Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh - The Caledonian

Luxury hotel in Edinburgh, Scotland

Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh - The Caledonian

Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh - The Caledonian

Location within Edinburgh city centre

Hotel chain| Waldorf Astoria
General information
Type| Luxury hotel
Classification| [1]
Location| Edinburgh, EH1 2AB
Scotland
Address| Princes Street
Opened| December 21, 1903[2]
Renovated| 2011
Renovation cost| £24 million
Owner| Henderson Park Capital
Management| Hilton Worldwide
Design and construction
Architect(s)| John More Dick Peddie and George Washington Browne
Other information
Number of rooms| 241
Number of restaurants| 3
Parking| Yes
Website
Official website

The Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh - The Caledonian is a five-star hotel in Edinburgh, Scotland. Opened in 1903, it is an example of a British grand railway hotel,[3] formerly called The Caledonian Hotel, and nicknamed 'The Caley'. It stands at the west end of Princes Street and is a category A listed building.[4]

## History[edit]

The Caledonian Station Hotel was constructed from 1899 to 1903 as part of the Caledonian Railway's Edinburgh Princes Street railway station. The hotel was built on top of the stone, V-shaped station building, which had recently been built as a replacement for the previous wooden station, damaged in a fire in June 1890.[3] When first built, the hotel had 205 rooms, with decor in the style of Louis XV.[3] The grand arches at the front of the hotel also provided access to the railway station below.[3] The red sandstone façade has been a city landmark throughout the hotel's history.[5] The architects of the hotel were John More Dick Peddie and George Washington Browne.[4] Peddie's assistant and job architect was John Wilson.[6]

Opened on 21 December 1903,[7] the Caledonian Station Hotel was a rival to the North British Railway's North British Station Hotel, which opened at the other end of Princes Street the previous year.[8]

The hotel's name was later shortened to the Caledonian Hotel. The Caledonian Railway Company merged with the larger London, Midland and Scottish Railway in 1923.[9] After the merger, the hotel was renovated. Its Louis XIV drawing room was converted in 1925 to a luxury restaurant, the Pompadour, named for Madame de Pompadour the influential mistress of Louis XV.[10]

The hotel was nationalized by the British Transport Commission on 1 January 1948, when the London, Midland and Scottish Railway was consolidated into the state-owned British Railways.[11] The hotels interiors were redesigned by brothers Robert and Roger Nicholson betweewn 1956-1958.[12]

Princes Street Station closed on 6 September 1965 and was demolished by 1970. This provided room for expansion of the hotel, with 50 more rooms in a new wing.[13] The cast iron gates at the entrance to a car park in Rutland Street are the only remainder of the station outwith the hotel.[3] The original station clock, pre-dating the fire of 1890, has been preserved in the hotel.[3]

The Caledonian Hotel was operated by British Transport Hotels until that entity was dissolved under Margaret Thatcher's privatization initiative. A 2/3 interest in the hotel was sold jointly with the North British Hotel and the Gleneagles Hotel on 18 June 1981 to Gleneagles Hotels plc for £5.75 million.[14] The remaining 1/3 interest in the three properties was sold in March 1984.[15] The Caledonian was sold to Norfolk Capital Hotels in 1984.[16]

Queens Moat Houses bought the Caledonian in 1990,[17] and then sold it to Hilton International in March 2000 for £44.2m, and it was renamed the Caledonian Hilton Edinburgh.[18] A £24 million refurbishment in 2011 put the hotel within the luxury flagship Waldorf Astoria brand, and it was renamed Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh - The Caledonian.[3] By the time of the refurbishment, the hotel had 241 rooms.[19] The refurbishment plans included the addition and improvement of the public spaces, rooms, spa and restaurant.[19] The original station concourse and ticket office were roofed over to provide a bar and lounge area, named Peacock Alley, which incorporates the station clock.[5] The hotel's fine dining restaurant is named The Pompadour.[5] The Pompadour was refurbished in 2021 and reopened under the name Dean Banks at The Pompadour.[20] It also provides a Scottish restaurant, Grazing by Mark Greenaway, opened in 2019.[21] The bar, known as the Caley Bar, is venue 50 at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Hilton sold the Caledonian to Twenty14 Holdings, the hospitality investment arm of Abu Dhabi-based Lulu Group International, for £85m in January 2018. Hilton continues to manage the property, however. The new owners intend to remodel the hotel and add 50 more rooms,[22] at a cost of £20m.[23]

In July 2023, private real estate investment fund manager Henderson Park, together with its in-house hospitality operator and asset manager Klarent Hospitality, purchased the hotel for £85m.[24] On 28 March 2024, they announced that the hotel will be rebranded as The Caledonian Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton in Summer 2024.[25] A £35m renovation and expansion will follow, increasing the hotel's capacity to over 300 rooms by early 2026. The rebranding will also mark the end of Waldorf Astoria's presence in the UK, until 2025.[26][27]

Views of the Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh - The Caledonian

* The hotel under construction

* View from the hotel in 1938

* View of hotel from castle showing the Lothian Road side of the building

* View of preserved station gates from Rutland Street

## See also[edit]

* British Transport Hotels

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Five-star Edinburgh hotel sold in £85m deal". 16 January 2018.
2. ^ https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12729573.landmark-of-luxury/
3. ^ a b c d e f g McLean, David (7 October 2013). "Lost Edinburgh: Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh - The Caledonian". The Scotsman. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
4. ^ a b Historic Environment Scotland. "4 Lothian Road, The Caledonian Hotel... (Category A Listed Building) (LB29524)". Retrieved 2 April 2019.
5. ^ a b c Butler, Sophie. "Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh - The Caledonian, Edinburgh: review". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 31 January 2013. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
6. ^ Dictionary of Scottish Architects: John Wilson
7. ^ https://famoushotels.org/hotels/caledonian-hotel
8. ^ "11 photos showing Princes Street Station: Edinburgh's great lost railway terminal". www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
9. ^ https://www.thecaterer.com/archive/the-caledonian-a-century-of-service
10. ^ https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12729573.landmark-of-luxury/
11. ^ https://www.scottish-places.info/features/featurefirst1223.html
12. ^ https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12729573.landmark-of-luxury/
13. ^ https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12729573.landmark-of-luxury/
14. ^ https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/1981-06-04/debates/2466c70c-d237-4957-a071-261b80112af5/BritishTransportHotels
15. ^ http://www.railwaycodes.org.uk/operators/privatisation.shtm
16. ^ https://www.thecaterer.com/archive/the-caledonian-a-century-of-service
17. ^ https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12729573.landmark-of-luxury/
18. ^ "Hilton beats rivals to take Caledonian". The Caterer. 2 March 2000.
19. ^ a b "Edinburgh set for Scotland's first Waldorf Astoria". BBC News. BBC. 10 June 2011. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
20. ^ "Chef Dean Banks to take over the Pompadour at..." The Caterer. 27 May 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
21. ^ Stephen, Phyllis (17 April 2019). "New restaurant opening at Grazing with Mark Greenaway". The Edinburgh Reporter. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
22. ^ "Edinburgh's Caledonian Hotel set for expansion after £85m sale". www.scotsman.com.
23. ^ Monk, Zoe (17 January 2018). "UK's first Waldorf Astoria sold to developer of London's Great Scotland Yard hotel for £85m".
24. ^ https://hendersonpark.com/henderson-park-acquires-edinburghs-iconic-caledonian-hotel/
25. ^ https://www.hospitalitynet.org/announcement/41010881.html
26. ^ "The Caledonian in Edinburgh to drop Waldorf..." The Caterer. 28 March 2024. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
27. ^ Walker, Peter A. (28 March 2024). "Caledonian hotel gets rebrand and refurbishment". businessInsider. Retrieved 28 March 2024.

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