All aboard
Fingal, the UK’s most luxurious super-yacht hotel, is a new and bright star in the Scottish hospitality firmament berthed in Leith. She is dazzling, as one would expect from a sister ship to The Royal Yacht Britannia. She is also a former service vessel for the Northern Lighthouse Board and ship and lighthouse references abound - from the radiant glass lift shaft to individual light fittings and taps.
Private quarters
Each of the 23 cabins and duplex suites is named after a Stevenson lighthouse. Exquisite suede headboards are embroidered with the relevant nautical map and beds are dressed with throws designed to depict a lighthouse beam stretching over the sea - from designer Araminta Campbell, whose weaving studio is a rope-fling from the foredeck. Handrafted, leather upholstered wardrobes mimic travelling trunks with internal storage compartments in the door. The extensive Skerryvore presidential suite, named after the tallest Stevenson lighthouse, includes a secret door to an adjoining room … for secret service, staff, lovers etc. It is a lot of fun … but never at the expense of comfort and style.
From the galley
Food on board is fit for royalty … really. The team at Britannia have learned a thing or two about luxury dining in the last 20 years and in this setting they take things to a new level. The Lighthouse Bar is a luxurious space – with a shimmering silver ceiling and full height windows – ideal for breakfast, afternoon tea, cocktails or supper. Hire the Bridge Deck, a 10-person dining room, for an intimate dinner party, or go large and take the ballroom … a deluxe double height space entered via a princess-worthy curved staircase. Don’t let any of this take your mind off the food though, all of which is utterly divine.
Shore leave
Book a private tour of Britannia to get the full flavour … the Sun Lounge reveals a few interesting tales (the Duke of Edinburgh forgot to close the deck door of Her Majesty’s favourite room one day, and the entire place was flooded). Almost all of the furnishings are original, including the grand piano, and clocks have been respectfully stopped to mark the moment The Queen disembarked for the final time in 1997.
Travelling first class
Sometimes it is worth mentioning the bathrooms… and this is one of those times. Showers are lined with mosaic tiles in shimmering greens and suites have sumptuous freestanding baths. Noble Isle has supplied lotions and gels - with poetic fragrance names such as Whisky & Water (with extracts of malted barley from Balvenie distillery), Rhubarb Rhubarb and Willow Song. Elsewhere: the toasty slippers are princess-and-the-pea thick; there are bouquets of fresh flowers in every room; and iPhone junkies will appreciate the Chromecast facility on the TVs. Even on a short stay you are likely to get to know the handful of staff – who are helpful, friendly and clearly enthused to be aboard the majestic Fingal.
Prices start at £300 for two people in a classic cabin with breakfast. Two-course suppers from £22. Find out more or book at www.fingal.co.uk
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.
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.
That is invaluable.
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 here