The Glasshouse Hotel - Edinburgh

My husband and I just returned home from The Glasshouse Hotel in Edinburgh. This is our second visit and one of our very favorite places to stay. Voted as 'one of the top 50 coolest places to stay in the world' by Condé Nast Traveler, the hotel also won the Scottish Style Awards' Most Stylish Hotel.

The Glasshouse has just 65 bedrooms. When you are walking around the hotel it seems so much larger than 65 rooms. The hotel does not have a public bar or restaurant. They do however serve breakfast and have an honesty bar that is very well stocked. The hotel is not open to non-residents to ensure privacy and an intimate setting.

The hotel is ingeniously designed, melding modern and medieval architecture in a most creative way. Guests enter the hotel through the grey stone facade of the 150 year old Lady of Glenorchy Church, then step into the modern glass lobby.

The hotel boasts the only rooftop garden in Edinburgh offering unparalleled views of World Heritage Site Calton Hill and its collection of 19th century buildings and follies, including the Old Observatory and Greek Parthenon. The perfect place for a wee dram or an aperitif.

Philippe Starck chairs

The rooms on the top floor are designed in a semi-circle. Each with huge floor to ceiling windows and direct access to the rooftop garden and your own small patio. It's the perfect hideaway from the bustle of the city below.