Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh The Caledonian hotel to leave the brand

In a not hugely surprising move, The Caledonian hotel in Edinburgh is to lose its Waldorf Astoria branding.

It is not leaving Hilton entirely, however. It will be rebranded as ‘The Caledonian Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton’.

The Caledonian was sold to Henderson Park, a property investment fund, last year and had already announced a £35 million refurbishment. The same company owns the Carlton on North Bridge and DoubleTree Edinburgh Airport.

The work will increase the number of bedrooms from 240 to over 300. There is talk of an ‘extension’ whch I presume will involve replacing the existing modern extension to the rear of the hotel.

I stayed here a few years ago with my family, although I didn’t review it. The stay was a disappointment overall, partly because the hotel is constrained by the limitations of the listed Victorian building in which it sits. This includes being unable to install soundproofing in the rooms to mask the noise of the traffic.

The hotel originally opened in 1903 and is far, far removed from what you would expect from a new-build five star hotel in 2024. The centre of gravity in Edinburgh has also moved away from this end of Princes Street as many flagship stores have closed.

The work is expected to be completed by 2026. The UK will now be without a Waldorf Astoria hotel until Admiralty Arch in London opens next year.

The hotel website is here. It is still taking bookings under the Waldorf Astoria banner.

You can read more about the rebranding here.

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