The Caledonian Hotel

History of a historic railway in Edinburgh's West End

The Caledonian Hotel has a history spanning 100 years. Back in the late 19th century the railway used to pass through the centre of Edinburgh. Its central location required two train stations. The Waverley, at the East End, was built and owned by the North British Railway Company as was their station hotel, the NB -- the North British Hotel.

The rival railway company, the Caledonian Railway, built its own train station at the other end of Princes Street -- the Caledonian Hotel, just one year later after the NB hotel opened its gates.

These two most central Edinburgh Hotels could not be more different in appearance. The North British Hotel, now the Balmoral, had an imposing Victorian exterior and impressive clock tower. At one time an attempt was made to turn Scotland into North Britain and Scots were not happy.

The Caledonian Hotel in Edinburgh's West End was owned by a Scottish railway company and the name rings of Scotland's heritage. Its unusual architecture combining imposing Victorian features with Dutch baroque made it more fitting to Edinburgh residents' feelings towards the rival hotel and railway company. Even today, the Caledonian Hotel seems to be the preferred to the Balmoral by Scots.

In its early days, Caledonian Railway had developed a system where steam from the station trains was re-cycled to heat the hotel's hot water supply. Eventually the rising competition of Waverley and the trams and buses running along Edinburgh's main street forced the Caledonian to close down the train station.

The Caledonian Hotel, however, retains its old-time grandeur of a first-class railway hotel in Edinburgh City Centre to this day. A 4-storey extension has been added at the rear in the early 1970s. Today, the Caledonian Hotel is part of the Hilton Hotels chains.

This imposing 9-storey block of red sandstone, while not as visually impressive as the Balmoral Hotel at the other end of Princes Street, is full of character, nonetheless.

The lobby is elegant and wonderfully decorated with marbled green columns and an ornate stairwell with a polished metal balustrade. The hotel has also a small courtyard with flower beds and gazebo.

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