Travel: Great Scott! Edinburgh hotel is quite a capital asset

Many more years ago than I would care to admit, I studied at Edinburgh University.

While my first year was spent in a student flat, one of my best friends resided at Pollock Halls on Holyrood Park Road. And so it was that I spent a fair bit of time in this fine accommodation, nestled in the shadow of Arthur’s Seat.

Seldom on those occasions (well never really) did I imagine I would return to the scene some three decades later to enjoy a night of luxury on the self-same site.

Indeed, it was with no little sense of intrigue and more than a soupcon of nostalgia that I accepted the kind invitation to visit The Scott Hotel – part of The University of Edinburgh ‘Hospitality Collection’.

Profits from this charitable arm of the university go back to the students. But make no mistake, The Scott could not be further removed from any traditional notion of student accommodation.

Rather, this is a luxurious boutique retreat, blending historic charm with modern elegance.

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A meticulously restored baronial house that rubs shoulders with more modern student quarters, The Scott features 36 uniquely designed rooms, each offering plush amenities and exquisite en-suite bathrooms.

An on-site restaurant (Bonnar’s) promises fine dining, while the Velvet Lounge Bar is designed as the perfect retreat at which discerning travellers can relax in comfort.

Arriving on a fine spring day, my wife and I were afforded a warm welcome – and even offered a dram as we completed the check-in process (a far cry from the ‘snakebite and black’ of my student days….).

Our quarters for the evening were spectacular. An opulent room, featuring numerous seating options, a huge bed and a quite magnificent marble-laden en-suite equipped with a shower equalled in power only by the Niagara Falls…this was the kind of splendour to which one could very easily become accustomed.

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Popping out for a stroll, we enjoyed a drink in the beer garden of the nearby Salisbury Arms (a Firkin Brewery pub back in the day if my somewhat wayward and hazy memory of student days serves me well). As the sun began to slip away, we returned to The Scott and decided it would be rude not to sample the delights of the Velvet Lounge. Offering a wide range of tipples (along with some magnificent snacks – the bowl of nuts was a particular highlight), this proved to be a friendly and comfortable venue to enjoy the pre-dinner hour.

The grandeur of the bar is in keeping with the restaurant just down the corridor, with the vast, vaulted and painted ceiling a dramatic feature.

Starters on offer at Bonnar’s on the night of our visit included cured Loch Etive trout with daikon, buttermilk and dill sauce, or chicken liver parfait.

However, I am entirely confident I made the right choice in selecting broad beans, with hen’s egg yolk, celeriac ketchup and shitake XO. A majestic blend of textures and flavours, it is a dish that will live long in the memory.

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As, indeed, will the main course of smoked potato ravioli with brown butter and poivre sabayon. The pasta was cooked to perfection, the potato represented the pinnacle of creamy perfection. The whole dish offered a level of sophistication one could hardly dare to expect given the relative simplicity of the ingredients.

And to think my days in Edinburgh consisted of a cycle of culinary delights almost entirely limited to Pot Noodles, spaghetti with tomato ketchup (I know, I know, but it was cheap) and haricot avec pain (beans on toast for those less cosmopolitan)…changed days indeed.

Desserts of blackberry sorbet with Italian meringue, macerated berries and cocoa nib, and a rhubarb and meadowsweet Eton Mess did nothing to dispel the impression of a chef who knows exactly what they are doing – and has both the talent and confidence to follow through on some pretty ambitious ideas.

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The food was so good, it was a joy to return to the restaurant for breakfast following a restful night at The Scott (the turn-down service offered while we are dinner was a particularly classy touch). Space is at a premium, so I will merely suffice to say that the scrambled eggs were a thing of quite considerable beauty…

The Scott is a fantastic place to visit, and it was a joy to recount some of my student days in our fine capital – and amid the kind of luxury I could only have gawped at as I visited my old pal at Pollock Halls.

P.S. The Scott is one of two hotels on the grounds of the Pollock Estate. The site is located on Edinbugh’s Southside, a few minutes’ walk from Arthur’s Seat, Holyrood Park and The Meadows. The city’s Commonwealth Pool is also just a stone’s throw away.

Fact-file

Rooms at The Scott start at £195, a rate inclusive of breakfast. Starters at Bonnar’s are around £15, with mains ranging from £19-£26 and desserts from £10-£12.