User:MSautter/History of Crowne Plaza Edinburgh - Royal Terrace

Crowne Plaza Edinburgh - Royal Terrace The building that is now known as Crowne Plaza Edinburgh – Royal Terrace first came into existence as a hotel in the 1980s when six town houses were knocked together. This first hotel was originally known as the Arden Hotel, which was privately owned until the late 1980s or early 1990s when the hotel was bought by a hotel chain called Principal Hotels (now Principal Hayley), and was consequently re-named “The Royal Terrace Hotel”. Another townhouse next door was also acquired and converted to what would be called the “Ambassador Wing” at this time. In 2001, the entire Principal Hotels chain (at that time a collection of around 20 hotels in the UK, Irleand and the Netherlands) was acquired by the luxury chain Le Meridien hotels and, although a number of Principal Hotels were sold, Edinburgh was retained as a Meridien Hotel. During this time the Hotel was known as “Le Meridien Edinburgh”. Unfortunately, due to the downturn in the market for luxury hotels, in 2003 Le Meridien decided to put the Royal Terrace up for sale, and the hotel was sold to its current owner Prima Hotels, and the name of the hotel has returned to “The Royal Terrace Hotel”. It has undergone a £5 million refurb in 2005/2006. On 15th August 2013, the hotel has opened as “Crowne Plaza Edinburgh – Royal Terrace”, following a £2.2 million refurbishment programme earlier in the year. It is still owned by Prima Hotels Group, however is now operated under license of InterContinental Hotels Group and is a Crowne Plaza franchise. Prima Hotels’ portfolio currently contains five other hotels: Nunsmere Hall Hotel (near Chester), The Stanneylands Hotel (Cheshire), Hellaby Hall Hotel (near Rotherham in Yorkshire) and the Quorn Country Hall Hotel (Leicestershire), and Holiday Inn Manchester. The building that now holds “Crowne Plaza Edinburgh – Royal Terrace” came into existence in the early to mid 1800s. In 1812 Edinburgh’s Town Council held an architectural competition for the development of housing to the east of Craig’s successful new town. Out of the thirty-two entries submitted only one fired the imagination, and it was that of the architect William Stark. His determination was to follow the natural contours of the hillside, which was later realised in 1819 when his pupil William Playfair designed a scheme to build prestigious houses on the eastern slope of Calton Hill, which he hoped would attract a “circle of fashionable and wealthy people”. Backed by a committee made up of George Heriot’s Hospital, Trinity Hospital and Mr Alexander Allan (a banker), building got underway. Royal Terrace, whose name derives from the visit of George IV to Edinburgh in 1822, was the first of three planned terraces to have houses built on it; however it was also the last to be completed, taking almost fifty years from start to finish. Many citizens that fitted William Playfair’s description had by the time of its completion already made their homes in Craig’s New Town. Early residents tended to be people of independent means, solicitors, retired army officers of the East India Company, and wine and tea merchants. The first person to live on the Royal Terrace was Thomas Dallas, a wine and spirit merchant, who lived at Number 40 for eleven years. Two uncles of Robert Louis Stevenson also lived on the terrace, the younger being David, a recognised authority on the improvement of rivers and waterways. He lived at Number 25 for fifteen years and it is said that because of his connection with the area, Robert Louis Stevenson introduced a character from the Royal Terrace in his book “The misadventures of John Nicholson”. In the past, Royal Terrace was better known as “Whiskey Row”, because merchants could look out of their north facing windows and see their ships arriving at Leith Harbour. In 1861 John Crabbie, best known for his Crabbie's Ginger Beer moved into Number 18 (now part of the hotel) and lived there until his death some 30 years later. Charles Piazzi Smith, who was named after his godfather the Italian astronomer Giuseppe Piazzi of Palermo, lived in what used to be called the hotel's “Ambassador Wing”, for some years with his wife Jessie. He became Astronomer-Royal for Scotland in 1870 and was the first man to photograph the inside of the pyramids. Another remarkable resident of Royal Terrace from 1921 was Professor Charles Saroléa who occupied two whole houses, Number 21 and Number 22, with his books said to number a quarter of a million, and to be the largest private library in Europe. Saroléa was Belgian by birth and was a Belgian consul from 1901-1953. He accompanied King Albert of Belgium as political advisor and raised over £100,000 for Belgian relief. From the 1920s, the need for large houses had diminished and only four of the forty houses remained family homes. The rest were been converted into flats, hotels or office space with the exception of Number 4, which had been painstakingly restored and is now the home of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.

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