Edinburgh’s Fingal is Scotland’s only floating hotel. Kathryn Armstrong checked in for some old school ocean liner elegance.
It all feels a bit Agatha Christie as you walk the red-carpet gangway to the entrance of Fingal. As though you're about to embark on a secret adventure in a privileged place.
I’m not suggesting murder, mayhem or mishaps in waterside Leith I might add, but the spirit of the sumptuous surroundings echoes the Art Deco gloriousness of a Christie movie homage.
Step inside and warm wood envelopes you in the luxury of a private yacht. With fewer than 25 cabins, this is definitely ‘boutique’. It feels cocooning and elegant, gleaming and serene throughout.
The history of the ship is less elegant but definitely purposeful. Fingal was commissioned by the Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB) in 1963 and was the last ship to be built by the Blythswood Shipbuilding Company in Glasgow. Registered in Leith, she was stationed for 30 years in Oban and then for six years in Stromness, ferrying lighthouse keepers, essential supplies and maintenance staff to lighthouses, retiring from NLB service in 2000.
Fingal’s duties included bringing equipment to some of Scotland’s most far-off lighthouses - and when lighthouse keepers saw Fingal on the horizon, it meant their three-week posting was over and that replacement lighthouse keepers and vital supplies were on the way.
Today, as one of the country’s most luxurious hotel and restaurants (it was recently awarded a AA two rosettes and crowned one of the top 25 five-star hotels and restaurants in the UK and NI by the AA), Fingal delivers essential supplies of a more decadent variety; vital supplies here look more like a G&T from local Edinburgh distiller, Lind and Lime, perhaps some Orkney scallops or Scottish roe deer. And it goes without saying, an impressive menu of malt whisky.
In a nod to its heritage, Fingal’s cabins are named after lighthouses with striking photography of them lining the corridors. We found ourselves in a cabin named after Tarbet Ness, no doubt a much more calming environment than its namesake up in Easter Ross.
The cabins have portholes – yay! The have beautiful cabinetry throughout and soft touch doors which add to the luxe feel. Beds are huge and comfy and bathrooms made to linger – with cute nautical taps and Nobe Isle toiletries. There are Tunnocks teacakes to have with your Nespresso coffee too.
Food and drink are at the heart of a stay and the Lighthouse Restaurant & Bar is a mesmerising place to be – the ceiling is made from textured copper giving the impression of waves at sea. At dinner, lights shimmer and create a really magical atmosphere. It is open to non-residents for afternoon tea, dinner and cocktails.
Food is terrific, as you should expect. Menus are neat and varied with simple, excellent produce promising the best of the Scottish larder - with nice touches such as Fingal’s very own hot smoked salmon and fresh herbs grown quayside. There’s a good-looking cocktail and wine menu and friendly staff who know their stuff.
fingal.co.uk
