THERE wasn't a cloud in the sky as we arrived for our night's stay and the omens remained good as we walked through the doors of the historic building containing the Royal Garden Apartments, opposite the Scottish National Portrait Gallery and St Andrew Square.
Upon exiting the lift and entering our two-bedroomed penthouse apartment, the wow factor continued, the space having a home-from-home feel with every mod con provided. Spectacular views from a rooftop balcony over the Firth of Forth to Fife guaranteed two very happy visitors.
After enjoying a chilled refreshment on the balcony, we decided to leave our home for the day and venture out. The picture-perfect gardens just behind the apartments offered an idyllic spot to relax and enjoy the sunshine.
We had been recommended an Italian restaurant in the west end of Edinburgh's theatre district called Zucca, a big favourite with pre-theatre crowds, tourists and locals.
Zucca is located between the Royal Lyceum, the Usher Hall and the Traverse Theatre and the walls are covered with theatre bill posters, displaying the actors who have performed at the venues.
A selection of Italian and Scottish produce was on offer as we opted for dishes of home smoked salmon and bruschetta to start, washed down with a delectable bottle of Frascati.
Our delightful entrees were followed by wild mushroom risotto and fresh potato gnocchi, while for dessert I opted for a chocolate and orange box and my wife chose the affogato.
Suitably full after our marvellous meal, we retired to our home for the night. The following morning we managed to squeeze in a quick coffee on the balcony before we departed. It would have been rude not to.
Stuart Sandler was a guest of the Royal Garden Apartments. Visit fountaincourtapartments.com/apartments/royal-garden or call 0131 622 6677. For Zucca Restaurant, visit zuccarestaurant.co.uk or call 0131 221 9323.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.Â
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.Â
That is invaluable.Â
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article