Tigerlily ★★★★

My Spanish man has never visited the arrestingly beautiful city of Edinburgh and I think it's high time I brought him here. To the dreamy spires, misty hills and Gothic streets of Scotland's capital. The world's first UNESCO City Of Literature, its World Heritage Site also covers Old Town and New Town and the latter is where we are headed. On the gorgeous boutique shop haven of George Street, right in the city centre, lies a hotel that has been listed amongst the world Top 100 by Times Traveller Magazine. A haven for celebrities hiding out during the famous summer Theatre Festival and a chic accolade to all that makes Edinburgh special, it manages to merge its old heritage with contemporary glamour and luxurious comfort. Its sophisticated, cheeky flair is perfectly illustrated in its classic fish and chips accompanied by a fizzing glass of Prosecco! Famed for its delicious cocktails, glittering design, gourmet restaurant, mouth watering, hearty breakfasts and colourful, playful welcome, it is the place to stay and so here we are, at the Tigerlily Hotel.

Upon arrival we're kindly offered a complimentary cocktail once we've settled in, as we are merrily ushered to our room. This turns out to be an airy affair of stripped wooden floors, splashes of pink, cosy armchairs and fresh elegance. My love immediately collapses on the plush, King sized bed and snuggles up on the soft, Egyptian Cotton sheets and I can see I will have a hard job to move him. Meanwhile I discover a Minibar that sets the unexciting, cheap wines and tacky snacks aside to provide you with genuinely tempting Belvedere Vodka, Firefly Juices and fine chocolates. I go on to discover the sleek, shining bathroom with fluffy dressing gowns and slippers and White Company toiletries. I even find hair straighteners should one wish to glam up for the glitzy LuLu Nightclub below the hotel, one of the hottest spots in town, for which guests have free entry.

My gleeful marvelling is interrupted by the strains of Marvin Gaye coming from the bedroom and I emerge to see that my man has finally been tempted out of bed by the very flash looking Entertainment system that apparently includes an IPod complete with a vast variety of music. He is already eyeing up the DVD library and I join him as we make a selection of which movies to curl up cosily with to watch on our huge Plasma TV screen.

There was more of the hotel to discover however, so we took a wander around the hotels facilities. The restaurant was a chic affair with light colour woods and low hanging red lanterns, it is accompanied by a trendy bar dressed in lilac purples and silver with a colourful array of drinks to make their infamously tasty cocktails. There was also the hotel’s Georgian Bar, which was a more classic affair furnished with purple velvet stools, a fresh white bar and classic wallpaper.

Another visit to reception informed us about their entertaining timetable of events. Their famous “Fizz & Chips”, where classic Fish & Chips is met with bubbling Prosecco occurs every Wednesday whilst Thursdays we could sample their “Street but Chic” Asian cuisine. The week ends with a bang on Friday evenings with their “Friday Feeling” where you can expect only the hottest cocktails, food and entertainment in Edinburgh, and trust me, like us, you won’t be disappointed! This trendy hotel also offers top-class cocktail making classes and even classes in the art of baking; perhaps next time when we could stay a little longer I would be indulging in such treats!

Thus cosseted and entertained, we could easily hole up in our hotel the entire time, but that was not the point of coming here. The plan is to introduce my man to one of the most alluring and exciting cities in Europe and for that we have no choice but to occasionally tear ourselves away from the splendour of the Tigerlily Hotel. Yet every time we do so it is safe in the smug knowledge that we will be coming back here and that puts an extra, sparkling spring in our step as we sally forth from our fabulous find – already a firm favourite on our list of top city hotels!