Edinburgh Residence

*Note — this is an afternoon tea review, not for the hotel*
Given the Unilocalers fondness for all things good, afternoon tea has been on several agenda’s. We had a great afternoon tea at The Scotsman so with that in mind, my little gang of gluten free amigo’s were long overdue a catch up, so I figured afternoon tea would be something different.
After a debate on the price of booze, we opted for the Edinburgh Residence as it had the edge on the price of bubbles. I had heard a couple of positive stories about afternoon tea here — there was mention of a butler, old fashioned hospitality and an awesome afternoon tea (and a GF version available) so the consensus was to give it a shot. Big mistake.
£17 to eat prepacked GF cake’s from the supermarket (Waitrose, Sainsbury, Asda — insert appropriate supplier), bread was the ‘not so good generic one’ so sandwiches were dry. Either take the crusts off or leave them on — not a half and half as this looks like sloppy presentation. Curdled clotted cream (stomach wasn’t happy later) and having to chase staff (although friendly enough) for tea, drinks, etc is not what afternoon tea should be about. Not what service in a supposed 5* hotel is meant to be either.
There was also a ‘mistake’ over our drinks order. We ordered a bottle, got four glasses, told that was it. Given that I have champagne glasses which hold ¼ bottle each, then these glasses were noticeably smaller than mine so there was no way four glasses had finished the bottle. Got another bottle and then when we asked for the remains of it, well over half a bottle appeared. We all suspected they were trying to charge us by the glass, rather than the 2 bottles we asked for. The prosecco was nice — just tasted a bit sour near the end over the ‘errors’.
So, maybe the normal afternoon tea is better but for the price and the experience then I have no plans to return, or to mention, ‘I’ve heard the Edinburgh Residence is good…’

I surprised my fiancé with a romantic getaway to this hotel earlier this year. Calling it a hotel is inaccurate; it’s more than that. The feeling you get from as soon as you work in through the door is that you’re stepping back in time. The entire hotel is lavishly decorated in the Scottish baronial style and every detail from the brocade curtains to the stone fireplaces sings out with luxuriant quality. The staff are welcoming, attentive and courteous, and treated us like we were the most important people in the hotel. The rooms are sumptuous and grand, but at the same time warm and inviting. Each room comes with a gigantic double bed, a gorgeously soft sofa, a dining table and chairs, a television (elegantly concealed) and glorious period wardrobes. My favourite part however was the en-​suite bathroom which was not only visually stunning, it contained a divinely appointed bath, big enough for two!
The Edinburgh Residence oozes with understated elegance and provided the perfect end to our perfect time in Edinburgh. I heartily recommend this hotel, and look forward to coming back here again with my fiancé on our wedding night!