The Balmoral

Yesterday we arrived at The Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is a 5 star hotel and if I wasn't with my wife since I was raised middle class I would never think to spend time in such a place because I was raised to be very frugal like most people of Scottish Heritage. However, my wife had booked it back in California with our Travel Agent who had traveled with us to Hawaii on Maui this time last year and rode with my wife and 15 year old daughter on a parachute pulled in the ocean by an ocean going speed boat. I think they call this parasailing or something like that.

So anyway, we pulled up in front of this thing that looks a lot like a big old castle in the middle of a whole city that kind of looks like rows of light brown castles, especially in the Edinburgh Castle area. We walked in and it sort of looked like the inside of the Titanic, so I thought it had been originally built or remodeled around 1900 to 1915. However, I stayed in a home the other day that was totally modern on the inside that had been built in 1860 or so. So, in some ways you never really know. However, when we were shown to our room and before that when we were met at the door by a man wearing traditional scottish clothes including a kilt and tam o' shanter hat I was pretty impressed by the place even before we walked into the door. The man said we could let the hotel return our mercedes to the rental car place if we wished and I also was pretty impressed with that potentiality as well. Then since I was very tired I walked up to our two adjoining suites of rooms and wandered into the bathroom because I was exhausted from the last few days of traveling so much. I took one look at the bath tub and just knew it was meant for me. It was a huge marble tub that two people (or more) could easily fit into with a marble floor to boot. It had three ways to make water come out into the tub area (one right from the ceiling) which was pretty impressive. In regard to most showers I have seen so far in England and Scotland. There is usually one knob to turn the water on that just controls pressure. Then there is another knob that controls temperature. It takes some time to figure all this out because even though most all work on this principle, when you are traveling and using a new bathroom almost every day it can be sort of maddening the first few days before you figure all this out properly. Driving can be difficult as well because you are on the left side of the road and doing this if you are an American or European mainland person who drives on the right side of the road it can be downright dangerous. So, make sure you are up for the adaptation and stress of doing this and don't attempt this while jet lagged. No. no. no.... especially if it is driving like this for the first time.

Then as I got out of my wonderful bath and shower and into my room, everyone else wanted to go to the spa so I got into my pajamas and gave up my robe to my wife because there were only 4 robes between two rooms provided. Anyway, if you like 5 star hotels and can afford to stay one night or more in one, I'm sure you will like the Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh. It is a unique experience.