Alicia and Jay wanted to celebrate their anniversary in style with great food and beautiful castles and luxury palaces. We knew a UK trip to Edinburgh and London would be perfect. Here’s their trip report detailing their fabulous adventure:
We had an amazing time in the UK. The trip was absolute perfection – we can’t thank you enough! Our hotels and tours were incredible, and the transfers were seamless. We made use of the Underground a lot in London, and taxis and Ubers were also easy to find.
Edinburgh Hotel
We found the Scottish people to be so incredibly friendly – they were always offering to assist if we looked lost or going out of their way to help any way they could. This made the trip extra special. We loved Edinburgh – the city itself is beautiful and we loved how walkable it is. We also had some great meals!
On Friday, when we arrived at The Glasshouse Hotel, our room wasn’t ready, so we set out for some breakfast, explored the Royal Mile and Edinburgh Castle. We returned to the hotel for check-in time where we were escorted to our room passing through a cozy bar and lounge, which we of course made good use of! The room itself was amazing – spacious, modern, and complete with heated floors and a heated towel rack in the bathroom. We truly loved this hotel and ate breakfast there each morning, which was great.
We set off for our Whisky Tour & Tasting that evening which was so much fun! Then we had dinner at Tollhouse.
Edinburgh Tours
On Saturday, we set out on the hop-on hop-off bus. We got off at the Royal Yacht Britannia and spent the day walking the footsteps of the Royals as we toured the entire Yacht. This was so much fun, and in one of the rooms that had a bar, they had sparkling wine and cookies set up in honor of the coronation. We had a coronation lunch in the Royal Deck Tea Room. And finally, we got back on the bus — unfortunately, Holyrood Palace was closed because of the coronation. We got off near the Royal Mile and went back for some shopping and a drink. Later that evening, we had dinner at Cafe Andaluz.
On Sunday, we set off on our Outlander Tour. This was incredible, and our tour guide was wonderful. We had so much fun exploring the castles and villages where the show is filmed. That night, we had dinner at Ting Thai Caravan which was a recommendation from our tour guide and it was amazing!
London Hotel
On Monday, we took the train from Waverly to London Kings Cross – the train was great. Food and snacks were plentiful!
We found London to be beautifully decorated for the Coronation and still so much celebrating going on but not overwhelmed with crowds. We checked into St. Ermin’s Hotel – what a beautiful hotel! The location being so close to a tube stop was ideal, and we really liked the Westminster area. I upgraded us to a junior suite and our room was spacious and had two huge closets. The hotel houses bees and makes their own honey as well as honey-infused gin. The cocktails at the bar were top-notch! We went to Duke’s Bar for martinis – such a cool experience and presentation. Then we went to Fallow for dinner.
London Tours
On Tuesday, we made our way to the Tower of London for our tour. We got beautiful photos of the tower bridge, observed the daily opening ceremony, and saw the crown jewels. Then we got on a boat towards Buckingham Palace – unfortunately, the boat was all enclosed and we felt like we couldn’t see much on the way – we would’ve loved outside space as it was a nice day!
We saw the changing of the horse guard, which was so great, and then strolled to Buckingham Palace. When the tour ended, we had lunch at Bon Gusto, and then went to Westminster Abbey – it was amazing to see where William and Kate were married, where the Queen’s funeral service was, and where the Coronation had taken place just days before. We walked around Westminster, saw Big Ben, Westminster Palace, Parliament Square, Whitehall and Downing Street. We had drinks at Gordon’s Wine Bar (the oldest wine bar in London!) and then dinner at Dishoom – maybe our favorite meal of the entire trip!
On Wednesday, we did our Warner Brothers Studio Harry Potter Tour. This was so much fun! As huge fans of HP, it was amazing to see all of the REAL sets and actual items/clothes/props used in the movies. I was also honored to be selected to open the door to Hogwarts at the beginning of our tour! When we returned to the city, we went for drinks at The Red Lion Pub and had dinner at The Mayfair Chippy.
London Sightseeing DIY
On Thursday, we explored The British Museum (saw the Rosetta Stone!) and The National Gallery. We then headed to Borough Market and explored and had lunch at Roast. Then, walked by the Shard, Shakespeare’s Globe Theater, and then hopped on the London Eye for great views of the city – we got lucky with a clear day! We had drinks at The Savoy and dinner at Ave Mario (an incredible Italian restaurant).
On Friday, we went to Kensington Palace – unfortunately couldn’t get tickets to go inside because the times that would have worked were sold out, but we were able to see the outside and explore the beautiful gardens dedicated to Princess Diana.
We then walked to the Victoria and Albert Museum and explored the incredible Donatello exhibit. We then met our tour to Windsor Castle. This tour was also incredible and our guide was great. It was lovely to explore Windsor, and so moving to see where the Queen and Prince Philip are buried in St. George’s Chapel. We loved touring the state rooms where so many historical events took place.
Later that night, we had dinner at Nobu Portman Square and then went to Sketch for drinks – this place is incredible with artwork everywhere and so many different bars/lounges/dining rooms to go to. We spent most of our time at the Eastbar, which was such a vibe!
London Shopping
On Saturday, we set out to shop! We hit Regent, New Bond, and Oxford. The highlight was the Burberry flagship store where I bought a coveted trench coat. I always said when I went to London I would buy one!
We had Afternoon Tea at The Goring Hotel, which was absolutely excellent! The hotel itself has so much Royal history – it’s said to be one of the family’s favorite hotels, and Kate Middleton stayed there the night before her wedding to Prince William. We had a special Coronation Afternoon Tea complete with champagne in the beautiful veranda. After that, we got lost in Harrods – so fun! Then we had drinks at The Ritz and dinner at Brasserie Zedel.
Overall
Overall, this trip was incredible! The amount of time we had in each place was perfect. We were constantly on the go, and were able to see so much. London is huge – and while I feel like we saw a lot of it, I can’t wait to go back and see more! Thank you again for planning the perfect anniversary trip for us!
Alicia & Jay
