Edinburgh’s Fingal Hotel, Scotland’s only luxury floating hotel, permanently berthed on the Leith waterfront, has been crowned ‘AA Hotel of the Year Scotland 2023-24’ by the internationally recognised Automobile Association (AA), following an awards ceremony in London last night (Monday 25 September).
The AA Hospitality Awards span 15 categories, each curated and judged by AA inspectors to select the best hotels and restaurants across the UK.
The AA inspectors singled out Fingal for the top accolade and praised the exceptional quality of the ship’s stylish interior design, meticulous attention to detail, unique maritime heritage, outstanding customer service and fine dining experience.
An AA Inspector said of Fingal, “Fingal was built on the Clyde and has a rich history of service as a support vessel for the Northern Lighthouse Board. Now permanently moored in Leith and owned by The Royal Britannia Trust, the ship was lovingly restored and converted into the luxury hotel it is today with this process being respectful to the history and service of this ship.
“Unique luxury bedrooms cater well for the needs of the modern guest. Award-winning food with fantastic surroundings from a professional and skilful team. Great hospitality is shown as well as warm and genuine customer care. This is a hotel experience unlike any other that Edinburgh can offer.”
Hotel manager Mari-Nel Scorer, said, “It’s with great pride that Fingal has been recognised by the AA as Scotland’s Hotel of the Year for our commitment to offering a world-class visitor experience to all our guests.
“This prestigious title is a real testament to the dedication and professionalism of our entire crew, who work tirelessly to ensure everything is shipshape.
“The inspectors paid particular attention to the exceptional quality of Fingal’s stylish interior design, our meticulous attention to detail, unique maritime heritage, outstanding customer service and fine dining experience in the ship’s Lighthouse Restaurant & Bar.”
Opened in 2019, the former Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB) tender was developed and is managed by the award-winning team at The Royal Yacht Britannia. In 2022, Fingal was awarded the top five-star rating from the AA for the hotel and two AA Rosettes for its Lighthouse Restaurant, joining an exclusive list of only 43 five-star hotels with two AA Rosettes across the whole of the UK and Northern Ireland and is only one of 25 hotels around the country with an overall quality assurance score of 87% or above.