Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh - The Caledonian

The hotel under construction

The Caledonian Hotel, constructed from 1899 to 1903, was part of the Caledonian Railway's Edinburgh Princes Street railway station. It was a rival to the North British Railway's North British Hotel which opened at the other end of Princes Street in 1902.[2] The hotel was built on top of the stone built, V-shaped station building which had been recently built as a replacement for the previous wood-built station which was damaged in a fire in June 1890.[2] The architects of the hotel were John More Dick Peddie and George Washington Browne.[3] Peddie's assistant and job architect was John Wilson.[4]

When first built, the hotel had 205 rooms with decor in the style of Louis XV.[2] The grand arches at the front of the hotel also provided access to the railway station below.[2] The red sandstone facade has been a city landmark throughout the hotel's history.[5]

In 1965, Princes Street Station was closed and it was demolished by 1970. This provided room for expansion for the hotel and the cast iron gates at the entrance to a car park in Rutland Street are the only remainder of the station outwith the hotel.[2] The original station clock, pre-dating the fire of 1890, has been preserved in the hotel.[2]

Queens Moat Houses sold the Caledonian to Hilton International in March 2000 for £44.2m and it was renamed the Caledonian Hilton Edinburgh.[6] 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.[2] By the time of the refurbishment the hotel had 241 rooms.[7] The refurbishment plans included the addition and improvement of the public spaces, rooms, spa and restaurant.[7] 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 restaurant is named The Pompadour.[5] It provides French-influenced dishes and is overseen by double Michelin star chefs Chris and Jeff Galvin.[5] 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,[8] at a cost of £20m.[9]

• British Transport Hotels