Edinburgh’s first Hampton by Hilton hotel, the global value hotel brand known for providing travellers with its signature Hamptonality service, has received almost 10,000 room bookings in its first two weeks of trading.
The bookings at the Hampton by Hilton Edinburgh West End, which opened on the 17th of October 2017, have come from across the world including the USA, China, Germany, Italy and Spain and include reservations for as far ahead as October 2018.
The new hotel, which is the first Hampton by Hilton property in Scotland’s capital city, is located in the city’s Fountainbridge area less than 500m from the Edinburgh International Conference Centre and a short distance from the city’s main visitor attractions. The successful opening has added 228 modern bedrooms to the city’s busy international tourism and conference markets.
Urban Cafe, a new independent coffee shop offering hot drinks, snacks and limited alcoholic beverages, has also opened as part of the new development and is already attracting customers from local offices, student accommodation and residents.
Paul Wood, general manager, Hampton by Hilton Edinburgh West End, said, “The Hampton by Hilton brand is recognised and trusted by people across the world and that seems to be reinforced by our tremendous first two weeks of business. Customers have come from China and the USA as well as from various European countries and of course from right here in the UK.
“Edinburgh is one of the busiest conference destinations in the UK and is second only to London for attracting international tourist visitors so we are looking forward to providing a warm welcome and stay for guests as they explore the charms of Scotland’s capital city.”
Research carried out by the Edinburgh Tourism Action Group and Edinburgh City Council identified that:
- 38% of Edinburgh’s visitors are from overseas
- the city is second only to London for attracting international visitors
- in 2015, 3.85m people visited Edinburgh – a 17.7% increase from 2010.
- Edinburgh is the most popular UK city for international association meetings outside London
Major events within Edinburgh in 2018 include:
- Edinburgh’s Hogmanay – 29th – 1st January 2017/18
- Six Nations Rugby – 11th & 24th Feb 2018
- International Film Festival – 20th June – 2nd July 2018
- Royal Highland Show – 21st – 24th June 2018
- Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Edinburgh International Festival – 3rd – 27th August 2018
Paul Wood added: “From a location point of view the hotel is perfectly placed for the Edinburgh International Conference Centre and is a short walk from the heart of Edinburgh and many of its popular visitor attractions and exciting bars and restaurants. We are also just a five minute walk from one of the city’s busy train stations which provides access to many day trips across central Scotland.”
Fountainbridge, where the new hotel is located, has a rich commercial heritage and is named after the spring water that was to be found there. It was that spring water which made the location perfect for the location of the William McEwan’s Fountain Brewery in 1889.
The hotel is positioned on the site of the North British Rubber Company which was founded in the 19th century. Throughout its time the factory manufactured a variety of products including rubber Wellington boots and hot-water bottles and during the Great War it produced 47,000 pairs of heavy snow boots for the French Army.
Famously, the actor Sean Connery was born in the Fountainbridge area, close to the hotel’s location.