October 8 2024

A vacant post office in Edinburgh's Morningside has been earmarked for an 11-bedroom hotel under new plans filed by ISA on behalf of Pentland Investments.

Supplanting proposals for residential apartments, approved in 2022, the latest approach will follow the same basic principles by building out to the street line and establishing an active frontage to Morningside Road, part of ongoing moves to fill in gaps in the street frontage.

Chamfered to follow the route of the culverted Jordan Burn, now an access lane for properties to the rear, the project will hit the street with a double-height bar, bakery and restaurant dominated by a feature spiral stair and expansive bay window. Bedrooms will be stacked above this public space with the rooftop reserved for a garden terrace and a circular bar centred on an artificial tree.

In a materials statement, the architects wrote: "A simple pallette of materials is proposed that compliment the existing adjacent buildings and surrounding context. The aim is to develop a simple, elegant method of detailing that will provide a balance between the solidity of ashlar sandstone and the crisp modern aesthetic that will provide a vibrant new addition to a rich urban environment."

While predominantly finished in buff sandstone and brick the hotel will make sparing use of red sandstone to frame its main entrance with an outsize bay window framed by a precast concrete surround.  

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