Escape the crowds and take a dip in basement pool of Edinburgh's Apex Hotel

The Sun

24-05-2025

ONE of the most important things on any city break is location, location, location.
And Edinburgh's Apex Hotel couldn't be better placed — smack bang in the middle of Auld Reekie's buzzing centre.
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My wife Emma, and I arrived on Sunday afternoon by train and it was only a matter of crossing the road and walking a few hundred paces before we arrived at our city sanctuary on Waterloo Place.
The hotel sits in the shadow of Calton Hill, at the top of Princes Street and Leith Walk.
And even late on the Sabbath, this part of the town was still thronging, as open top bus tours loaded and unloaded tourists, with people streaming round every corner.
Once you step through the doors of the Apex, though, all the noise and bustle on the street quickly dissolves.
We were taken up to our room on the ninth floor — where we could see all the way down to Leith and the River Forth and beyond to Fife.
The room was well kitted out, modern, clean with touches of luxury — perfect for a quick break. There was even a special Apex branded rubber duck with a note instructing us to take it home. We'd be quackers not to!
Making the most of our night of freedom from the kids, we wandered down Rose Street where the bars and restaurants were busy with punters enjoying the sunshine.
We stopped off at one for a couple of pre-dinner drinks and some bar snacks, before slowly meandering past the shops on the splendour of George Street.
Then it was back to base as we were booked in for dinner at the hotel's Liberte Brasserie.
The wine list was stacked with a good selection of bottles right up to a very pricey variety of Pomerol, which David Beckham was seen clutching at his 50th birthday a few weeks ago.
Our lovely waitress recommended a lesser-known Dolcetto d'Alba from her home region of Piedmont in northern Italy. Emma and I were happy to take her up on the suggestion and were really glad we did.
Once the wine was flowing, we kicked off the meal with some bread and olives before getting stuck into the main event.
I started off with a beautiful burrata, drizzled in single malt honey, while Emma had the Balvenie smoked salmon finished with a lemony creme fraiche and herring roe.
Both were perfectly portioned and packed with flavour.
Emma kept the fish theme going for the mains, opting for a pan-fried cod fillet with sea veg, mussels and brown butter.
I went for the sirloin steak, cooked rare, with a peppercorn sauce.
I'm a big steak lover and not shy about sending one back if it's overdone. But this was genuinely one of the best steaks I've ever tasted and was cooked to perfection. I made sure to send my praises to the chef. He absolutely nailed it.
For dessert, Emma had the sticky toffee pudding, while I plumped for the pistachio creme brulee, which was nothing short of spectacular.
The portion was huge, so my wife quickly helped herself to spoonfuls of mine too.
Afterwards, we shuffled next door to the very cool Bar 1819 for a well-earned seat on a plush velvet couch and a few cocktails.
Emma loved the elderflower-based Hugo Spritz while I knocked back a few Regent Terrace Sours, which combined whisky and absinthe.
After that we hit the town for a few more at a piano bar a few blocks away where we were treated to multiple Billy Joel hits from the resident piano man.
It's no surprise then that we slept in and missed breakfast. But the menu had all the classics including smoked kippers and eggs Benedict.
Thankfully we hadn't missed out on the pool in the basement, situated next to the inhouse Yu Spa.
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We took full advantage of the steam room and sauna, before getting a few lengths in the sun-dappled pool.
When it was time to head home, we found out there was a secret back exit that took us straight to Waverley underneath Princes Street — making our escape even easier.
The Apex's location is truly fantastic, but it has far more going for it than that.