Do Not Disturb: The No 17 Rutland Street Hotel Apartments, Edinburgh

Each of the four new apartments, converted from a traditional Georgian townhouse property, have been individually designed with a variety of unusual and eye-popping features.

Unless you furnish your own house with hanging resin busts or Love Puppet Neon wall panels, just a couple of the wide and eclectic range of features included throughout the property, you certainly wouldn’t describe this as a home from home.

Unlike so many of the run-of-the-mill serviced apartments which have challenged the popularity  of hotels in recent years,  No 17 Rutland Street provides a singular experience which will linger in the memory beyond the moment you hand back the front door key after your visit.

Room service

We stayed in the ground floor apartment, which looks directly across to the old Princes Street railway station entrance and boasts a striking red and black grid effect ceiling which mirrors that view.

A spacious lounge area, with stunning portraits of Muhammad Ali and the Blues Brothers among the many exceptional decorative touches, incorporates a high range kitchen with a breakfast/dining bar.

A canopy-free four poster bed takes centre stage in a large bedroom where Roy Lichtenstein pop art curtains on the tall window set off an otherwise black-and-white look.

There is a sense of space and serenity in every part of the apartment, a theme continued in the bathroom which has a sizeable walk-in shower and freestanding roll top bath.

Wining and dining

If you want a break from the self-catering aspect of the apartments, look no further than Kyloe Restaurant & Grill on the first floor of the Rutland Hotel itself.

Edinburgh’s first gourmet steak restaurant, it has earned a well-merited reputation as one of the city’s most distinctive and popular eateries. Kyloe takes genuine pride in delivering what it calls the “steak experience”, with our waiter presenting the wide range of cuts available to us in cheeseboard fashion – or should that be steakboard? – before we made our choices.

From plain old rump to 60-day aged ribeye, the options are comprehensive. We plumped for sirloin and fillet, both receiving high approval ratings, as did the outstanding sides of grilled portobello mushrooms and homemade beer-battered onion rings. If you have room for dessert, well done. We had to raise the white flag and retire downstairs instead to the Rutland’s Huxley bar for a nightcap.

Worth getting out of bed for

The apartments could hardly be more ideally located, whether your stay is for business or pleasure. Our visit was during the festive season, making the Christmas attractions in Princes Street Gardens readily accessible, but the property would make the perfect city base at any time of the year.

Budget or boutique?

Boutique in both style and cost, albeit certainly not extortionate. You are also getting something out of the ordinary for your money here, which adds a sense of value.

Little extras

Such is the unusual nature of these apartments, most things in them feel like an “extra”. The simple things in life often remain the best, however, and the complimentary water, milk, crisps, tea and coffee provide a welcome start to a unique self-catering experience.

Guestbook comments

Combining style and creativity with comfort and practicality, No 17 Rutland Street will certainly be added to the address book for a return visit.

Stephen Halliday

Double bedrooms available from £130, one bedroom apartments available from £200; two bedroom apartments available from £280. The Rutland Hotel & Luxury Apartments, 1-3 Rutland Street, Edinburgh EH1 2AE, 0131-229 3402, www.therutlandhotel.com