Howdy Doody,
Where does the time go! I can barely keep up with a blog, far less a twitter or the rest… Perhaps it’s the fact that we had such glorious weather for most of April that I have been ‘pottering’ in the garden and making the most of outdoors – well, that’s my excuse.
Despite all the news of doom and gloom these last 9 months, with the worldwide recession, we are grateful to be busy again this year – so a big thank you to all our loyal guests who have already returned, or are returning this year – and to first-time visitors.
May/June Events
From 29-31 May, Taste of Edinburgh is returning to Edinburgh – in the lovely setting of Inverleith Park (near the Botanical Gardens) – a veritable food extravaganza. For those of you who, like me, love your food – a ticket will enable you to wander and indulge your tasting palette to your heart’s desire. As well as live demonstrations, all the best local restaurants and famers’ market stallholders will feature – so, for foodies, it really is a great day out. Jean-Christophe Noveli and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall are two of the well-known chefs/restaurantuers to appear at the 2009 event. I am off to buy my tickets now…
Leith Festival bursts into life from 5-14 June. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Edinburgh – Leith is the area on the waterfront -Edinburgh’s old port area, and only a 10-minute walk from Pilrig House. The festival is great fun – featuring music, comedy, arts, exhibitions, jazz, stalls, and much more. Do take a look!
New ‘Green’ cab shuttle link from Edinburgh Airport
We were very sad to hear that Edinburgh’s excellent Shuttle service had come to an end. They had served our guests well over the last year, and were always helpful and reliable. However, after a bit of research, I have forged a link with a new company – Edinburgh’s first carbon-neutral cab firm – and, will soon give details on our website – so, you can be assured, you will still be able to prebook your collection at the airport on arrival – for less than the cost of a cab.
Pilrig House – Going Greener
Philip and I have arranged a meeting with ‘Green Assessor’ – we are keen to do all that we can to be Green-rated and approved, and, with this in mind, are about to start clearing our external cellars in the garden to be used by guests as recycling areas. We already do much to be proud of – we use eco products for cleaning our apartments, and provide these for our guests, leave recycled shopping bags for guests to use in all kitchens, have bird table and both bird and squirrel feeders in the garden, and, we use storage heaters in all apartments which are very economic. Over the last two years, we have had all our sash window frames restored by Georgian Windows – ensuring that no heat is escaping!
‘The Extra Mile’ Customer Care Award
We decided to try once more and are entering Scotland Tourist Board’s (Visit Scotland) 2009 Scottish Thistle Awards - the highest accolades awarded to tourist-related businesses. Last year, we were one of three finalists. This year, the category we are to enter is, again, for customer care, and is called ‘The Extra Mile Award’. It is for all small buinesses across Scotland – so, will attract a huge number of entries. Wish us luck. Will keep you posted.
Guests’ Reviews – FlipKey and Trip Advisor
We have had wonderful praise in all our Visitors’ Books, on independent websites, and in personal letters and emails since we first started up with our one apartment. But, after attending a Visit Scotland course last month, it shook me into reality that most of you want to go on to TripAdvisor or FlipKey and read guests’ reviews. Currently, on TripAdvisor, if you type in ‘Pilrig House’ or ‘Pilrig House Apartments’, many previous guests’ reviews/comments appear on Forum pages – please do read!
We are impatiently awaiting news back from FlipKey regarding listing on that site under a newly created ‘Self-Catering’ section – this in turn will feature on TripAdvisor – so, even if you stayed here 9 months ago or last week – as soon as you see the TripAdvisor logo on our website’s Home page, PLEASE LOG ON AND WRITE US UP.
Australian guests winging their way here right now from Edinburgh Airport – and, as Philip has disappeared with a metal detector and headphones glued to his ears, I’d better get going for now…
More updates next month – or sooner.
Cheers for now,
Debbie
