Going the extra “Royal Mile”

Finding a meeting and events hotel with state-of-the-art facilities that sits within a UNESCO listed zone is usually a tough ask. Adding in being located a 10-minute walk from the main railway station, under 15km from an International Airport, and with its own car park onsite would in most cases be a bridge too far. That is until you consider the Radisson Blu Hotel, Edinburgh City Centre. Discover the possibilities of your next event in Edinburgh below.

Commanding a coveted position on Edinburgh's world famous ‘Royal Mile', the Hotel's 16th Century style façade is completely in keeping with Scotland's cultural epicentre. Sitting equi-distant between Edinburgh Castle and Holyrood Palace provides any meeting or event with the ingredients to motivate, educate and surprise in equal measure.

Whether you are arriving as a domestic or international guess, the Radisson Blu's grand ‘stone-built' edifice cannot help but impress. Even more so when the hotel puts on a tailor-made VIP welcome, with a bagpiper and highland dancers. In fact, VIP's are not in short supply as the hotel was the main base for the film crew and support staff of the latest ‘Marvel' film which was in part shot in Edinburgh.

Scots and Scots-at 💙: why not celebrate #BurnsNight at the beautiful @radissonbluedinburgh with a delicious Burns Night menu? #RadissonBlu #Edinburgh

A post shared by Radisson Blu (@radissonblu) on Jan 24, 2018 at 8:54am PST

The hotel frontage belies a deceptively spacious interior. Taking advantage of the hill's graduated incline are the 8 meetings and event rooms within. The main meeting spaces sit at the far end of the foyer and lounge, along a corridor of beautifully vaulted ceilings. The largest venue ‘St. Giles' is able to cater for up to 250 participants. Inspired by the nearby castle, ‘‘The Great Scots Hall' room, just above the foyer, is a historical setting for special events and social gatherings, which is spread across 111sqm.

The warren of exciting spaces continues behind the mood-lit reception desks. On a mezzanine floor, several regular sized rooms sweep around the breakout area, with a ‘speak easy' networking feel to it; ergonomically designed chairs and bean bags sit next to bean-to-cup coffee machines.

The mezzanine floor is also home to the funky “Brain Box Room”; a quirky space that has artificial turf on the floor and a ‘smartboard' on the wall, so that information can be synced directly to the attendees' tablets and smartphones. This room is likely to be popular with regular visiting International sports teams to talk tactics, before relaxing aching muscles in the compact and bijoux Melrose Spa's swimming pool, steam and sauna cabin.

The location of the hotel means the choice of historic sites are footsteps away from the front desk. At the upper end of the ‘Royal Mile', atop a dormant volcano, Edinburgh Castle has stood majestically since the 12th Century. At the other end is the Queen's Royal Residence Holyrood Palace, and the Scottish Parliament. To view this unique panorama from another perspective, head to the shopping mecca of St. George's Square and Princes Street to enjoy a cocktail at Harvey Nichols' 4th floor bar.

During the renowned Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August, the hotel's meeting spaces are taken over in its entirety by event organiser ‘theSpaceUK'. It can be said that the hotel, alongside the city, takes on a new character within the cultural and artistic melting pot of the ‘Fringe'. Think “Circus fused with theatre” and this best encapsulates just how versatile the Radisson Blu's meeting and events team really are!

‘TheSpaceUK' has 23 years' experience of running venues in Edinburgh and host the largest and most diverse programme at the festival. Charles Pamment, Director says "We've worked with the team at the Radisson Blu since 2007. The hotel's fabulous location at the heart of the city is important, as is the top quality facilities - our audiences range from a 0-90 age demographic so they need varied levels of comfort - Sound proof rooms, accessibility and crucially air conditioning give us the perfect platform for what we do”.

Organizers, such as ‘ThespaceUK' return year-on-year to the Radisson Blu Edinburgh City Centre, as it really does go the ‘Extra Royal Mile'.

Offering substantial meeting and event spaces married with an enviable location at the heart of historic Scotland, accessible by car right to hotel's very own car park... all this contributes to making this special hotel an easy decision to host your next event!