The Balmoral

- Catherine Coyle

When conjuring up images of Edin burgh, your mind’s eye automatically searches for those classic frames that take in the quintessential elements of the city: the castle, Arthur’s Seat, the Scott Monument. The Balmoral, at number one Princes Street, belongs with that collection of historic landmarks, inextricably linked to the city and its heritage.

It first opened in 1902 as the North British Station Hotel, and remains the only residential building ever built on the south side of Princes Street. In 1997, when Sir Rocco Forte was starting up his own portfolio of hotels,   it was the Balmoral that he bought first. It had always been important to the hotelier, not least because of his family connections to Scotland. His grandfather came to the country in 1911 and his father brought Rocco and his siblings in the summer, when they’d fish and explore the countryside. The whole family has fond memories of those long-ago Scottish summers, so it’s not surprising that the Balmoral should remain a significant part of the family’s legacy.