality Industry Trust Scotland’s ‘Emerging Talent of The Industry’ scholarship.

Ten Hill Place Hotel boasts 129 rooms with six differing room types including; Classic Room, The Loft Room, Deluxe Room, Superior Room, Skyline Junior Suite and a range of Accessible Rooms. Each of the rooms are contemporary and similar in style with neutral walls, dark furniture and pops of orange and purple from their seating and accessories. I was invited to stay in their Skyline Junior Suite, which as the name suggests, is located towards the top of the property and enjoys some magnificent views overlooking the city.

Walking into the suite I was immediately impressed with just how spacious and airy the room was. The suite contains a separate lounge area, bedroom and bathroom which also exudes a neutral hue of whites and grey adorned with pops of vibrant orange. The lounge has comfortable seating, a coffee table, a desk area and a large cupboard as well a flat-screen tv.

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The adjoining bedroom has a large bed, bedside lighting with reading lights, USB charging points and an additional TV. For additional comfort, before your stay, you can ask for a choice of mattress firmness. I was very surprised at how quiet it was considering the central location of the hotel. As a light sleeper, this is always a concern for me (I do like my beauty sleep) but along with the comfort of the mattress, I woke up feeling refreshed after a pleasant nights sleep.

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Equally impressive was the floor to ceiling windows in both the lounge and bedroom which allowed the light to come flooding in and made me feel as if I was floating above the city. The expansive views skimmed the nearby rooftops of Edinburgh’s historic buildings, all backed by the natural splendour of the Salisbury Crags and Arthurs seat. It was fantastic to lie back in bed and see such an iconic sight right outside the window. As well as the impressive size and views, there are numerous extra luxurious touches in the Skyline Junior Suite which include fluffy towelling Robes, Slippers, a bottle of bubbly on arrival, an Algotherm Cosmetique Marine Pamper treatment bag and a scented candle.

For someone who cares tremendously for the environment, I was very happy to see that the hotel has many things in place to support this. As well as removing all plastic bottles from the hotel rooms they have also started a ‘Choose to Be Green Scheme, where you can forgo housekeeping during your stay and in doing so they will donate £5 per night to Bowel Cancer UK. I especially liked the special touch of a small sachet of Scottish wildflower seeds, so after your stay, you can plant them in your chosen spot to support the ecosystem.

With the ‘Scotcation’ package I took full advantage of the £100 dining vouchers and visited the hotel’s restaurant and bar. Both the lounge and restaurant are light and airy and echo the contemporary decor around the rest of the hotel.

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Executive Chef, Alan Dickson has created a simple but varied menu including dishes such as traditional fish and chips and truffle Mac ’n cheese both of which were equally tasty. For vegetarians, I highly recommend the falafel burger which is full of flavour and a considerably sized portion.

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The bar area has a more dark vibe and sells a range of beers, Scottish gins and cocktails. I do recommend the hotels very own 1505 gin made with 15 botanicals, including 5 taken from the 16th-century aqua vitae recipe.

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The ‘Scotcation’ offer also includes a 24hr ticket per guest on Edinburgh’s renowned City Sightseeing Bus Tour which I highly recommend you use during your stay. Although I am from Edinburgh, surprisingly I’ve never taken this tour and I found it to be a fantastic to see the city from a different aspect and also learn more about the city’s historic past. It was so lovely to notice numerous intricacies of the city that I have overlooked previously during the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Luckily the bus stops right by the hotel and as the ticket is valid for 24 hours it’s a great form of transport from one side of the city to the other.

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Ten Hill Place Hotel makes for the perfect staycation due to its central location, spacious rooms and its excellent value for money ‘Scotcation’ offer. Despite there still being numerous Covid restrictions in place, the hotel has a fantastic range of practices to allow its guests to have an enjoyable stay whilst remaining safe. One of the main highlights of my stay was the incredible staff who where were nothing but courteous, friendly and informative and are a real credit to this Edinburgh hotel.

Blu Blazer Guy Rating:

Location – 5/5
Customer Service – 4.5/5
Accommodation – 4/5
Cleanliness – 5/5
Food and Drink – 3.5/5

The ‘Scotcation’ offer is £299 per couple and available until 31 October 2021.