IOD SCOTLAND WINTER 2022

Dazzling
display lights
up Botanic
Gardens
You’ve still got time to get in to the
festive spirit at The Royal Botanic
Garden Edinburgh, which is hosting
‘Christmas at the Botanics’ again this
year with another awe-inspiring trail
of new installations.
The Garden, full of Christmas
cheer, is inviting people to embrace
the festive season and to support the
trail. A visit to the magical, botanical
illuminated trail is a way of helping to
fund its important plant conservation
work.
This year’s trail is more twinkly
than ever but has been created with
sustainability in mind. The
installations are low in energy usage,
over 90 per cent of the trail is LED,
and are lit by the Garden’s main
power supply to remove the need for
generators. Continuous lighting of
trails and paths has been avoided
and audience area lighting is only
used where it is necessary for public
safety.
Some of the Installations included
in this year’s display are ‘Lilies’, 12
one-metre-high LED illuminated lilies
floating on the Botanics Pond, and
‘Aurora’ which recreates the famed
visual tones of the stunning northern
lights.
Visitors are encouraged to book in
advance to avoid disappointment.
The trail runs until 30 December.
Find out more at: www.rbge.org.
uk/christmas
Edinburgh first as Branson opens hotel
Richard Branson’s first UK hotel has
opened in Edinburgh. The
expensively refurbished 19thcentury
building, just off the Royal
Mile on Victoria Street, hosts 222
bedrooms, multiple restaurants and
bars.
The new venture has taken bold
steps within its design and
decoration to provide an eyecatching,
contemporary design
with its noteworthy art collection
and stylish interiors while providing
a luxury feel.
Virgin Hotels tasked three
Scottish architecture and design
firms to create its aesthetic: ICA
Studio, Four-by-Two and Joelle
Reid Interiors. Their work preserves
the building’s history and original
details but imbues it with a fresh
modern look.
Features in the common spaces
include vaulted ceilings, antiqued
glass, a contemporary showpiece of
a chandelier and wraparound
couches.
Art within the hotel is a true
highlight with the collection
providing a homage to local artists
and Scotland and its people.
Various pieces including fashion
photography, portraits, and
sculpture have also been gathered
from world-leading artists including
French designer Arthur Mamou-
Mani whose Chandelier – a ninefoot-wide
bioplastic 3D printed
sculpture – hangs in the nave of the
now restored former 19th-century
church in the property known as
Greyfriars Hall, a special event
venue and rooftop sanctuary with
Castle views.
More information on booking and
prices at:
https://virginhotels.com/edinburgh/
WINTER 2022
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