St Andrews Square, Edinburgh
By Susan Young
Malmaison at St Andrew Square opened last month. The new hotel on the site of the former A-listed Buchan house, has 72 bedrooms, a Chez Mal Bar and Brasserie as well as private dining facilities. It is the second Malmaison for the company in Edinburgh, its Leith hotel opened in 1994, and its the 4th Malmaison in Scotland.
Originally built in 1775 as five houses and latterly used as office space the new hotel has been remodelled to create new public spaces at ground level and there has also been two new extensions added to the property. It was a joint initiative between S Harrison Developments and Malmaison who have preserved the Georgian period spendour of the building while bringing it back to life as a hotel.
The building is steeped in history; Malmaison Edinburgh City was previously the home of Lord Brougham, the 11th Earl of Buchan. It was also once home to Joseph Bell, the inspiration behind Sherlock Holmes.
With the new Malmaison Edinburgh City, designers have taken inspiration from nearby Rose and Thistle Streets to create lavish interiors of contrasting textures, lights and styles, offering one of the most inimitable hotel experiences in Edinburgh. Tying into the overall theme of juxtaposition, the new design mirrors elements of the original Edinburgh property, utilising darker colours and tones throughout the interiors of the hotel, and also tying into to the Old Town vs New Town geography of the city itself.
“Returning to the heart of where Malmaison started is a real milestone for us and we are looking forward to offering a fourth offering in the city, in addition to our Malmaison property in Leith and our Hotel du Vin and Fraser Suites locations in Edinburgh’s old town,” said Guus Bakker, CEO EMEA at Frasers Hospitality, who own the Malmaison and Hotel du Vin brands. “Edinburgh is such an integral and exciting city and the boutique elements of Malmaison and Chez Mal’s offerings really tie in well to the atmosphere and spirit of the Scottish capital.”
Meanwhile David Clancy, from S Harrison, said, “Our experience of sympathetically restoring historic and heritage buildings, combined with Malmaison’s vision for creating interiors that are distinctive, stylish and extremely luxurious, has ultimately created one of Scotland’s finest boutique hotels.”