Gerald's Place is cream of the crop

Published on Thursday 17 January 2008 08:32

A plush bed, a hearty breakfast and the best of welcomes get city B&B worldwide vote of confidence

THE bed is among the finest money can buy – a 3500 comfy cushion swathed in the finest cotton sheets, wrapped in a warm, russet coloured duvet with plump pillows that were made for sweet dreams.

After the perfect night's sleep comes possibly the best breakfast in town: a platter of wholesome organic oats, farmhouse jams, mouthwatering freshly baked bread and creamy butters; the finest sausages, farm eggs and prime bacon, fresh fruit, dried fruit . . . the menu goes on and on.

Perhaps it's no wonder this Edinburgh destination at the heart of the New Town has just been named one of Europe's top ten places to stay.

Awards, posh beds and big breakfasts – it all smacks of the kind of top-notch service and high-class luxury that might be dished up at a five-star hotel, with a price tag to match.

But instead, it's Gerald's Place – and this one room bed and breakfast has just been catapulted to number five in the top ten list of Europe's best small places to stay. Certainly there's nothing from outside on Abercromby Place to suggest that number 21B is anything other than a fairly typical city centre basement flat.

That is until the front door swings open to reveal Gerald himself – at 76 and a widower for the 25 years, it's hard to imagine a less likely B&B host.

Yet while any other grandfather of ten might be expected to be found napping by the fireside in his slippers, Gerald Della-Porta is on call from daybreak until dusk, as chief cook and bottlewasher, city guide and concierge for a string of strangers who come to stay in his home.

Gerald's remarkable achievement – capturing fifth position in the top ten alongside a string of luxurious establishments around Europe – comes despite his admission that until just a few years ago he didn't even know what a bed and breakfast was, never mind how to run one.

"I didn't have a clue and that's the truth," he insists, in an upper-class middle England accent that sounds more like he should be on the receiving end of five-star luxury himself rather than welcoming tourists from around the world over the threshold of his comfortable abode.

"When I first came to Edinburgh ten years ago I helped my sister run her bed and breakfast – that was the first experience I had of them. I'd never stayed in one – didn't know what they were," says Gerald.

"Now I enjoy running a bed and breakfast very much," he confirms, happily . "I get to meet so many nice people that I wouldn't otherwise come across – it's really very interesting."

Gerald leads the way through his award-winning B&B, comfortably and tastefully furnished with a striking collection of artwork on the walls and an eclectic mix of traditional furnishings.

"I've always liked people," he continues. "I used to run a company with 350 employees and I spent a lot of time with people on all levels. I've travelled around the world too, so I'm not fazed by whoever I come across.

"There have been so many interesting people, young, old, successful people, who have been guests. It's been really very good."

Indeed the award, from the respected travellers' website TripAdvisor, he describes as "very good" too – particularly as Gerald's Place sits alongside a string of establishments that might not typically be described as your average B&B. Take Suite 259 in Amsterdam – a luxurious upmarket destination where one suite sprawls over two entire floors and boasts its own kitchen; or Locanda Orseolo in Venice – the top destination in the awards' Inns and Bed and Breakfasts category – with its dedicated team of staff including a chef and varied selection of rooms to choose from overlooking St Mark's Square.

Yet Gerald's Place has just a single double bedroom on offer and Gerald is the only member of staff – yet still it is the only Scottish B&B to be recognised in the global awards.

So how did Gerald do it? "I suppose it's about making people comfortable," he says with a shrug. "That and a good bed – that's very important – and I have probably got the best bed in Edinburgh."

The bed turns out to be a giant 6ft 3in slumbertime masterpiece, his pride and joy. "It's a Vi-Spring," he nods, with obvious delight. "They are as good a bed as you will find anywhere in the world. This is a top quality one, I paid 3500 for it and that is before I bought the headboards."

It dominates the simply furnished room, dressed with Tempura pillows, anti-allergen bedding and, Gerald's keen to point out, pure 400 thread cotton, satin-feel sheets.

Two hundred is generally considered high quality, which makes 400 the cream of the crop.

Attention to detail is everywhere, from the selection of up to date magazines for guests to read to the Ian Rankin and Alexander McCall Smith novels in the bookcase, and the fully stocked bathroom cabinets.

Gerald seems to have thought of everything, and it's hard to believe just ten years ago he might have struggled to tell the difference between a duvet and a divan.

"My sister has been in hospitality for 40 years – she ran The Stuarts, one of the few five-star bed and breakfast in Edinburgh which is now a private home," he explains. "She persuaded me to come up to Edinburgh and I helped out at the bed and breakfast to give her a break.

"It was a February, Gloria gave me a target of 30 per cent occupancy and I managed 100 per cent – I think then I realised it might be something I could do."

He launched Gerald's Place eight years ago, focussing on three key elements of hospitality: that perfect bed, a friendly welcome and a nourishing, filling breakfast for guests to enjoy.

The first two taken care of, Gerald set about sourcing the best ingredients for the first meal of the day – a table-groaning choice that would leave any guest's waistband fit to burst. "Most of it comes from Real Foods," says Gerald. "There are five different types of oats, I don't have any packaged cereals," he says. "Everything is organic: the milk, the butter. Hendersons make my loaves – honey and sunflower, specially for me.

"The sausages are from Crombies. They are low-carbohydrate with a high meat content. The eggs are from the same farm that the bacon comes from – it's all very carefully chosen."

But that's not all. There are fresh and dried fruits, figs, prunes and apricots, jams and marmalades, fresh filter coffee and a choice of around a dozen herbal teas, all dished up by Gerald himself often before the cock has crowed, to suit guests with early morning flights to catch.

It's a combination of service and comfort – from around 79 per night – that prompted many of Gerald's delighted customers to register their thoughts with the international travel website, Tripadvisor.com. Their comments were compared with those for dozens of similar establishments around Europe – earning Gerald's Place a coveted position for the second year running in a hotly-contested category.

According to VisitScotland's head of quality and standards, Tony Mercer, Gerald's Place is one of many B&Bs in Edinburgh which is offering guests a quality welcome. The organisation has three five-star rated B&Bs listed for Edinburgh and the Lothians: at Violet Bank House in Lanark Road West, Fidra House in Athelstaneford and Arden Country House B&B in Linlithgow, and 36 four-star B&Bs.

"As one would expect in the Capital, B&Bs in Edinburgh are among the best in the world," he says. "Being personally run, Scottish B&Bs are ideally placed to really understand and respond to each customer's expectations and requirements.

"Each one is individual in style and run with an eye for detail. This enables them to excel in offering hospitality that is genuinely warm and friendly."

CRITICS DELIVER THEIR VERDICT

IT has been named Scotland's top bed and breakfast by the world's harshest critics – the guests themselves. So what do the people who have stayed there say about Gerald's Place in his visitors' book and on the Traveladvisors' website?

Dan and Carol Petrie, Vancouver, August 31, 2007: "Thank you so much for sharing your home with us. What a fabulous host, your breakfasts are divine."

Hanim and Mike Reeder, Singapore, July 21, 2007: "No words can describe what a wonderful, sincere, amazing person you truly are."

Karen and Jim Trigger, Texas, September 28, 2006: "From your great breakfast cooking to your excellent guidance for good restaurants and places to explore, you have made our stay a wonderful experience."

J Gallman, Dallas, Texas, March 2006: "Gerald's Place is as good a place to stay as anywhere in the world."