Edinburgh hotels: 100 Princes Street hotel announces opening date in old home of Royal Overseas League

A luxury hotel in the former Royal Overseas League building on Princes Street is set to open its doors on November 1.

The former private members club has been transformed into a 30-room luxury hotel with prime views of the castle. It will be luxury operator Red Carnation Hotels’ first property in Scotland and will be known as 100 Princes Street.

The new ‘cosy townhouse’ hotel will be Red Carnation’s 19th worldwide. Other include Ireland’s Ashford Castle, which was once home to the Guinness family. 100 Princes Street takes inspiration from the great explorers who once dwelled in its halls and made this historic building their ‘home away from home’.

The Royal Overseas League building dates back to 1879 when it opened as the Windsor Hotel, as part of a major Victorian building programme along Princes Street. It closed its doors in January 2018 with repairs estimated at £2 million and refurbishment at a further £3.5m.

In 1930 the Royal Overseas League club was officially opened by the Duke of York. It was the first mixed club in the city and had 20 bedrooms, a bar and restaurant and other club facilitates and all the furnishings were produced and made in Scotland. The club became a popular centre for Commonwealth visitors, with the prime ministers of Canada, Australia and New Zealand having stayed there.

Jonathan Raggett, managing director of Red Carnation Hotels, previously said: “It has been a dream of ours to open a hotel in Edinburgh for some time, and with the best address in the city, it was well worth the wait.”

The luxury hotel will have a residents-only Explorers’ Club which will offer guests a ‘quintessentially Scottish experience’ and signature local dishes. In keeping with the club’s history, the hotel, designed by Toni Tollman, Philippe Bonino, and Brian Brennan, has been curated with furnishings and artwork from local artisans - including custom-made tartan by Araminta Campbell, and a central staircase with a hand-painted mural by Croxford and Saunders, honouring the adventures of great Scottish explorers of the past.

Guests will be able to sample from a wall with over 200 fine wines and a selection of Scottish whiskeys.

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