The two-acre Rooftop Garden at YTL Hotels’ five-star The Glasshouse is one of Edinburgh’s best-kept secrets. With its central location and some of the largest outdoor areas of any Edinburgh hotel, The Glasshouse is the perfect place to spend the summer with loved ones. The Glasshouse is an excellent option for nature lovers and those interested in seeing historic Carlton Hill from their room, as 29 of the hotel’s 77 rooms have direct garden access.
Location
The hotel offers a prime location between Old Town and New Town in the bustling heart of Edinburgh, just a few minutes walk from the new St James Centre. The York Place tram stop, which provides direct service to Edinburgh Airport, is also conveniently located nearby and the buzz of Princes Street is also just a moments walk away. The Glasshouse is a gem that exemplifies the city’s unique ability to meld rich heritage with chic, contemporary luxury.
Style & Character
The hotel’s Georgian archway dates back 172 years; it formerly housed the Lady Glenorchy Church and guests who enter through the archway are immediately immersed in a modern, light-filled area. The 77-room Glasshouse Hotel, located within 5 minutes’ walk from Edinburgh’s railway station, features a striking original church façade and a modern interior design.
Rooms & Suites
Each room is named after a well-known whisky, which is a special Scottish touch and we stayed in the The Glenfiddich Suite. The whole back wall of the suite was a wall of windows, from floor to ceiling, framing a view of the landscape leading up to the peak of Calton Hill. The windows are also shaded so that guests can see outside without worrying about being seen themselves. Extra-thick blackout drapes prevented the early morning light from ruining a restful sleep.
The Suite seemed like a bedroom and a living room thanks to a wooden barrier placed in the middle of the room. The pivotal feature was a TV that could be rotated 180 degrees within the partition, allowing for comfortable viewing whether you are seated in the living area or laying in bed.
Dining & Drinks
There is no formal evening dining area in the same sense that you would find one at a typical luxury hotel. Instead, guests are invited into the Snug Bar, which is just as cosy as its name suggests. There is a wide selection of both traditional dining areas and more relaxed seating options such as couches and lounge areas for your dining and drinking delights. The couches surrounding the fire pit are the first thing guests notice as they enter the dimly lit area, and for good reason.
The 100 whiskies on offer and decent cocktails are wonderful, but the glamorous rooftop patio in the summer and the cosy snug in the middle of the hotel are what really sell the hotel’s bar area.