A world apart

The changing needs of travellers have created a new type of hotel, finds Mike Wilson Just as there was the emergence of the travel lodge- type hotel - where the emphasis is on clean, modern rooms for a fixed price, but at the expense of add-ons such as swimming pools and room service - now there is the appearance of the apart hotel (short for apartment hotel), a hotel that consists not of rooms but of small flats.

Over a dozen such apart hotels have sprung up throughout the city in the last year or so, and the attractions are obvious. A typical apartment consists of a lounge, kitchenette, bedroom, toilet and bathroom. Arrive with a couple of friends or relatives and suddenly an apartment - charged for on a per apartment rather than per person basis - becomes outstanding value for money.

But there are subtler forces behind the rise of the apart hotel than mere pounds, shillings and pence. Peter Whitelaw, who owns the Fountain Court apart hotel in the capital's Grove Street found his inspiration following his wife being posted to the USA for several months.

Sitting on one's own at the hotel dinner table or at the bar is bad enough for men, but it can be even more uncomfortable for women. Similarly, the attractions of hotel food can begin to wear thin after a sustained period of time.

What better way of dealing with the emotional hardship of living out of a suitcase than a place where you can do your own cooking and laundry? What's more, while the alternative of a straight-forward flat is usually let for a minimum period of time, the apart hotel does not insist on a minimum stay.

In Edinburgh, because of their relatively recent arrival on the scene, the typical apart hotel is either a newly-erected or just- refurbished building, classed at either three or four stars.

There are 34 apartments within Fountain Court, and the low season prices are #70 per night for an one-bedroomed apartment and #100 for a two-bedroomed one (in high season prices are #85 and #130).

At the Canon Court, in the Canonmills district to the north of Edinburgh, the low season prices are #89 per night for a one-bedroom apartment and #138 for a two-bedroomed one (the high season prices are #108 and #170).

At Royal Garden Apartments, low season prices range from #115 per night for an one-bedroom apartment to #205 pounds for a penthouse per night (the high season prices are #140 and #275).

Other apart hotels in the city include Knight Residence near Tollcross and the Holyrood Apartments, beside the site of the new home of the Scottish Parliament.

Ediburgh - because of its constant traffic of visiting dignitaries - arguably leads the way in Scotland.

But the apart hotel is not only a boon for visitors. At the Royal Garden Apartments - opposite the National Portrait Gallery in the city's prestigious New Town district - there is a steady flow of guests being sent there by Edinburgh families either unable or unwilling to provide accommodation in their own homes.

But there are many more who are corporate guests. "I suppose it has taken a while for the apart hotel concept to establish itself in Edinburgh because people are so used to staying in hotels and Edinburgh has some very good hotels," begins manager Stephen Kinnear.

"But we have found that weaning them off the hotel way is not hard once they have tried it. For example, first-time guests are usually quite insistent that breakfast is provided, and we do provide breakfast in our cafe. But you find that, after a couple of days, they are going out and shopping for their food. Staying in a hotel usually means either dressing up to go to the dining room or being perched on the end of the hotel bed eating a room service meal. A stay in an apart hotel shows these options are not always what they are cracked up to be."

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