What is so special about Edinburgh in August (part 2)??

Probably the most famous of the events in Edinburgh in August is the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, which this year kicks off on 6th August running until 30th August. This  year’s event will feature 40,254 performers in 2,453 shows at 259 venues! I talked about Comedy yesterday but this is only 35% of the overall Fringe Festival, there is Theatre, Music, Musicals, Opera, Children’s shows, Dance & Physical Theatre and Exhibitions…so basically something for everyone! 558 of these shows are absolutely free, which is even more than last year.

There are always a host of celebrities visiting the city at this time of year, some of them to perform such as Dizzee Rascal, Flawless, Abi Titmuss, The Mighty Boosh, Paul Merton, Eddie Izzard and many many more. If you want to do a bit of celeb spotting while you’re in town, you’ll probably need to head to one of the cities luxury hotels or unique & contemporary hotels. Why not check out the 5* Sheraton Grand Hotel & Spa which has been working hard refurbishing it’s bedrooms, I was lucky enough to get a sneak preview of these new rooms and they are fantastic, very chic, in particular the bathrooms which are the kind that make you want to re-do your own bathroom!

A brand of hotels that is always popular with celebs, is Malmaison and the Malmaison in Edinburghis no exception. It was in fact, the first Malmaison hotel and is still going strong. I love the location of the hotel, right down by the water and leith docks, the perfect view for a summer evening’s drink! As you would expect from Mal, there are some great choices of rooms, including one with a bath in the living room right in front of the TV…a perfect excuse to relax and be lazy!

What is so special about Edinburgh in August (part one)?

While many cities will be a bit quieter during the school holidays, one city will be busier than at any other time of the year. That’s right it’s nearly time for the 2010 Edinburgh Festival, this is the first part of my run down of the different events taking place this year.

Next week sees the start of the Comedy Festival (4th-30th August), some of the best known and yet to be discovered comedians from all across the UK and some from further afield. What always appeals to me about this festival is that you can see top comedians every night for a fraction of the price that you would pay if you went to see them at Wembley, for example. My favorites due to appear this year are John Bishop and Steven K Amos, but this is just the top of the iceberg…Mark Watson, Al Murray, Alan Cumming, Alex Zane and many more are scheduled to appear, with ticket prices starting at a credit crunch busting £6.50! In total their are 362 comedy shows, which, according to the organisers, makes it the biggest comedy festival in the world! I wonder which of them will be a Comedy Award winner this year??

There are 4 venues for all of this comedy, all 4 located in Edinburgh’s old town. If you are looking for a great hotel to rest your ribs after all that side splitting laughter then look no further! How about the Novotel Edinburgh Centre, a modern hotel with a great restaurant and bar and full leisure facilities, including indoor pool, gym, sauna and steam room and the best bit, all of the comedy venues are 20 minutes walk or less! Or perhaps you’ll think the best bit is the price, the lead in price for August is £89**, so what are you waiting for…go and book it!

If that’s not quite close enough, why not try Hotel Du Vinwhich is practically next door to McEwan Hall, one of the venues for the Comedy Festival. You’ll have to be quick if you want to get in here as their 47 rooms will fill quickly. The hotel occupies the site of a former lunatic asylum but don’t let that put you off! The hotel has a fantastic collection of rooms and there is a fantastic whiskey snug, the perfect location for your night cap!

**subject to availability, price correct at time of publishing

Edinburgh…the most romantic city in the world??

Today’s edition of the blog comes all the way from the beautiful (if not slightly overcast) city of Paris. While travelling to my hotel (the Marriott Rive Gauche in case your interested) I wondered what Edinburgh and Paris have in common. It seems that both cities appear in most top 10 romantic cities lists or polls done by various magazines and wedding websites but how do the 2 cities stack up against each other…

In terms of landmarks Paris is probably best known for the Eiffel Tower but let us not forget that Edinburgh is also well known for one landmark in particular, Edinburgh Castle which may not have the same views as the top of the Eiffel Tower but does provide a focal point for the city and looks very impressive all lit up at night.

Paris is also known for it’s culture, in particular The Louvre, home to probably the most famous painting in the world, the Mona Lisa. Edinburgh has 5 galleries across the city, all of which are free to enter and house paintings of the world’s great artists from Picasso to Monet to Tracey Emin.

Paris also has an enviable reputation for shopping, including all the top designers. While a lot of people consider Glasgow to be the city for shopping in Scotland it’s worth remembering that Edinburgh has a great range of shops..Jenner’s for example, known affectionately as ‘the Harrods of the north’ has sat on Princes Street since 1838 and has a royal warrant. If you want something a bit for OTM (of the moment) head down to Multrees Walk where you will find Harvey Nichols, Louis Vuitton, Mulberry, Armani…

If you are looking for a romantic hotel to stay in, there are loads of choices in Edinburgh depending on your personal style. If you want to go for some traditional old school scottish glamour then look no further than The Balmoral, it even has a Michelin-starred restaurant for that romantic evening meal. Or if modern, quirky, designer hotels are more your thing, head down to Hotel Missoni…it’s funky bar area, Missoni designed furniture and fittings, great Italian restaurant and stylish staff uniforms will be right up your street.

Spend your Summer in a Scotland hotel…

Now that Summer is finally here (well I say it’s here, it depends where you are in the country and what day of the week it is) it’s about time we all packed up our laptops and headed off to the sun. But why go abroad when we have beautiful sunshine and great places to see right here in the UK. Of course, here at the the pink palace we are huge advocats of spending Summer in the UK…and here at Scotland Hotel Experts we’d very much like you to spend your summer in Scotland!

Never one to miss a chance for a nifty promotion name, today we launched Summer In The City, which can see you save upto 40% on your hotel booking…what more could you ask for??!! There are some fantastic offers available and if you are looking for a great place to stay in Scotland we have a selection of offers from 3 for 2 , stay 2 and save 20% and save 30% on all stays!

There are of course too many offers to mention here but here are my top picks for this week…

1. Lorne Hotel, Glasgow – Stay 2 nights and save 20% on stays before 31 August, it’s a new hotels in the trendy west end area of Glasgow, a perfect excuse to stay for 2 nights which means you have at least one night to check our their award winning Indian restaurant.

2. Devoncove Hotel, Glasgow – Stay for 3 nights and only pay for 2 for stays until 10 September, with lead in prices from £59 per night and a rate that includes breakfast you’ll have no problems justifying that shopping spree in the nearby city centre!

3. Thistle Aberdeen and Thistle Glasgow – Both of these great hotels have a huge 30% off until 05 September for stays of 1 night or more. Both hotels have leisure facilities, including a pool so if the sun gets too much for you, you can have a dip to cool off!