House of Gods.
233 Cowgate, Edinburgh.
There may be a hundred bland chain hotels in Edinburgh, but there is only one House of Gods. This off-the-wall boutique hotel just a ten minute walk from the Royal Mile is an acute clash of styles, broken rules and a balance of opposites. Beige is blasphemy and more is more. From the rooms to the cocktail bar, the hotel immerses its guests in extravagance, sumptuous materials and idiosyncratic features.
The house bar, Lilith’s Lounge is built to immerse you in a world of unapologetic decadence. The bespoke cocktail list is inspired by some of the greatest hotel hedonism tales ever recounted. You can’t have crazy stories of Rock n’ Roll excess without including Guns ’N’ Roses, so the Rock ’n’ Rose cocktail is named after them. Columbia Hotel was a regular host to some of the biggest Rock ’n’ Roll stars, among them ‘Inspiral Carpets’, along with their roadie at the time, Noel Gallagher. His next visit with Oasis years later is the inspiration for the Champagne Supernova. And in honour of Billy Idol’s three week long party in the penthouse of Thailand’s Oriental Hotel, there is the Siamese Sleeper. For beer-drinkers, House of Gods presents Lilith’s Brew, their very own house IPA brewed in the heart of Scotland.
At House of Gods, they encourage decadence and debauchery (within reason), which is why they introduced the revolutionary, and oh so very Rock ’n’Roll rider, ‘Treat Me Like I’m F-ing Famous’. If you, like Van Halen, just can’t stand the thought of brown M&M’s contaminating your favourite sweet treat – no problem. Perhaps like J-Lo your only wish is for your coffee to be stirred anti-clockwise – no problem. Or maybe like old school diva Barbra Streisand you require your toilet to be filled with rose petals – that’s no problem either. Inspired by the lavish lifestyles of the rich and famous, the only limit to what’s on offer is your own imagination.
The Cabin Rooms are modelled on the cabins on the Orient Express, harking back to the bygone days of exotic travel. Unquestionably compact at 10 sqm, they pack a lot into a small space. There’s a big sleigh bed, hidden TV mirror, hand-built cocktail cabinet, oak-panelled and velvet-covered walls and a marble-clad wetroom bathroom.
The Classic rooms are inspired by the Palace of Versailles, featuring the same opulent materials but bigger, and including a hand-made four-poster bed. At the top of the range is the Suite, 27 sqm of lavish luxury featuring a big free-standing bath in the room, a cinema projector screen and everything else that makes House of Gods so special.
All the attractions of Edinburgh are within easy reach, with the Royal Mile in one direction, Edinburgh Castle in another, Holyrood Park in yet another, and the university on the fourth side. You can walk to the Scottish National Gallery, the National Museum the International Conference Centre and just about everything else, or hop on one of the handy buses that pass by the door. House of Gods may not be for everyone, but if you don’t do Ordinary, it may be the place for you.