The Glasshouse Hotel was fabulous. It is unique among hotels and centrally located in Edinburgh. The façade at the front of the hotel is what remains of a19th-century church, but this glass-clad boutique hotel is pure 21st century. My wife and I stayed at the Glasshouse for a week in May and June of 2009 in the Dalwinnie suite. All of the suites are named for a local Scotch whiskey.
The room and bathroom were spotlessly clean and had everything you could need and would expect from a 5 star hotel. The hotel is centrally located and almost anything you'd want to visit in Edinburgh is within walking distance—The Royal Mile, the St. James shopping center and Princess street for instance.
We did take a taxi to and from the Waverly railway station because we didn’t want to drag our luggage the few blocks to and from the hotel. There is quite a busy street and intersection between the station and hotel. That is no problem really, but we are sort of old and figured the short taxi ride was worth it so we didn’t have to wrestle with our suitcases.
Our suite on the third floor opened onto a large roof garden and lawn that gave us the feeling we were on the ground floor. Our suite was quiet and felt quite private and secure. The suite was divided by a huge floor to ceiling slatted screen with a television set embedded in it.
The room was clean and made up daily with the usual tidy up and bed making. The bathroom was modern and large with a great standup shower stall. The delightful soaps and lotions were replenished daily. There were huge fluffy robes provided too. There was a little complimentary decanter of Dalwinnie Scotch offered in the room on our first day at the hotel.
The lobby is not all that impressive, but the friendly and helpful staff is—impressive that is. We did encounter a strange, but amusing person on our first day at the hotel. I thought he was the doorman. He was dressed in a black suit and wore a large black fedora. He greeted us, opened the door and seemed to be a font of information about Edinburgh. The hotel staff seemed to know him and told us his name which I have since forgotten. He disappeared after our first encounter and I determined he was a quaint fixture around the hotel and probably completely nuts.
There is no restaurant in the hotel, but a fabulous breakfast is served in a very nice facility—white table cloths, flowers on the tables, gourmet food both served and with fruit and breads from a buffet table. The Japanese lady who seemed to be in charge was a delight. She was perky, friendly, and welcomed us every morning with a cheerful “Helloooo”.
There is a collection of restaurants right next door to the Glasshouse Hotel. They are in a huge modern Cinema complex where one can choose between a Pizza joint, a Chinese buffet, a Spanish café or a couple of other eateries. None of these places offer fancy fare, but they are handy and served us nicely. There is a very nice pub on the corner just down the hill a bit from the hotel for those who want a pint and a snack.
Honestly, the only complaint I had about our stay at the hotel was how they charged for access to computer WiFi. In this day and age free WiFi should be available in a five star hotel room.
I can recommend the Glasshouse Hotel without hesitation.
