Virgin Hotels Edinburgh has opened the Spellbound Suite, a two-level suite inside the hotel's Category A listed India Buildings, a structure dating to 1864. What makes it stand out is the hand-painted mural covering the space, created by Edinburgh artist Lynsey Jean Henderson with The Marangerie, a family collective of Innes Maxwell Maran and Grace Maran, as part of the hotel's summer Artist in Residence programme.
The design leans on medieval history found beneath the building during redevelopment. Think illuminated manuscripts and decorative motifs: a woodland world with mythical creatures and celestial skies that moves from the forest floor, past a guardian dragon, up towards the stars. Henderson says she wanted the artwork to feel like it belonged to the building, evolved from the city's character, while still offering escapism.
The suite's magic has a real-world anchor. From the twin-bed window and the downstairs bedroom, guests look directly onto Victoria Street, the curving, colourful Old Town street long rumoured to have inspired a certain fictional wizarding shopping thoroughfare.
Layout-wise, there's a starlit attic retreat with twin beds and a daybed that converts to a third single, sleeping up to two adults and three children, or four adults. Families get a movie wall, stocked bookshelves, a window-seat reading nook, safety gate, baby monitors, 'Director of Mischief' robes, sweetie jars and butterscotch beer from Edinburgh's Elephant House café, plus kid-friendly minibar treats. Adults get a king-size bed, dressing area with makeup vanity, walk-in rainfall shower, ARRAN Sense of Scotland toiletries and a stocked SMEG fridge. It's pet-friendly too, with ghd tools, a Nespresso machine, yoga mats and in-room device controls among standard suite kit.
The timing fits a broader shift. Skift research cited by the hotel found 72% of travellers say entertainment, sports and cultural experiences have grown more important to them over the past five years. Virgin's answer is to make local creativity part of the room itself rather than an add-on.
Who's it for? Families who want a stay their kids will actually remember, groups after something playful, or couples who like the idea of sleeping inside an artwork with Victoria Street at the window. It's a short walk from the Royal Mile and Edinburgh Castle, and the hotel sits within the city's UNESCO World Heritage Site, so the suite works as a base for a proper Old Town weekend rather than a gimmick bolted onto one.