Dear guest,

 

It is our pleasure to welcome you to The Witchery. Whether you are travelling, on business or just away for a romantic escape.

 

Established over forty years ago by James Thomson OBE, in a historic building at the gates of Edinburgh Castle, the Witchery takes its name from the many hundreds of witches burned at the stake, on Castlehill, during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.  It is reputed that more witches were put to death on Castlehill during the reign of James VI than anywhere else in Scotland and the area around the Witchery by the Castle remains deep in history.

 

The Witchery occupies a substantial Sixteenth Century building in Boswell’s Court, named after former resident, James Boswell, uncle of Dr Johnson’s biographer.  It has been in continuous occupation for over four centuries, latterly as committee rooms for the Church of Scotland and as the Rectory of a nearby church. Castlehill has always been at the centre of Scottish history, The Palace of Mary de Guise, mother of Mary Queen of Scots, stood on the opposite side of the street, adjacent to some of the Witchery’s luxurious suites in historic Jollie’s Court.

 

We do hope that you enjoy your stay.

 

Regards

 

The Witchery team.

 

 

 

 

Index:

 

 

 

1. Contact numbers
2. Housekeeping
3. Breakfast
4. Dining
5. Concierge
6. Amenities
7. Room services
8. The surrounding area
9. Check-out
10. Safety
11. Lost property

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Contact Telephone Numbers

 

          

If we can be of any service to you during your stay please feel free to contact us at reception or through our night porter after restaurant hours.

 

For an outside line please dial (9)

 

Reception                                200(internal)                (09.00 – 23.00)

                                                225 0974 (external)

 

Please let us know if you would like to check out before 09.00

 

Night Porter                             07508831419              (23.00 – 09.00)

 

Police/Fire/Ambulance           999 (emergency)  101 (non-emergency)

 

NHS 24                                   (9) 111

   

 

 

 

2. Housekeeping

 

 

Your suite will receive a full service daily. This is available from 8am – 2pm. Please leave any towels you require changing in the shower or bath. If you are going out for the day, please let a member of staff know and remove the cord from the outside of your door so we may enter and service your suite.If we are unable to access your room during these times, we will unfortunately be unable to service it. However, you may ask for additional towels, soaps, toilet rolls and refreshments from reception.

 

There is also a turn down service available from 7pm where the night porter can perform a quick tidy up and prepare your bed. Please ensure that your cord is not on the front of your door in order to receive this service.

 

 

 

3. Breakfast

 

         

A full cooked breakfast is served in the original dining room between the hours of 8:30am – 10am. This is only available by reservation (for non-residents the cost is £29.95).

A continental hamper is also available to be delivered to your suite between 8am – 10am. If you have a very early start, then please let us know the evening before and we will do our best to accommodate your needs.

 

Please contact reception by 10pm the evening before to let us know your preference and time.

 

 

 

4. Dining

 

 

Restaurant Opening Times

 

The Witchery and Secret Garden Dining Rooms

 

Breakfast original Witchery                08.30               -           10.00

(Residents only)

 

Lunch Secret Garden                         12.00               -           16.30

Lunch original Witchery                      12.00               -           16.30

 

Afternoon tea                                      15:00               -           16:00

 

Dinner, both Dining Rooms                16.45               -           22.30

 

There is a copy of our restaurant menu here for your reference.

 

5. Concierge services

 

Our reception staff located in the main entrance to the Secret Garden is at your service daily. You may seek assistance from them for dinner or confirming airline reservations. They can also assist you in planning activities around the area, organising taxi’s, along with other services.

 

6. Amenities

 

In your suite there are several amenities that we have provided for your use.

 

• Electronic safe
• Steam Iron
• Amazon Echo
• Nespresso machine
• Smart TV
• Dyson hair dryer and GHD hair straighteners
• Wi-Fi               

 

If you are having trouble using any of these items, please contact reception and we will be happy to come and assist you.

 

7. Room services

 

Due to our type of licence ‘a restaurant with rooms’. We are unable to provide our suites with a room service menu at this time. We will do our very best to accommodate you in one of our dining rooms should you feel peckish during your visit.

Again, due to licence restrictions we are not able to deliver alcohol to your suite. We can however prepare anything for you to collect from reception before 10pm.

 

 

8. The surrounding area

 

 

Prestonfield House

 

Edinburgh Castle, Mary King’s close, Holyrood palace, Royal yacht Brittannia, Camera obscura, The Scotch Whisky Experience. To name but a few of the attractions on our doorstep.

 

Please speak to the reception team to help you decide on any attractions you may wish to visit.

 

 

 

9. Check-out information

 

A Receptionist is on duty at reception from 9am – 11pm. We request that you vacate your suite by 11.30am and our Housekeeping team are available to help you with any luggage. If you would like to go shopping or sightseeing and collect your luggage later, please leave it in your suite and Housekeeping will be delighted to store it for you.

 

Should you have an early start and need to check out before 9am, you can settle your account at reception the previous evening.

 

 

10. Safety

 

There are Fire extinguishers located at the exit door of your suite. You should only tackle a fire if you feel confident to do so and should not put yourself at any risk. Please take a moment to think about your exit route should an emergency arise. If the Fire Alarm goes off, please evacuate immediately and assemble outside the Camera Obscura building on Castlehill.

 

We would like to remind you that SMOKING IS PROHIBITED in all rooms and public areas in accordance with Scottish Law. We reserve the right to levy a special cleaning charge of £500 if your suite has been smoked in.

 

 

 

 

 

11. Lost property

 

All items left in suites, public space or in restaurants are taken directly to reception. The items are tagged, placed in a ‘lost and found box’ and logged in the “Lost and Found Book”. All items are kept for a maximum of 30 days. This is due to space availability. Cash, credit cards and jewellery are kept in a separate lost and found safe at reception. We will happily contact you if we find anything after your departure and arrange delivery of any articles found. If you do not stay in this country, then we will contact you regarding shipping costs. Reception also has a lost and found inquiry log. This is for guests who have lost something that has not been logged into lost and found. If the item is turned in later the guest will be contacted.

 

 

 

 

 

Take a little Witchery Magic home

 

 

 

 

Witchery Umbrella                                                                                          £25

Witchery Handbag hook                                                                                 £10

Witchery Slippers                                                                                            £10

Witchery Tote bag                                                                                           £15

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you!

 

On behalf of the entire team, we hope that you have a fantastic stay with us. If there is any other information or help that we can provide for you during your stay then please do not hesitate to contact our reception team on 200 from your suite phone.