Angel Share Hotel - Edinburgh - Scotland

 

At times, when visiting a new city, spending the night in a comfortable hotel can make the whole difference.

I have recently spent a very busy few days in Scotland recently with the first stop being in Edinburgh. The day hadn’t start well as the car I had reserve via Europcar wasn’t available. The attitude of the staff at the Europcar office wasn’t giving me the best impression of Edinburgh. What had been a very carefully planned day became a nightmare because of the missing car.

The trip had been planned for 3 months and included managing 4 other adults, work equipment, 2 events and broadcasting at various locations over 2 days.

On arrival, the missing car made us lose 2 precious hours on an already tight schedule. We ended up taking a smaller car with taxis options. The 7-seaters we had ordered was supposed to be delivered later that day and it is only the next morning that we were able to have an almost suitable alternative.

The hall of fame

Needless to say that when that day ended all I wanted was a bed. We arrived at the Angel Share Hotel Edinburgh after 8.30pm and my first impression wasn’t very reassuring.

The list of rooms on my floor

The entrance on Hope street opens on a very elegant bar behind which the liquors are arranged in a way that catches the lights from the beautiful crystal chandeliers hung on the on the ceiling. I feared that I might not sleep well due to the noise though the bar was still empty at this time.

People are welcomed on the premises by bar staff and pointed out to an office situated on the first floor where they can check in if they are spending the night.

At the small office I was greeted by a nicer member of staff (as opposed to a bar staff with an “I can’t be bothered” face expression. The man was patient and kinder which was just what I needed after my crazy day. I was then led to my room.

My room

Here are Angel Share, the rooms are not numbered, but named after Scottish celebrities. Even on the walls by the bar black and white pictures are hung on the walls. Now, this is how you celebrate the success of people who come from your neck of the woods and known worldwide. Imagine a Scottish child coming here and then turning around to his parents to say: when I grow up, I want to have a room named after me in the Angel Share Hotel… Wouldn’t that be something? Celebrating success; something people in England don’t do well.

I spent my night in the Chris Hoy room, a simple, comfortable and yet elegant room.


A very grey cupboard and wardrobe

I did not spent much time here to be able to say any more, but I am thinking of coming back to make full use of the facilities in the near future…

One thing I did not like though is the limited colour palette of the hotel with it major in black and whites, dark greys and dark olives.

I missed out completely on this beautiful Edinburgh as my fun time was killed by Europcar. I need to go back… for fun and won’t be using or recommending that car rental desk in Edinburgh Station.

Tibits – Heddon Street – London UK.

Tibits from the outside

I am not vegan, but I love exploring what is made available to me. When I heard that there was a vegan restaurant not too far from my work place, I was really excited. Like many people, thinking of vegetarian or vegan food tends to conjures up a mish-mash of very green or overly cooked vegetables or unidentified brown nutty stuff.
When Tibits popped on my screen with its Vegan Tuesday, I googled it. The location of the restaurant and Swiss origin all got me thinking for some reason that I could dine there a la carte despite the very unnavigable website. It had not crossed my mind that it could be otherwise. I hate buffets and will not go to dinner in central London for a buffet… oh no!

I arrived earlier to take a look at the location… Unless you are looking specifically for Heddon Street, you will walk pass this hidden food quarter. This street has 2 entrances and of course I took the unglamorous one near the Lagerfeld store in Regent Street. This “crescent” built like a 3 sided rectangular hides 9 restaurants

View of the food quarter

and bars with beautiful and attractive outside seating for most. Tibits fitted right in from the outside.

I had expected a very simple but elegant inside for this restaurant. I couldn’t quite make it up as I entered. The wall straight opposite the entrance was grey and depressing with a very basic stair case leading to the basement. The Wall opposite the buffet looked like Nick & Linda Carter's Eatsenders' bedroom... no wall looked alike here...

I was not greeted at the door and as I was meeting a friend, I twirled on myself few times before finally going to the counter at the right hand of the main entrance. Asking for my friend, I was told to check downstairs; a very dimly lit space with 3-5 cantina-like large naked tables with a couple of people having dinner. Thankfully my friend was not down there and I had to go back up and look at the left side of the entrance where there are seats for about 50 people. That is where I noticed the buffet but was still hoping for an “a la carte” option…

My plate

My friend who’s been waiting for a while had already worked out the system… No one was going to come and ask me what I wanted to eat. We had to go to the buffet to help ourselves. We did. Once the food is in the plate, one has to go to the counter and get the plate weighed… I still can’t tell if the weigh includes the very heavy plate or just the food… I was still fuming that it was a buffet and didn’t really try anything that looked off colour to me. After paying I realised that everything I had placed on my plate was all cold dishes… Everything that appeared off-colour to me was hot food which lost colour because of the heat… Oh well, I should have looked closer. I did like the Japanese glass/green vermicelli and the green juice; could have had those at Yo-Sushi much cheaper.

Vegan food is already difficult to navigate without information and I think if a restaurant is going to start serving it, they should have an easily navigable website - not the case here - with better laid information for the “meat-free-days” brigade who are really trying hard to find alternatives.

Having had few tasty vegan dishes cooked by an acquaintance, I don’t think I’d be recommending Tibits to any vegan friends. Neither would I to someone who is trying veganism because it might put them off… As for me, I’ll keep looking for my preferred Vegan hangout. The search is just starting...

This is how I felt about Tibits, don’t take my word for it, make your own opinion. Good luck.

Heddon Street is an interesting little street which, I’ll surely visit again to try Aubaine which seems a much more attractive setting for me.

See you next time!