Why you need to add these dreamy Scottish escapes to your travel plans
My best recommendations for stylish stays in Scotland + feeling the effects of stress #72
Yesterday I went to my wonderful beautician who is really much more than that. She could be categorised as a healer. As soon as you walk into her room, she spots where you are suffering, be it from the look of your skin or your posture, and proceeds to adapt her treatment to address the underlying problem.
I was booked for a half hour facial and half hour massage but she ended up spending 45 minutes trying to unblock my VERY tense shoulders. My sinuses were also congested and she asked if I had had headaches as she could sense tension in my head.
Bottom line: I was over stressed!
I mentioned in previous newsletters how stress was building up due to several projects. One of those was a massive event in Edinburgh where we stayed in a lovely hotel, see more below. We’ve been running those for years now so I should be used to it but I let this one get to my head.
I keep thinking and saying that I am now much better at relativising work stuff, after now 33 years of professional experience. I always say that nobody will remember what happened at work in a few months’time and that really there are many more terrible things happening in the world. Yet somehow I totally got tricked into putting too much importance on this.
I’m not sure what lesson to take from this. Maybe that this took too much energy from me because this is not where I want to channel it at the moment? Or just that it’s the end of the year and that after months of intense work, I need to unplug and focus on ME? Certainly to remember to put things in their right place and to not get to such a level of stress that I’m not nice to myself or to my family!
Have you ever got to a similar stage and if so, what did you do and which lesson did you learn from it?
Here’s to a more ‘normal’ week!
Hotel Review - The Kimpton Charlotte Square, Edinburgh
From £210 - Check latest prices and availability
The event I mentioned above was the bi-annual seminar and gathering of our top 100 directors, coupled this time with a celebration of our company's 25th anniversary. We held the meeting part of the event in the Kimpton Charlotte Square hotel and this is where many of us stayed as well.
It's actually a hotel that is quite large, in the sense that there are many rooms, but it has a really nice boutique hotel feel with warm and stylish decoration that perfectly matches the ambiance of Edinburgh.
The hotel is very well located in the center of Edinburgh
Overlooking one of Edinburgh’s prettiest private garden squares, Kimpton Charlotte Square Hotel consists of seven interconnected Georgian townhouses but you wouldn’t feel that it’s that big.
You can easily walk to the castle in about 25 minutes and explore the city center of Edinburgh. Edinburgh is a charming and fabulous city, and I must say that during the Christmas season, it was dressed up with beautiful lights in the bars, pubs, and restaurants, creating a very cozy and pleasant atmosphere
Stylish rooms with good services
The hotel has 199 rooms! Yet it never felt that busy even with all our delegation there. The rooms are stylishly designed and have good space and amenities.
I'm not sure what category I had, but I was on the fifth floor and when I got out of the elevator, there was a beautiful view of the castle!
Unfortunately, my room itself didn't have a nice view at all. It overlooked a small inner courtyard with some machinery, but since I mainly spent my time preparing and organizing the event with my team, I only spent time in my room to sleep and get changed.
The room was spacious, with wooden floors, carpets, a comfortable bed, and many decorative elements to add a homely touch. It had practical features like well-placed lights, a coffee and tea tray to make your own, and an iron board and iron in the wardrobe. You could also call if you had forgotten to pack many things and they would bring it to you.
Full marks for an innovative service: an accessory shop!
A new detail that I had never seen in a hotel before was the possibility to borrow accessories for the evening. So, this is for you, ladies. You can look at the catalog which they curated in partnership with Anthropology to browse a selection of belts, statement jewellry or bags for your evening out.
Then you just go to the front desk and they hand it to you FOR FREE! You are borrowing it for the evening. I chose a silver clutch to complement my outfit and be fully in our silver anniversary theme.
This was really super convenient!
Food choices at the Kimpton Charlotte Square
The hotel itself has several spaces for dining and relaxation: a restaurant, a lounge-bar-breakfast area which was very cozy and warm, with soft or velvet-textured armchairs and colors like dark green, ochre, orange, red, and brown, which perfectly matched the autumn season.
As for the food, I couldn't tell you, besides breakfast how good it is, since we had a specially catered meal for the event, for around 100 people. It was curry for lunch which was fine.
In any case Edinburgh has of course many restaurants, bars, pubs to explore.
And there is a spa!
I didn’t realize when I was there that there is actually a spa with a pool too! I saw the sign for “spa” but I thought they only had treatments. Looking at their website now, I realise that there is a gym and a pool and a relaxation room. I could certainly have benefitted from any of this is I had had the time!
The service was very good, very professional, very kind, and very welcoming.
All in all, a really good base in Edinburgh.
Extra finds - your stylish guide to Scotland
Being back in Edinburgh reminded me of how much I love Scotland. We’ve been several times and certainly my latest stay made me think that Edinburgh woud be fab for Christmas. So here are a recap of some of the places we stayed at and that I highly recommend.
Make sure to read to the bottom to also access more stylish places on a custom map.
The Roseate Hotel, Edinburgh
From £193 - Check latest prices and availability
This was a lovely hotel where I stayed previously for work too. Service was welcoming and easy, rooms had all the modern amenities and the lounge a good retreat for a final night cap with the team. Read my full review.
Inverlornan, Loch Nell
From £220 - https://www.inverlonan.com/
Inverlonan bothies are architecturally designed cabins that offer rough luxury in Loch Nell. They are only accessible by boat, foot or buggy. Inside the interiors are simple but warm and stylish. They each have a private deck, open fire pit and outdoor wood-fired pizza oven. Food provisions can be delivered straight to the door.
The Gleneagles Hotel, Auchterarder
From £285 - Check latest prices and availability
The Gleneagles hotel is a great place if you like big resorts with lots of activities. The activities, the service, the food are what I appreciated the most. The spa with the two pools for families or for adults only is a big plus. I didn’t like the lack of individuality in the style for the main areas and bedrooms but certainly other parts are more stylish. It is a legendary hotel though so it is worth trying for one night.
KillieHuntly, the Caingorns
From £300 - https://killiehuntly.scot/book
Our first hotel in Scotland ever and we still remember it fondly. KillieHuntly is more like a house than a hotel. It is really a guest house with great service, delicious food, and just an amazing decor. It doesn’t have a pool but the nature and the park outside totally make up for it with so much to admire and enjoy. You can stay in the main farmhouse on a half board basis or you can rent the self-catering cottages in the estate. Read my full review.
Lundies House, the Highlands
From £450 - https://lundies.scot/reserve
Part of the same Wildland properties, Lundies House is really worth the trip all the way north of Scotland. Staying at Lundies house is like being invited to a friend’s house, a friend who has a great sense of style and a wonderful talent for making you feel welcome. All is designed to make you feel relaxed and warmly embraced. Soft Toast slippers in the bedrooms, welcome hot tea and homemade cake every day (the honey cake was so yummy) when you are back cold and wet from your long walks, fires roaming in majestuous stone fireplaces, ultra comfortable yet stylish armchairs, I could go on and on…. Read my full review
20 stylish Scottish places on a map
