Luxury living in Edinburgh: Cheval The Edinburgh Grand

DOES YOUR AIRBNB have a Hawksmoor in it? We thought not. And while the tech giant has certainly ushered in an era of inexpensive rooms and apartments that are largely clean, liveable and in some cases charming, sometimes a city break calls for something altogether more luxurious.

This is what Cheval Collection is banking on. Quite literally, in the case of the Edinburgh Grand, which is housed in a beautiful old bank in the Scottish capital and makes among the best bases in the city to explore it from. And if you thought there was no happy middle-ground between the city’s beautiful and luxurious hotels and a quirky, inexpensive whole home, a stay here will convert you.

The premise is simple: instead of rooms, or suites, as you might know them, Cheval offers amply furnished and spacious serviced apartments in London, Edinburgh and Dubai, designed not to be a mere bolthole but a home while you’re staying there.

Don’t feel like venturing out for dinner? Cook, don’t get a takeaway. Want to bring a couple of bottles back? Store them in a proper fridge, not a minibar. It’s not rocket science, but it offers both leisure and business travellers an option to live in, rather than just stay at – while still providing a proper lobby (with a beautiful atrium and a view right up to the skylight), restaurants and bars, gym and all the other hallmarks of a hotel.

Edinburgh has three Cheval properties, but the Edinburgh Grand is the pick of the bunch. It’s almost comically well placed, two minutes’ walk from Waverley station and right on the urban oasis of Saint Andrew Square with its verdant lawns, water features and distinctive Melville Monument.

1 of 3

Edinburgh is surely a quintessential European city break, and staying at Edinburgh Grand puts you within striking distance of pretty much anywhere you need to go, from the Old Town (ten minutes’ walk) to the heart of up-and-coming Leith (where we enjoyed a brilliant meal at The Little Chartroom, from chef Roberta Hall-McCarron), 20 minutes on the tram from the stop right outside the entrance.

With a few notable exceptions, many of Edinburgh’s better restaurants come from big-name groups – the Dishoom a few yards away had its characteristic queue at prime time, while Hawksmoor’s Edinburgh location serves as The Edinburgh Grand’s flagship food venue, enterable from the lobby itself as well as outside, and still does a cracking Sunday roast. For shoppers, outlets nearby in addition to the Scottish capital’s Harvey Nichols outpost include Max Mara, LK Bennett, and Burberry.

To the accommodation itself: I was there with my wife and baby for a wedding, and her parents in tow on babysitting duties. With that in mind, two adjoining apartments, one larger than the other, was perfect for a weekend away with the in-laws – much easier than two separate rooms, but with the requisite bit of separation. An L-shaped sofa in the larger was beautifully comfortable, while the kitchen area and dining table is more than an afterthought, capable of a night in with no worry.

A huge wraparound balcony across both rooms was a beautiful sun trap, the unseasonable weather for pretty much any time of year in Scotland meant having to keep the French doors open.

Those on official work duties in Edinburgh can also look to the venue for a home-from-home during a stay in the city, with a serviced apartment a hell of a lot more comfortable than living from a suitcase in a smaller hotel room for days at a time.

Whether business or pleasure, Cheval’s apartment model is a problem-solver with all the trappings of proper hotel hospitality.