Review: Gleneagles Townhouse
Gleneagles Townhouse review – in a sentence
Chic, Edinburgh outpost of the famed Gleneagles brand, and a perfect little city centre bolthole.
Design: 4/5
If you're familiar with the legendary Gleneagles brand, you'll know what to expect, here: interiors are super luxurious – think velvet in rich, jewel-toned hues (emerald, teal, baby bink), fringed sofas, antique rugs and claw foot bath tubs. The resulting overall vibe is grown up but fun elegance.
Gleneagles Townhouse is situated in the former Bank of Scotland building, so the space itself has serious wow-factor and evokes real old-school glamour (a bit like The Ned, if any of you reading are Londoners).
Though the building itself is grand, in terms of guest footfall, occupancy is fairly small for a city centre hotel (33 rooms) so there’s a quiet and intimate atmosphere.
On room décor & amenities, I want to give a special shout out to the bathrooms – which feature underfloor heating (dreamy), power showers, separate free standing tubs and quite literally the MOST PLUSH hotel slippers I've ever used. Big fan!
Food & drink: 4/5
The Spence is the on-site restaurant and is a pretty jaw-dropping space, featuring incredible domed ceilings and a beautiful bar at its centre.
In terms of the food itself, we thought breakfast was really strong – you get to choose whatever you want from the a la carte menu (as in, literally anything – as many courses as you want), which is super generous, and the quality was to a high standard.
We found service at dinner to be a little slow, but the restaurant was absolutely PACKED (it's open to the public as well as guests) so I suppose we have to allow for service to be a little slower than usual on a busy weekend evening. Our plates (pasta and a variety of classic bistro dishes) and wine were also delicious, so we didn't mind too much, and staff were courteous about small delays.
Location: 5/5
Gleneagles Townhouse couldn't be more conveniently located, to be honest. It's literally right in the centre of town, being only a few minutes' walk from Waverley station. It's also right by St Andrew Square tram stop, so you can get a super convenient and speedy tram from the airport right up to the door.
To-do: 3/5
This is a city centre bolthole and most guests will be keen to get out and explore everything Edinburgh has to offer, so there aren't the *most* bells and whistles here, to be honest.
As you'd expect, there is a small spa and gym, and a pretty cool rooftop bar (though, query how often the weather will be good enough to see it put to use! It certainly wasn't during my visit in February).
Reasons to book:
The standout option in Edinburgh
Perfect location
Fantastic service – what you'd expect from a Gleneagles brand
Lots of lovely little amenities (I'm looking at you, extra squishy slippers)
The vibes! – soak up the old-school glamour
Any negatives?
Rooms are on the small side – mine had a particularly low ceiling, which didn't feel very luxe