Frontline workers offered £249 staycation deal as ‘thank you’

A LANDMARK city hotel is to reopen to the public for the first time since it provided a safe haven during lockdown for more than 500 frontline medical workers.

Ten Hill Place will build on its proud lockdown legacy by immediately offering a discount staycation deal for other frontline workers all over the UK.

Delighted staff will begin a carefully phased reopening from July 15, after the Scottish Government approved that date for hospitality venues to resume operations.

Scott Mitchell, managing director of Surgeons Quarter, which operates the hotel, said: “We had the privilege of accommodating hundreds of Edinburgh’s frontline health workers at the height of the crisis.

“Now we want to extend a welcome to similar frontline workers from the rest of the UK.

“Summer holiday plans have been wiped out for millions of people and foreign travel may still be a long way off. That means the entire country is thinking about taking holidays at home as soon as they can.

“This is an amazing city. Many of those who have earned a holiday and want to spend that precious time somewhere special will be looking to Edinburgh. We want to give them an extra reason to visit.”

Ten Hill Place is Edinburgh’s biggest independent hotel and at the height of the Coronavirus pandemic it offered free accommodation and meals to more than 500 exhausted hospital staff before and after gruelling shifts, a gesture which cost the hotel owners £100,000.

As a result, the venue was flooded with thank you cards and messages from doctors, surgeons, intensive care nurses and other staff who benefited from 2137 nights of accommodation at Ten Hill Place.

Now other frontline and key workers from all over the UK will also be able to enjoy a two-night bed and breakfast stay, including a meal and bottle of wine in the hotel’s restaurant, for just £249 per couple. Vouchers purchased for this deal are redeemable for 18 months.

As well as the reopening of Ten Hill Place, the easing of restrictions by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon also means a reopening for Café 1505 on nearby Nicolson Street – also run by Surgeons Quarter.

Mr Mitchell added: “The entire team can hardly believe that we are opening again. It’s incredibly exciting.

“Everyone involved with the hotel and the café is delighted to be getting back to some sort of normality, even though the process will be slow and gradual. We hope customers will be equally as pleased to see us reopening.”

When hotels were forced to shut to the public in late March, Ten Hill Place opened its doors to frontline health workers at both the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and the Royal Hospital for Sick Children. The initiative ran from March 27 and has only just been wound down.

Dr Tracey Gillies, Medical Director, NHS Lothian, said: “Our thanks and gratitude go to the hotel staff and to the many other people and organisations who have supported NHS workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Their generosity is much appreciated.”

With 129 rooms, the four-star venue is Edinburgh’s biggest independent hotel. It is owned and operated by Surgeons Quarter, the commercial arm of The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.

That means all profits from Ten Hill Place go towards supporting the College’s charitable aims of advancing surgical standards worldwide.

Surgeons Quarter promotes, sells and manages all commercial activities held within the RCSEd campus. All profits support the charitable aims of the College which are education, assessment and advancement in surgical standards worldwide.

The key worker staycation deal can be booked at https://www.tenhillplace.com/offers/key-worker-staycation/

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