One of the worst things about reviewing anything, be it a
book, a film, a restaurant or a hotel (perhaps that should be ‘an hotel’) is
that there is a tendency to feel that you can’t simply say something was ‘good’.
Unfortunately, there is always that urge to add something negative, possibly
for the sake of authenticity or, perhaps, simply to show that you’re hard and
won’t take any nonsense, you’re not easily bought.
Well, yes, it’s true; that’s how I felt about the
Bruntsfield Hotel before I’d even visited the place – although, if the truth be
known, I knew it would be good before I checked in for the simple reason that I
had stayed here before, back, it has to be said, in the angst-ridden early 90s.
And that’s why I’m back again because whenever I think of Edinburgh, I think of
the Bruntsfield Hotel and walking along Princes Street towards Glenogle Street
and Henderson’s and Bert’s Bar. I don’t even know if those establishments are
still there, but I don’t think I could stay anywhere else in this great city.
The reason I was going to add something negative was down to
an email I received from the hotel once I’d booked a room on-line. They sent me
a message saying that, for an extra £20, I could get a larger room with some
fruit in it or, for £25, a bottle of wine and some hand-made canapés. Well,
nice try, but when I think about how many oranges I could buy with £20 or how,
for £25, I could get two decent bottles of red and have change for a copy of The Economist, I simply ignored what
amounted to a cheap marketing ploy. Not that I should have adopted that
attitude; they were, after all, only doing their job.
So, I travelled by train from King’s Cross, took a cab to
the Bruntsfield and, as expected, it is still the most wonderful hotel in
Edinburgh, in my opinion: the staff are friendly – so much so that I looked
forward to passing the time of day with whoever was on reception. The room (I
was in room 37) was excellent and the food in the Bisque restaurant was
absolutely fantastic. After a day in a conference on the other side of town I
was looking forward to dinner, a glass or two of wine, some dessert and, of
course, a good book (go and buy Lean on
Pete by Willy Vlautin, it’s fantastic).
I’ve been here for two nights. Last night, in the Bisque
restaurant, I enjoyed chicken breast stuffed with haggis, mashed potato and carrots;
tonight it was a venison, pheasant and duck stew. I really wish I had another
night here… or maybe a week. It’s such a homely, comfortable hotel where
everything works, nothing niggles and, well, what else can I say? I couldn’t
recommend this hotel more highly. When a hotel has that ‘home from home’
feeling about it, you know you’re on to a winner.
One bugbear: the WiFi. It’s very slow. That needs to be
addressed. Everything else is absolutely first class. Well done, Bruntsfield
people. Keep up the good work. As Arne once said, “I’ll be back.”
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