InterContinental Edinburgh The George is a historic hotel located at 19–21 George Street in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, the capital of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

History

The five townhouses on George Street that make up the hotel's historic core, Nos. 15–25, were constructed around 1780 as part of Edinburgh's

New Town New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

, to designs by John Young. They are now a category A

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. In 1840, No. 19 George Street was remodeled by architect

David Bryce David Bryce FRSE FRIBA RSA (3 April 1803 – 7 May 1876) was a Scottish architect. Life Bryce was born at 5 South College Street in Edinburgh, the son of David Bryce (1763–1816) a grocer with a successful side interest in buildi ...

, as the headquarters of the Caledonian Insurance Company. It is today the hotel's main entrance. In 1860, a hotel opened in Nos. 21 & 23, gradually expanding to cover the upper levels of the other buildings as well. In 1879, the Caledonian Insurance Company expanded to Nos. 15 & 17, with remodeling carried out by

MacGibbon and Ross David MacGibbon (2 April 1831 – 20 February 1902) and Thomas Ross (10 November 1839 – 4 December 1930) were Scottish architects. Their practice, MacGibbon and Ross was established in 1872 and continued until 1914. They are best known today fo ...

. In 1881, the hotel portion became The George Hotel. In 1905, the hotel was completely remodeled, with the addition of luxurious public rooms on the ground floor. In 1939, the Caledonian Insurance Company moved out, selling their premises to The George Hotel. The outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

prevented a planned expansion, and the offices were requisitioned by the

Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes The Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes (NAAFI ) is a company created by the British government on 9 December 1920 to run recreational establishments needed by the British Armed Forces, and to sell goods to servicemen and their families. It runs c ...

until 1946. The old insurance offices finally opened as the expanded George Hotel in 1950. In 1958, the hotel proposed a 17-story tower wing in the rear, but a public inquiry prevented its construction. The George Hotel's owners,

Grand Metropolitan Grand Metropolitan plc was a leisure, manufacturing and property conglomerate headquartered in England. The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index until it merged with Guinness plc to form ...

, eventually built a smaller 7-storey rear wing, designed by Henry Wylie, in 1967. When Grand Metropolitan bought

Inter-Continental Hotels Intercontinental is an adjective to describe something which relates to more than one continent. Intercontinental may also refer to: * Intercontinental ballistic missile, a long-range guided ballistic missile * InterContinental Hotels Group (IH ...

in 1981, they placed the George in that company's Forum Hotels division. In the early 1990s, the George was remodeled and transferred to the upscale Inter-Continental Hotels division as the George Inter-Continental Edinburgh. InterContinental Hotels sold the George to the

Principal Hotel Company Principal Hotel Company is a British hotel and conference venue operator headquartered in Harrogate, England. History Principal Hotel Company advertises that it was established in 1898, as that is the year the oldest hotel in its chain, Kimpton F ...

for £20 million in June 2005, and the hotel returned to its original name, before being completely renovated in 2006. It was voted Best Hotel in Edinburgh at the Scottish Hotel Awards 2009. In 2015–16, London-based interior design studio Goddard Littlefair redesigned the hotel's interiors. The former Tempus Bar & Restaurant reopened in 2015 as The Printing Press Bar & Kitchen, under the direction of chef-restaurateur Des McDonald, previously of The Ritz and The Ivy in London. On 1 November 2016, at the conclusion of the renovations, Principal Hotels renamed the hotel The Principal Edinburgh George Street. In May 2018,

InterContinental Hotels Intercontinental is an adjective to describe something which relates to more than one continent. Intercontinental may also refer to: * Intercontinental ballistic missile, a long-range guided ballistic missile * InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG ...

bought Principal Hotels, and the hotel was renamed InterContinental Edinburgh The George on 31 July 2019.

Noted guests

For the past 200 years the property has been a prestigious address. In Georgian times the poet

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who hav ...

paid many visits to No. 25, as did the author

Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy' ...

. In more modern times celebrities such as

Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was a British-American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 1950s. ...

Omar Sharif Omar Sharif ( ar, عمر الشريف ; born Michel Yusef Dimitri Chalhoub , 10 April 193210 July 2015) was an Egyptian actor, generally regarded as one of his country's greatest male film stars. He began his career in his native country in the ...

Jack Lemmon John Uhler Lemmon III (February 8, 1925 – June 27, 2001) was an American actor. Considered equally proficient in both dramatic and comic roles, Lemmon was known for his anxious, middle-class everyman screen persona in dramedy pictures, leadin ...

and

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...

have visited.

References

External links

InterContinental Edinburgh The George

The Printing Press Bar & Kitchen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Principal Edinburgh George Street, The Hotels in Edinburgh Category A listed buildings in Edinburgh Listed hotels in Scotland New Town, Edinburgh Hotels established in 1881 Buildings and structures completed in 1780 1881 establishments in Scotland