Apex Waterloo Place Hotel

Introduction

Conversion of a Grade A-listed building to create an impressive 187 bedroom hotel, catering for both business and leisure guests at the steps of Carlton Hill in Edinburgh. The project aimed to make a feature of the ornate and unique spaces within the existing building, transforming the disused internal courtyard to a swimming pool, enhancing the guests experience in the capital.

Gallery

Background

Harley Haddow were appointed on this signature development for Apex Hotels, taking the project from early feasibility and optioneering through a two-stage tender process to completion ahead of the Edinburgh Festival. The scheme transformed a former City of Edinburgh Council office complex into a flagship four-star hotel, combining a 1960s reinforced concrete structure with a listed Georgian building.

Challenges

The project required extensive alterations to a historically sensitive building alongside major upgrades to a later structure. Key challenges included limited access, tight city centre logistics, constrained site laydown space, and the integration of new lifts, spa facilities, mezzanine floors, and rooftop extensions within the existing fabric. Careful coordination was required to remodel drainage, floors, and building services without compromising the historic elements.

Solutions

A phased and carefully coordinated design approach enabled rooftop extensions, new spa and pool facilities, additional lifts, and internal reconfiguration to maximise room numbers. Comprehensive building services upgrades were integrated alongside structural and fabric improvements, ensuring modern hotel standards were achieved while respecting the listed Georgian building and delivering the project to a fixed programme deadline.

Project awards

2009 European Hotel Design Awards – Sustainable Hotel – Shortlisted

2009 Roses Design Awards – Re-use of a Listed Building -Bronze Award Winner

2010 Edinburgh Architectural Awards for ‘Regeneration & Conservation’ – Finalist

2010 Scottish Design Awards – Re-use of a Listed Building – Winner

2010 Restaurant & Bar Design Awards – Restaurant or Bar in a hotel – Winner

2011 Scottish Style Awards – Most Stylish Hotel – Winner

2012 TripAdvisor Top 25 Trendiest Hotels in the UK