W Edinburgh review: St James Quarter hotel fuses contemporary skyline charm with subtle touches of tradition

W Edinburgh’s sky-piercing, steel-clad Ribbon Building — a striking tribute to the Scottish capital’s publishing heritage — has not escaped controversy, drawing comparisons to everything from peeled satsumas to emojis during its construction. Yet since the five-star hotel opened in the central St James Quarter last November, its critics have been noticeably silent.

Injecting a youthful twist into Edinburgh’s hospitality scene – traditionally dominated by tartan-wrapped icons like The Balmoral and The Scotsman – the W has swiftly become a favourite among international visitors and locals alike, with its exceptional restaurants (including Scotland’s first SUSHISAMBA), unparalleled skyline views and chic, understated rooms.

The hotel occupies a coveted corner of the city, with convenient train connections just a few minutes’ walk away from Waverley Station. Historical landmarks such as the Royal Mile and Edinburgh Castle are easily reachable on foot, while the adjacent shopping centre boasts a swathe of designer brands, pop-up restaurants and a luxury cinema. For a more traditional taste of the Scottish capital, St Andrew Square can be found down an alley lined with designer boutiques, while trendy Leith – one of the city’s coolest neighbourhoods – is a short Uber ride away.

Scottish hotels often lean heavily into stereotypes — tartan carpets, gold-framed paintings of stags surrounded by swirling mist and doormen in dramatic Highland attire. While there’s certainly a charm to that (who doesn’t love a moment of Outlander fantasy?), W Edinburgh’s approach is far more subtle. By carefully infusing hints of heritage and culture, the hotel avoids the full shortbread-tin aesthetic to smartly showcase Scotland’s contemporary culture and appeal beyond the traditional.

Middle East Traveller checked in to a Wonderful Twin Room at W Edinburgh for glimpses of the Scottish skyline from one of the newest hotels on the block.

The Hotel

W Hotels, part of the Marriott group, has long been associated with garish colour schemes, quirky (and sometimes impractical) furniture and a lively party atmosphere. Yet around 2021, the brand underwent a radical transformation. Gone were the gaudy disco balls and bright purple rugs, replaced with a sophisticated, understated aesthetic emphasising high-quality materials and subtle injections of local culture and history.

Since then, new W hotels in cities like Budapest, Milan and Prague have embraced a more mature design ethos. These “spontaneous, yet staged” spaces feature elevated materials, unexpected colour palettes and sculptural details that would have been unimaginable in the brand’s earlier days. Each new hotel is designed from the ground up, ensuring no two are alike.

W Edinburgh exemplifies the new direction. Locally rooted interiors by Jestico + Whiles juxtapose themes of fire and water against dark “charred wood” panelling and striking copper touches throughout warm and welcoming public spaces. The lobby desk, for instance, is hewn from volcanic rock, while the W Lounge bar incorporates tonal hues that pay homage to the thistle – Scotland’s national flower – and woad blue, a traditional dye from a plant that grows across the country.

The hotel is designed as a space for living, working and playing. In a UK first, the property boasts a Sound Suite studio — a creative space for musicians, podcasters, DJs and artists to produce and record their work. The Away spa has four themed treatment rooms including a quartz sand table (said to be the only one in the UK) and water bed — plus a 24/7 gym next door with state-of-the-art Technogym equipment for more active guests.

The Arrival

The hotel is exceptionally convenient. It’s just a few minutes’ walk from Edinburgh’s Waverley Station, which can be reached from London by train in approximately four and a half hours. The Royal Mile is a mere 10-minute stroll away, and a five-minute Uber ride will take you to the charming neighbourhoods of Stockbridge

On our way to check in, we pass through the galleria-style St James Quarter — the city’s newest one-stop shopping and dining destination packed with dozens of designer brands, a boutique cinema, bowling lane and street food marketplace full of global dining options.

There’s a direct elevator down to the hotel, but we head for the stone staircase that winds around the building’s copper-coloured sides leading to the main entrance. Past the glow of a striking W sign, staff dressed in ultra-modern black kilts greet us with glasses of champagne and whisk us through the bright and buzzy reception space to complete check-in formalities.

The Room

The rooms are divided among three spaces — the Ribbon Building, the heritage-listed James Craig Walk terrace across St James Square and the contemporary Quarter House next door, connected to the lobby by a video art “cinematic tunnel.”

Our entry-level Wonderful Twin Room, in the main hotel, features floor-to-ceiling windows and a spacious glass-walled terrace with views of the city’s soot-stained sandstone skyline, including the iconic Baronial clock tower of Edinburgh’s Balmoral Hotel (set three minutes fast for the past century so guests don’t miss their trains).

The interiors are bold yet elegant, balancing sleek, angular lines with deep, moody hues of navy and slate grey complemented by inviting, plush sofas, warm copper-pipe fixtures and soft ambient lighting. There’s no specific workspace, but rooms of this category do include a carved granite bar for crafting homemade cocktails, while complimentary clothes steamers, illy coffee machines and illuminated mirrors add a touch of class.

Rooms showcase striking photographs by Scottish artist Jodie Mann, who aimed to “look beyond” the usual stereotypes to create contemporary pieces reflecting the country’s history and folklore. ‘Waiting At Ocean’s End’ blends photography and acrylic to reimagine a 1700s Gaelic lament in light blues, deep purples, golds and silvers, while ‘Capercaillie’ evokes Scotland’s rare woodland birds through a dramatic Elizabethan-style feather ruff.

King versions of the Wonderful Room feature an open-plan bathroom with floating mirrors, but our twin room has a separate enclosed space with a shower cubicle (book the Fabulous category for a bathtub) and MOMO toiletries infused with yellow melon.

There are 13 room types in total. Among the best options are the Cool Corner terraces, loft-style Fantastic doubles, and wood-panelled Wow suites with tall sash windows. The top-category Extreme Wow Suite, at 1,600 square feet, includes a spacious dining room and a unique bar hewn from volcanic rock — plus a swivelling super-king bed, sauna and sprawling private terrace with comfy sofas looking out over Edinburgh Castle.

The Service

The staff, predominantly Scottish, are mostly drawn from long-standing luxury hotels around the capital — and their experience clearly shows. The hospitality is friendly and polished throughout, particularly in the restaurants, where menu knowledge shines. This comes in handy in SUSHISAMBA, where navigating an extensive list of anticuchos, mocequas and tiraditos could prove tricky without expert guidance.

The Restaurants and Bars

On the hotel’s 10th floor, you’ll find Scotland’s first SUSHISAMBA, an outpost of the trendy New York-born restaurant fusing influences from Japan, Brazil and Peru with extensive use of local Scottish produce — highly prized Highland wagyu beef features throughout the ever-evolving menu alongside Perthshire venison and squid from a local fishmonger.

Melt-in-your-mouth black cod miso, roasted over the charcoal robata grill, stands out among the list of signatures and easily rivals any version we’ve tried, while the teriyaki tofu tucked among the side dishes offers a comforting, ultra-umami treat for vegetarians.

Like its sister branches in London and Dubai, the restaurant is perched high above the city with 360-degree views stretching far past atmospheric silhouettes of Edinburgh Castle and Calton Hill from a terrace snaking around the building.

In stark contrast to the curved counter tiled in scalloped seafoam green, the space is anchored by a striking two-storey installation of 1,000 copper tubes in a gradient of reds and oranges. The art piece evokes traditional bamboo lanterns and encircles an autumn-hued tree draped with twinkling string lights, creating a visually stunning centrepiece for the restaurant.

Upstairs at the club-style W Lounge, well-mixed cocktails like the honeycomb and whisky Water Horse and zingy mint gin Seal Folk are paired with simple salads and sharing starters. At breakfast, dig into a Full Scottish rather than the traditional Full English found south of the border — with hearty helpings of haggis, tattie scones, black pudding and Lorne sausage adding to the usual morning spread.

For the best vantage point over the city sep out onto the open-air rooftop W Deck, where heated igloos provide a refuge from the rain and cold during drizzlier months. The hotel’s apartment-style speakeasy João’s Place meanwhile hosts sunset sessions over cocktails inspired by the Liberdade neighbourhood of Brazil’s São Paulo.

Why Stay?

Edinburgh is full of excellent hotels, but none are quite like the W. Excellent restaurants, stellar skyline views and ultra-trendy rooms make this a go-to spot for travellers looking to visit the Scottish capital in style.