Mini Travel Guides

As it was beautiful Spring day we decided to head for the grounds of Paxton House in the Scottish Borders for a walk and a picnic. As we were walking past the Boathouse, on the banks the River Tweed, my husband Demetrius noticed a poster saying there was an art exhibition inside.

Poster outside the Boathouse

Sure enough, inside there was what looked like half of an upturned boat with art displayed inside.

The Boathouse Boatshed Gallery at Paxton House

I went inside to see the exhibits but had to get down on my knees as I couldn’t stand up.

Me inside the Boathouse Boatshed Gallery at Paxton House

Most of the exhibits were of the Holy Island of Lindisfarne.

Exhibits at the Boathouse Boatshed Gallery

I recommend the Stables Tearoom at Paxton House which features in our favourite cafes in Europe post.

You can have a great day out in Paxton House area; you can cross the Union Bridge, aka Chain Bridge, the oldest suspension bridge in the world still in use and the drive up the hill to the Chain Bridge Honey Farm to admire the murals and buy some local honey.

Art Exhibition in a Boat at Paxton House, Scottish Borders

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The Bread St Brasserie is in the Point Hotel Edinburgh, just off Lothian Road. When I was staying at the hotel in late February, there was an offer (ending 29 February 2012) where two people could have 2 course meal and either a glass of wine or a soft drink each for £20.12. As I was meeting our son Gary for dinner, we decided to try out the Bread St Brasserie. The restaurant normally offers a lunch and pre -theatre (5-7pm) set menu, priced at £9.95 for 2 courses and £12.95 for 3 courses.

Bread Street Brasserie

We were offered a freshly baked roll after ordering. We both had the Onion, Walnut and Blue Cheese Galette (pastry) for starter; however neither of us could discern any blue cheese flavour.

Onion, Walnut and Blue Cheese Galette at the Bread Street Brasserie

Gary had the Pork Belly as a main course which he said he enjoyed. I had the Filet of Sea Bass which was very good. However, we both felt that we’d have liked some more vegetables to be served with the main course. I had about 3 small new potatoes (cut into pieces) with my fish and Gary had around one heaped tablespoon of mashed potato.  We could have done with at least twice as much potato and some green vegetable such as green beans or broccoli. Even if there had been a bread basket on the table we could have filled up with bread. I can’t see a bit more veg or bread costing more than another 30 pence per person, but maybe margins are so low that would affect profitablity(?) Why not add another 50p or even £1 to the price then?

Pork Belly at the Bread Street Brasserie

The waiting staff were very pleasant and attentive. I thought that the restaurant had a relaxed atmosphere and I loved the Art Deco chandeliers. However I don’t think we’ll be frequenting the Bread Street Brasserie again, mainly due to the lack of vegetables served with the main course.

Review of Bread Street Brasserie Edinburgh

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I had lunch at the Ondine Restaurant Edinburgh in late February 2012. The restaurant is just off the Royal Mile next to the Missoni Edinburgh.

Ondine Restaurant Edinburgh

I really liked the fish wallpaper.

Fish wallpaper at the Ondine Restaurant Edinburgh

We chose from the three course set menu which cost £19.95 (also available for pre-theatre dinner between 5.30 – 6.30pm). There was a selection of bread and cheese choux pastry puffs on the table. I started with the Smoked Haddock Chowder which was delicious.

Smoked Haddock Chowder at the Ondine Restaurant Edinburgh

My main course was Spicy Cod served on a bed of chick peas. I’d have liked to have some vegetable, such as spinach or a side salad, served with the cod.

Spicy Cod at the Ondine Restaurant Edinburgh

My dessert was Panna Cotta with Rhubarb. I finished off with a very good cafe latte. I was surprised at how busy the Ondine was for a Monday lunchtime in February. I enjoyed lunch at the Ondine Restaurant and £19.95 was a reasonable price for the quality of the food.

You can see all my photos of  the Ondine Restaurant Edinburgh on Flickr.

Review of Ondine Restaurant Edinburgh

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I stayed at the three star Point Hotel Edinburgh for two nights in late February 2012. I booked my stay on the Hotels.com site, after finding they offered the cheapest price at the Point Hotel Edinbugh on the Hotelscombined price comparison site. I was able to get an additional 10% off by using a Hotels.com discount voucher. Although I was staying for two nights at the Point Hotel Edinburgh, I’d made two separate one night bookings. The first night I booked a deluxe double room with castle view including breakfast for £31 and the second night (booked two days later) a standard double/twin room for £27. Fortunately, the hotel allocated me a deluxe room for both nights. As I’d booked the room for two guests but ended up staying alone, the hotel very kindly allowed me to have breakfast on both mornings.

Entrance to Point Hotel Edinburgh

The Point Hotel is located just off Lothian Road, close to the Usher Hall and Lyceum Theatre. It takes around 20 minutes to walk from Edinburgh Waverly Rail Station. My room was on the fourth floor and I was impressed with the art on display in the corridor.

Scottish Moutain scene in corridor at Point Hotel Edinburgh

I was wowed by the castle view from my room.

View of Edinburgh Castle from my room

The room was spacious with a large desk with a comfy chair, as well as two other chairs. The towels in the bathroom were lovely, thick and fluffy.

It’s really a pity that the room was let down by poor maintainence and some other issues. The valance on the bed had some sort of brown liquid splash on it. There had been an unsuccessful attempt to cover cracks in the enamel of the sink and the bath with what looked like paint. One of the glasses in the bathroom still had what looked liked toothpaste stains in it. The double bed appeared to comprise of two single matresses and neither the bottom sheet or the duvet were large enough. There was one small tube of body wash and one of  shampoo which was just enough for me, although it was a double room. The charge for in-room internet connection was a whopping £20 per 24 hour period. Fortunately I had my T-Mobile mobile internet USB modem which costs £10 a month for 1GB. There was free WiFi in the bar but I couldn’t see me being able to get much work done there.

Double room at Point Hotel Edinburgh

The breakfast was fantastic and put the offerings of many four star hotels to shame. There was an extensive choice on the buffet including a variety of fresh breads, fresh fruit including water melon and sliced almonds to add to your cereal. In addition to the standard items on the hot buffet, you could order other items such as pancakes or porridge.

Breakfast buffet at Point Hotel Edinburgh

All the staff at the Point Hotel Edinburgh are extremely friendly and very focused on customer service.

In summary, the Point Hotel Edinburgh is a bit of mixed bag with some very good and some bad aspects.  I thought that the hotel offered fantastic value for money, although you have to bear in mind that I stayed during the week in low season and I’m pretty good at sniffing out the cheapest hotel deals.  I loved the pieces of art around the hotel. The castle view rooms do have the wow factor.

Art Deco chandelier in the Brasserie at the Point Hotel Edinburgh

I reckon that the sink and bath in my room needed to be either professionally repaired or replaced.  Clean bathroom glasses should placed in  rooms ready for new guests. Valances need to be regularly checked for stains. It would be better to offer guests in a double room two single duvets, as the current one duvet couldn’t comfortably cover two people. There really should be two tubes of shampoo and two tubes of body wash in double/twin rooms. I don’t think that a £20 daily charge for internet connection is justifiable.

However, all the negatives could be addressed and rectified with some investment and quality control, allowing the Point Hotel Edinburgh to become a very good all-rounder.

You can see all my Point Hotel Edinburgh photos on Flickr.

My reivew of the Bread Street Brasserie at the Point Hotel.

Click here to check prices on Point Hotel Edinburgh

Tips for Things to Do in Edinburgh

We’ve plenty Edinburgh tips for things to do when visiting the Scottish capital.

Review of Point Hotel Edinburgh

What to see Europe from the Europe a la Carte Travel Blog. Copyrighted content published on Europe a la Carte.

Here are our best of Edinbugh tips, together with our recommendations for what to do in Edinburgh to help you plan your visit to the Scottish capital.

Walk Along Portobello Beach

On a sunny day head to the golden sands of Portbello Beach, three miles east of the city centre. It’s unlikely it’ll be warm enough to go for a swim, but you can stroll along the prom or the beach.

Portobello Beach

Climb the Scott Monument

Built in memory of the Scottish author and poet Sir Walter Scott, the imposing 200 foot high Scott Monument can be scaled for a fee of £3. The Monument is just off Princes Street.

The Scott Monument, Edinburgh

Follow the Water of Leith Walkway

The Water of Leith Walkway winds it way through the city centre into the Forth Estuary at Leith. One of my favourite sections of the walk is between Belford Bridge (close to the Gallery of Modern Art) through Dean Village to Stockbridge (close to the Botanic Garden).

The Water of Leith at Stockbridge

Cross Over to Cramond Island

There is a tidal causeway for pedestrians over to Cramond Island in the Forth Estuary, but do check the tide timetables before attempting this. If it’s high tide you can still walk along the prom toward Silverknowes, or take the path up the River Almond.

Walkway over to Cramond Island

Visit the Scottish Parliament

You can walk around parts of the Scottish Parliament building and take a guided tour on certain days of the week. Even if you can’t get access, it’s still worth combining seeing the exterior of the building with a walk up to the Royal Mile or on your way to ascending Arthur’s Seat.

The Scottish Parliament

 Admire the Landfrom Sculpture

The Landform sculpture is in front of the National Gallery of Modern Art One. Most days when I’ve been there, the gate into the sculpure has been locked due to adverse weather conditions, but sometimes it’s possible to walk around it.

Landform on a wintry day

Learn About the Environment at the Royal Botanic Garden

There are interactive activities about biodiversity at the John Hope Gateway at the Edinburgh Botanic Garden. There’s free WiFi in the building. It’s free to get into the Botanic Gardens except for the Glass Houses. There are usually art exhibitions at Inverleith House in the Garden.

The John Hope Gateway at the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh

Admire the Works at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery

The Scottish National Portrait Gallery re-opened to the public in December 2011 after a major renovation. When I visited there was a photo exhibition on the theme of Romantic Scotland. You can learn a lot about Scottish history here from the many portraits of the rich and powerful.

The entrance to the Scottish National Portrait Gallery

Walk Up Arthur’s Seat

Walking up Arthur’s Seat, an extinct volcano, will give you some of the best views of Edinburgh.

View to Duddingston Loch and village from Arthur’s Seat

Have Fun at the Camera Obscura

I visited the Camera Obscura in Edinburgh with our son Gary. We really enjoyed the interactive hands on exhibits, such as heat-cam featured in my video below.

Look Out for Edinburgh Deals

Keep a look out for cut-price deals from Groupon to save you money when visiting Edinburgh; recently I’ve seen offers such as £19 for a day golf pass and lunch, £3.25 for a Ghost Tour and £17.50 for tapas for two including a bottle of wine.

Best of Edinburgh Tips

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I stayed for one night a the Hotel Missoni Edinburgh in December 2011 on a complimentary basis.  The hotel is located just off the Royal Mile, a five minute walk from Edinburgh Castle. I was looking forward to my stay. I’d been in the hotel twice previously, once for lunch and in April 2011 the hotel hosted an Edinburgh Travel Tweetup. So had anticipated that the rooms at the Missoni would be pretty funky.

Bar at Hotel Missoni Edinburgh

I loved my room, the mix of colours and patterns worked well and created a relaxed feel. I was relieved that the safe was at shoulder height so I didn’t have to grovel around on the floor to get my laptop in and out of the safe, as is the case at many hotels. I was also glad that the TV remote control was user friendly.

The bathroom had a large walk in shower, so no fiddling around with curtains, or leaks from cubicle doors. No boring white bathrobes here, they had the same design as some of the fabrics used in the room.

There were views over to Arthur’s Seat and St Giles Cathedral spire from my fourth floor room.

Looking toward Arthur’s Seat from my room at the Hotel Missoni Edinburgh

The all inclusive rate includes breakfast, WiFi, mini bar (with wine, beer, soft drinks, crisps, some fruit  and chocolate), movies and two items of laundry. I reckon you could pay well over £100 for these extras at some other four and five star hotels. There’s a coffee making machine and a kettle and even a small bottle of fresh milk in the fridge; much better than these long life milk tubes/pots that are virtually impossible to open.

My room at the Hotel Missioni Edinburgh

The bed was super comfortable with lovely pillows.

I did have some difficulty with the initial connection to the WiFi. You have to go onto the Missoni website and enter your surname and room number. I only suceeded in connecting my netbook using the Google Chrome browser after several attempts on my default Firefox browser. I prefer it when you don’t need to log in, you just connect and can start browsing immediately.

Breakfast is served between 6.30 and 10.00 on weekdays (7.00 to 11.00 at weekends). Personally I’d prefer to see breakfast extended to 11am on weekdays, to give me the option of a leisurely morning.

Cucina Restaurant at Hotel Missoni Edinburgh

Breakfast consists of a cold buffet, with far too many tempting cakes, but also some healthier options including fresh fruit salad, yoghurt and cereals. You can also order a hot dish from the menu; I had scrambled egg and smoked salmon which was very good.

All the staff are really friendly, helpful and proactive. I recognised quite a few members of the bar staff from my previous visits to the Missoni.

I enjoyed my stay at the Hotel Missoni Edinburgh so much I didn’t want to leave; I was in my room until a few minutes before the latest check-out at noon. Between the central location, the beautiful room, great ambience and staff and the excellent breakfast, it’s the best five star hotel in which I’ve stayed.

Tips for Things to Do in Edinburgh

We’ve lots of Edinburgh tips on Europe a la Carte.

Review of Hotel Missoni Edinburgh

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I stayed for one night at the Travelodge Edinburgh Learmonth in early December 2011 on a complimentary basis. I’ve stayed at this hotel in the past and reviewed the hotel in June 2009. The Travelodge UK budget hotel chain have improved their service to guests by offering free WiFi in their Bar Cafes.  This is great news if, like me, you need to stay connected when you’re on the move.

The Bar Cafe at Travelodge Edinburgh Learmonth

I stayed in a family room at the back of the hotel on the second floor. It was a large room with a bed settee. The bathroom was a good size with a shower over the bath; some of the newer Travelodges have tiny bathrooms which only have showers. It was cold outside but the room was a very pleasant temperature, although the radiator wasn’t on.

Unfortunately there were a couple of very noticeable stains on the bed settee. I’ve observed this in a few Travelodges and it’s all the more obvious on the self coloured red fabric. I think it’s something that Travelodge should get on top of by regular checking and cleaning of the bed settees, as this can let down an otherwise good room.

Travelodges offer excellent value for money, especially if you book for off-peak stays during their £10 and £12 room promotions. However I have found Travelodge rooms in Edinburgh from around £30 a few days before my stay.

I’d stay at the Travelodge Edinburgh Learmonth again, due to the quiet yet fairly central location plus the free WiFi.

Travelodge Edinburgh Learmonth Offers Free Wifi in Bar Cafe

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We had a stop at the town of Jedburgh in the Scottish Borders on a day out in November 2011. I was happy to see signs saying that there was free WiFi in the town centre and that the car park was also free. I connected to the free WiFi, I didn’t need to give any details, only click that I agreed to the terms and conditions. The connection was pretty good and I was able to upload a photo in a few seconds.  The next good thing was that the very clean public toilets were also free.

Free WiFi – music to a blogger’s ear

We had a walk along the tarmaced Borders Abbeys Way path and had a coffee from our flask at the picnic bench on the banks of Jed Water.

View from our coffee spot toward Jed Water

Jedburgh Abbey is very impressive.

Jedburgh Abbey

Just along from the Abbey is the Clock Tower.

Jedburgh Clock Tower

There’s a great kids play area adjacent to the car park.

Play area in Jedburgh

I think it’s very welcoming to arrive in Jedburgh, where you don’t have to think about parking charges and whether the public toilets will be fit for use and/or charge 40 pence admission per person. The free WiFi is a great bonus too.

If Only All Towns Offered Such Good, Free Amenities as Jedburgh

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A visiting friend and I took a walk from Coldingham Sands to St Abb’s Head in the Scottish Borders in November 2011. We started at the free car park opposite the St Vedas surf shop/hotel.

St Abbs harbour from above

We walked to St Abbs following the high path with Coldingham Beach and the North Sea to our right. St Abbs is a popular diving spot as it’s bang on the Marine Park. The Eyemouth Fishing Disaster Memorial is just up from St Abbs.

St Abbs fishing disaster memorial viewing point

There’s a map and guide to the Berwickshire Coastal Path there.

Coastal path info at St Abbs

We then walked outside the town and followed the path to the start of the walk towards the Nature Reserve and Lighthouse.

Nature Reserve start

The walk continued along the coast to Horsecasle Rocks (where we walked down to a small rocky beach for coffee), Kirk Hill and Black Gable.

The view to Starney Bay, Wuddy Rocks and back towards St Abbs

We then made our way to the Lighthouse.

Lighthouse and fog horn

The views from above to both the right (south) and left (north) of the lighthouse were pretty amazing.

Lighthouse view south

Lighthouse view north

On the way down from the lighthouse we noticed some curious sheep amongst the unseasonably early-flowering gorse. We then had lunch at a small beach facing North just below the lighthouse, where a recently born seal pup was blissfully asleep while its parents fished.

On the way back, we first walked along Mire Loch, which runs parallel to the coast behind a hill and has paths on both sides, then got onto the seaside path again at Kirk Hill and retraced our steps to Coldingham.

The walk took about three hours at a relatively gentle pace and although there were threatening skies, it was dry throughout.

Walking from Coldingham to St Abb’s Head in the Scottish Borders

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We stayed for one night at the Apex Waterloo Place Hotel in Edinburgh in September 2011, on a complimentary basis. The building dates from 1819 and was refurbished in 2009. It’s located very close to Waverley rail station and Princes Street.

Exterior of Apex Waterloo Place Hotel

The lobby/bar area is stylish, light and airy.

Lounge area at Apex Waterloo Place Hotel

We were allocated room 827, a superior room at the front of the hotel. Now it was a beautiful sunny afternoon, but the first thing that struck when I entered the room was the sun streaming in through the three large windows. It was the 29th of September (in Scotland), but I had to put on the air conditioning to cool down the room. Although the hotel is very centrally located it’s in a relatively quiet street. As the windows weren’t double glazed there was some traffic noise  but not enough to disturb our sleep.

Our room at Apex Waterloo Place Hotel

The Apex Waterloo Place hotel offers free wifi to guests but you need to get a password at reception when you check in. I found the signal to be excellent. I’ve previously had a lot of problems with hotel wifi (free and paid for) quality and when I went to reception they invariably (and erroneously) attributed the blame to my laptop. So it was such a relief to be able to get online at the first attempt and get straight down to some work.

The king size bed was so comfortable with divine pillows and had a sheet which was large enough to stay firmly tucked in and a huge duvet cover. The large walk-in shower was fantastic. I enjoyed my bath in the company of the Apex duck. I couldn’t find a bar of soap in our room, I’m not sure if this was an omission by housekeeping or the norm. I could have phoned reception to ask but as I had some soap in my toiletries bag, I didn’t bother. There was a small container of bath/shower gel but it was awkward to dispense for washing my hands.

I had a quick look at the gym, spa and pool area but didn’t have time (or in the case of the gym, the inclination) to use the facilities.

The pool at Apex Waterloo Place Hotel

In summary, I really enjoyed my stay at the Apex Waterloo Place Hotel in Edinburgh. It’s in a central location close to lots of shops, restaurants, pubs, cafes and transport links. Our room was a perfect mix of modernity and comfort with a great bed, lovely bathroom (apart from the lack of soap) and had excellent free wifi.

Click here to see all my Apex Waterloo Place Hotel photos on Flickr.

Review of Apex Waterloo Place Hotel, Edinburgh

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