{{Short description|Hotel in Edinburgh, Scotland}} {{Redirect|Caledonian Hotel|the Singaporean hotel|Caledonian Hotel, Singapore}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}} {{Use British English|date=June 2017}} {{Infobox hotel | name = The Caledonian Edinburgh | image = Edinburgh - Edinburgh, 4 Princes Street, Caledonian Hotel - 20140426181813.jpg | caption = | pushpin_map = Scotland Edinburgh Central | pushpin_mapsize = | coordinates = | pushpin_label = Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh - The Caledonian | building_type = Luxury hotel | address = Princes Street | owner = Henderson Park Capital | hotel_chain = Curio Collection by Hilton | operator = Klarent Hospitality | location = Edinburgh, {{postcode|EH|1|2|AB}}<br />Scotland | opened_date = 21 December 1903 | renovation_date = 2011 | classification = {{Rating|5}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.insider.co.uk/news/edinburghs-caledonian-hotel-sold-85m-11861954|title=Five-star Edinburgh hotel sold in £85m deal|date=16 January 2018}}</ref> | ren_cost = £24 million | architect = John More Dick Peddie and George Washington Browne | number_of_restaurants = 3 | number_of_rooms = 241 | number_of_suites = | floor_area = | floor_count = | parking = Yes | website = [https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/ednchqq-the-caledonian-edinburgh/ Official website] | footnotes = }}
'''The Caledonian Edinburgh''' is a five-star hotel in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was built by the Caledonian Railway company and was opened in 1903. The hotel stands at the west end of Princes Street on the site of the Caledonian Railway's former Edinburgh terminus.<ref name=listed>{{Historic Environment Scotland|num=LB29524|desc=4 Lothian Road, The Caledonian Hotel...|cat=A|access-date=2 April 2019}}</ref> It is an example of a British grand railway hotel.<ref name="LEScotsman">{{cite web | url=http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/heritage/lost-edinburgh-the-caledonian-hotel-1-3129259 | title=Lost Edinburgh: Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh - The Caledonian | work=The Scotsman | date=7 October 2013 | accessdate=3 March 2014 | author=McLean, David}}</ref> It is nicknamed "The Caley", and is a category A listed building.<ref name=listed />
==History== === Construction ===
{{stack |thumb|left|alt=The hotel under construction|The hotel under construction }}
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.<ref name=LEScotsman /> It was designed by architects John More Dick Peddie and George Washington Browne.<ref name=listed/> Peddie's assistant and job architect was John Wilson.<ref>Dictionary of Scottish Architects: John Wilson</ref>
The hotel was built with 205 rooms, with decor in the style of Louis XV.<ref name=LEScotsman /> The grand arches at the front of the hotel also provided access to the railway station below.<ref name=LEScotsman /> The red sandstone façade has been a city landmark throughout the hotel's history.<ref name=TelegraphReview />
=== Operation as a railway hotel === left|thumb|alt=View from the hotel in 1938|View from the hotel in 1938
Opened on 21 December 1903,<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Caledonian |url=https://famoushotels.org/hotels/caledonian-hotel |access-date=2024-05-22 |website=famoushotels.org}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{Cite web |date=1993-07-17 |title=Landmark of luxury |url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12729573.landmark-of-luxury/ |access-date=2024-05-22 |website=The Herald |language=en}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|title=11 photos showing Princes Street Station: Edinburgh's great lost railway terminal|url=https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/heritage-and-retro/retro/11-photos-showing-princes-street-station-edinburghs-great-lost-railway-terminal-2996004|access-date=2021-07-27|website=www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com|language=en}}</ref>
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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Caledonian – a century of service |url=https://www.thecaterer.com/news/news/the-caledonian-a-century-of-service |access-date=2024-05-22 |website=The Caterer |language=En}}</ref> 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.<ref name="auto"/>
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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh - The Caledonian Hotel from The Gazetteer for Scotland |url=https://www.scottish-places.info/features/featurefirst1223.html |access-date=2024-05-22 |website=www.scottish-places.info |language=en-gb}}</ref> The hotel's interiors were redesigned by brothers Robert and Roger Nicholson between 1956 and 1958.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12729573.landmark-of-luxury/ | title=Landmark of luxury | date=17 July 1993 }}</ref>
=== Station closure and privatisation === {{stack |thumb|alt=View of preserved station gates from Rutland Street|View of preserved station gates from Rutland Street}}
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.<ref name="auto"/> The cast iron gates at the entrance to a car park in Rutland Street are the only remainder of the station outwith the hotel.<ref name=LEScotsman /> The original station clock, pre-dating the fire of 1890, has been preserved in the hotel.<ref name=LEScotsman />
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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/1981-06-04/debates/2466c70c-d237-4957-a071-261b80112af5/BritishTransportHotels|title=British Transport Hotels - Hansard - UK Parliament}}</ref> The remaining 1/3 interest in the three properties was sold in March 1984.<ref>{{Cite web |title=BR privatisation |url=http://www.railwaycodes.org.uk/operators/privatisation.shtm |access-date=2024-05-22 |website=www.railwaycodes.org.uk}}</ref> The Caledonian was sold to Norfolk Capital Hotels in 1984,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.thecaterer.com/archive/the-caledonian-a-century-of-service | title=The Caledonian – a century of service }}</ref> which sold the hotel to Queens Moat Houses in 1990.<ref name="auto"/>
=== Operation under Hilton === The Caledonian was purchased by Hilton International in March 2000 for £44.2m, and it was renamed the '''Caledonian Hilton Edinburgh'''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thecaterer.com/archive/hilton-beats-rivals-to-take-caledonian|title=Hilton beats rivals to take Caledonian|date=2 March 2000|website=The Caterer}}</ref>
A £24 million refurbishment in 2011 put the hotel within the luxury flagship Waldorf Astoria brand, and it was renamed '''Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh -{{not a typo}} The Caledonian'''.<ref name=LEScotsman /> By the time of the refurbishment, the hotel had 241 rooms.<ref name="BBC">{{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-13726154 | title=Edinburgh set for Scotland's first Waldorf Astoria | publisher=BBC | work=BBC News | date=10 June 2011 | accessdate=4 March 2014}}</ref> The refurbishment plans included the addition and improvement of the public spaces, rooms, spa and restaurant.<ref name="BBC" /> 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.<ref name="TelegraphReview">{{cite web | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/hotel/96317/The-Caledonian-hotel-Edinburgh-review.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130131215457/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/hotel/96317/The-Caledonian-hotel-Edinburgh-review.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=31 January 2013 | title=Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh - The Caledonian, Edinburgh: review | work=The Telegraph | accessdate=4 March 2014 | author=Butler, Sophie}}</ref> The hotel's fine dining restaurant, The Pompadour,<ref name=TelegraphReview /> was refurbished in 2021 and reopened under the name Dean Banks at The Pompadour.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-05-27|title=Chef Dean Banks to take over the Pompadour at...|url=https://www.thecaterer.com/news/dean-banks-opening-restaurant-pompadour-waldorf-astoria-edinburgh-caledonian|access-date=2021-07-27|website=The Caterer|language=en}}</ref> It also provides a Scottish restaurant, Grazing by Mark Greenaway, opened in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Stephen|first=Phyllis|date=2019-04-17|title=New restaurant opening at Grazing with Mark Greenaway|url=https://theedinburghreporter.co.uk/2019/04/new-restaurant-opening-at-grazing-with-mark-greenaway/|access-date=2021-07-27|website=The Edinburgh Reporter|language=en-US}}</ref>
=== Present day === thumb|alt=View of hotel from castle showing the Lothian Road side of the building|View of hotel from castle showing the Lothian Road side of the building
Hilton sold the Caledonian to Twenty14 Holdings, the hospitality investment arm of Abu Dhabi-based Lulu Group International, for £85m in January 2018. Hilton continued to manage the property. The new owners announced plans to remodel the hotel and add 50 more rooms,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.scotsman.com/business/companies/media-leisure/edinburgh-s-caledonian-hotel-set-for-expansion-after-85m-sale-1-4662646|title=Edinburgh's Caledonian Hotel set for expansion after £85m sale|website=www.scotsman.com}}</ref> at a cost of £20m.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.boutiquehotelier.com/uks-first-waldorf-astoria-sold-developer-londons-great-scotland-yard-hotel-85m/|title=UK's first Waldorf Astoria sold to developer of London's Great Scotland Yard hotel for £85m|first=Zoe|last=Monk|date=17 January 2018}}</ref>
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.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-07-04 |title=HENDERSON PARK ACQUIRES EDINBURGH'S ICONIC CALEDONIAN HOTEL {{!}} Henderson Park |url=https://hendersonpark.com/henderson-park-acquires-edinburghs-iconic-caledonian-hotel/ |access-date=2024-05-22 |language=en-US}}</ref> On 28 March 2024, they announced that the hotel would be rebranded as part of the Curio Collection by Hilton in Summer 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |title=A New Chapter for The Caledonian Hotel |url=https://www.hospitalitynet.org/announcement/41010881.html |access-date=2024-05-22 |website=Hospitality Net |language=en-us}}</ref> A £35m renovation and expansion will follow, increasing the hotel's capacity to over 300 rooms by early 2026.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-03-28 |title=The Caledonian in Edinburgh to drop Waldorf... |url=https://www.thecaterer.com/news/caledonian-edinburgh-curio-collection-hilton |access-date=2024-03-28 |website=The Caterer |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Walker |first=Peter A. |date=2024-03-28 |title=Caledonian hotel gets rebrand and refurbishment |url=https://www.insider.co.uk/news/caledonian-hotel-gets-rebrand-refurbishment-32459189 |access-date=2024-03-28 |website=businessInsider |language=en}}</ref> The hotel was rebranded '''The Caledonian Edinburgh, Curio Collection by Hilton''' on 5 June 2024.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/caledonianedinburgh/posts/pfbid02tsfrC3vqGwAAGqdSZnhhr45E64oKcipdabtVLbnjK2YRVJ1Yo2NtmGXGboZv5VMYl|title=Facebook|website=www.facebook.com}}</ref>
==See also== * British Transport Hotels
==References== {{Reflist|}} {{Commercial buildings in Edinburgh}} {{Buildings and Structures in Edinburgh}} {{coord|55.9500|N|3.2073|W|source:wikidata-and-enwiki-cat-tree_region:GB|display=title}}
Category:Railway hotels in Scotland Category:Category A listed buildings in Edinburgh Category:Listed hotels in Scotland Category:Hotels in Edinburgh Category:Hilton Worldwide Category:1903 establishments in Scotland Category:Hotels established in 1903 Category:Hotel buildings completed in 1903 Category:Caledonian Railway