History & Heritage
Located on George Street, one of the finest streets in Edinburgh and taking prime position in the heart of the city, The George Hotel boasts one of the most prestigious locations in Scotland's capital.
Constructed in 1775 as part of Edinburgh's new town boom, The hotel was originally built as five separate town houses inspired by the world-renowned architect Robert Adam.
Taking residence in one of the town houses (said to have no rival in the world for location) were the distinguished Ferrier family, who moved into 25 George Street (now Tempus) in 1784. Highly connected in society, the family had close friendships with Robert Burns and Sir Walter Scott. Susan Ferrier (daughter of Mr James Ferrier) became a renowned Scottish author and went on to write many of her best loved novels whilst living at the property, including her first novel, Marriage and later The Inheritance and Destiny.
In the 1840s the building was remodelled by the architect David Bryce and again by MacGibbon and Ross in 1880, until finally opening as a hotel in 1881, making it one of the oldest in Edinburgh.
In 1947, numbers 23 and 25 were taken over by the hotel and so the George Hotel re-christened number 25 as the Adam Room and number 23 became Le Chambertin Restaurant. In 1950 the new entrance and the current revolving doors were added and these along with the whole building and its interior became grade II listed.
Today, The George Hotel is now owned by the Principal Hayley Hotel group and has recently undergone another transformation in the form of a £20 million refurbishment. The revamp has seen the creation of a Tempus bar and restaurant with a separate George Street entrance. To complete the transformation, the old restaurant (originally the Caledonian Insurance trading hall) has been turned into the magnificent domed Kings Hall.