Yes – we are still alive – apologies for the blog absence. I wish I could say we have been in hibernation and are just awakening from a deep sleep, but, we have just been so busy that my dear old blog, and its three readers, has been sadly neglected.
Anyway – spring is here at last and at Pilrig the blossom has appeared on the trees, the daffodils have sprung from the earth, the hyacinthine made a late appearance, while our gardener made his first visit last week – giving a much-needed tidy-up and mowing the front lawns – the same day as the parks department had the grass cut – so, the heavenly scent of freshly-cut grass lingered in the air and it truly felt as if summer was beckoning. Hurray! To think that we had snow storms early in March… what a lovely change.
January through to March has been steady this year – with a lot of repeat guests – some coming for the fourth year running, many of whom feel like good friends now – from Canada, Holland, USA, Ireland, Germany and the UK. Some with children starting at St Andrews University, some visiting their son or daughter already at Edinburgh Veterinary school or Uni, and many simply taking a city break in Edinburgh… By some miracle, only one party of guests were here during the blizzards, and they seemed to actually enjoy the spectacular weather from the viewpoint in the Balfour Apartment. The park can be quite beautiful in weather like this, when it is totally deserted and utterly silent.
Philip is reduced to hobbling around - he injured his back a few weeks back, and as one not well-disposed to the concept of ’rest’, he has been a little frustrated at the limitations imposed on him. But, despite the pain, he has somehow managed to go on his weekly jaunts to farmers’ fields on his metal-detecting missions. As yet, the Roman burial ground and gold remain to be discovered, our kitchen is transformed into a chemical laboratory much of the week, and our window-sills are littered with bits of chain, old coins, pottery and such artefatcts as ’sword-hangers’, but one can only live in hope! So long as I hear him whistling, I know he’s happy! And, that’s always good…
Spring Developments
During March, we have been busy with spring-cleaning and updating – the Park Apartment has been totally repainted; we purchased a new double bed – a most comfortable, top-of-the-range sprung mattress and base, and new bedroom blinds/cushions, and the bedroom carpets were shampooed. The Garden Apartment has also lifted by a complete new coat of paint, and we purchased lots of lovely new bedlinen and towels for the summer season.
New Website
Another change with which I have been immersed has been updating our website - we decided to give it a fresh new look, too, this year. Hope you approve. We wanted to emphasise our unique location and Pilrig House’s history on the Home page, and to reduce the text & and naviagtion buttons – making the site cleaner, easier to navigate and with larger photographs. The feedback so far has been very positive. Something must have happened, as no sooner did the new-look site go live, than we attracted a fabulous review in last Saturday’s edition of the Edinburgh Evening News, entitled: ‘Secret Luxury in Pilrig Park’.
Grading v Reviews?
Last week, I attended a course run by Visit Scotland, the aims of which were to examine its quality assurance grading system and future scenarios for tourism providers and Visit Scotland. The attendees represented a whole range of businesses, from large hotels, to chalet owners, to forestry management. I was in a very lively discussion group in the ‘afternoon session’ - views were put forward regarding whether guests viewed our star-grading scheme as still relevant and valid in this day and age, with increasing usage of sites such as ‘twitter’ and ‘Facebook’, or if the way forward was via global review sites such as Trip Advisor. I came to the conclusion that a mix of both is important and relevant to our guests. We will be actively encouraging and promoting independent reviews on such global sites…we already actively promote independent reviews on sites on which Pilrig House is listed, but, have not consolidated this promotion via one global player – so, please do get your pens out and don’t be too hard on us! The vacation rental sector on FlipKey and TripAdvisor is due to start in the next month. Will keep you posted just as soon as we are ‘live’! Meanwhile, I genuinely feel that there is a definite place for being independently, and objectively, graded by Visit Scotland on the quality and cleanliness of our accommodation – I think our 4-star grading offers immediate reassurance to our visitors of what they can expect – and, we really do try to exceed those expectations! I know that I always look at accommodation gradings when I book a place to stay. Let me know your thoughts! And last, we do not want to target only the young – there did appear to be a trace of that persepctive creeping into the views expressed.
Mela Festival and Festival Availability
This year, the Mela Festival returns to Pilrig Park between 7-9 August – this is a lively Asian Festival with music, stalls, food… which is full of colour and excitement. We still have Festival availability (min. 7-night stays during the Festival):
Garden Apartment: between 1-7 August and 23-31 August;
Park Apartment: between 1-14 August and 22-30 August;
Balfour Apartment: between 5-10 August (6 nights) and 29-31 (3 nights).
Excavations in Pilrig Park
Last week it was reported in our local newspaper that there may be further excavations at the site of the ancient fort in Pilrig Park, and that, dependent on funding, a special garden may be created within the park at the site of the fort, with plaques to detail the history of the site. There is so much history here… and not many people entering the park realise this, we feel that it would be an inspirational move!
Well, must crack on – guests arriving shortly! I will leave you with a few forthcoming events in Edinburgh during the next few months.
Hope to see you soon!
Debbie
May
2-3 Rugby League’s Magic Weekend
3 – Bob Dylan concert
23 – Heineken Cup Final
26 - 1st June Bank of Scotland Imaginate Festival
June
30 (to 6 September) – Edinburgh International Film Festival
July
25-26 - The Gathering
30 (to 6 September) – Edinburgh International Festival
