Station Hotel Aberdeen REVIEW – A big surprise!

Here’s a review of the Station Hotel in Aberdeen. It’s the third of my series of reviews of the famous British Transport Hotels.

Just across the road from Aberdeen Railway Station and near to all the city centre shops, bars, restaurants and sights, the hotel is a neglected gem.

We’re staying in a Superior Double Room and I’ll give you a full room tour. We’ll also check out the architecture, Grand Staircase, and the atmosphere in the bar.

We’ll also go and explore Aberdeen on a rather dull and wet day.

Does the Aberdeen Station Hotel offer great value for money? Let me know what you think in the comments.

00:00 About the Station Hotel Aberdeen
01:44 What are the British Transport Hotels?
02:30 Check in and the Grand Staircase
04:51 Superior Double Room – Full Tour
11:32 Aberdeen Walkabout – Port, Beach, Union Street and restaurants
15:38 Station Hotel Bar – Sampling a Malbec Red Wine
17:17 Breakfast at the Station Hotel and thoughts

#StationHotelAberdeen #BritishTransport Hotels #HistoricalHotel #AberdeenCityBreak #AberdeenHotels #HotelsInAberdeen #AberdeenStationHotel

If you enjoyed this episode of RogVLOG please subscribe to my YouTube Channel: https://youTube.com/@RogEdwardsTV?sub_confirmation=1

Twitter: http://twitter.com/roger_edwards
https://www.instagram.com/rogeraedwards/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rogeraedwards

Music: https://www.epidemicsound.com

Welcome to the third of my special reviews of the famous British Transport Hotels. Today we’re here in Aberdeen,
the Granite City, and we’re staying at the Station Hotel. Now the big question is
how will the Station Hotel measure up to the superb value
for money and comfort we found at the Grand Central Hotel in Glasgow,
or will it need a little bit of TLC as we found at the Royal Station Hotel
in Newcastle, I do hope you’ll join me. Let’s go and find the Aberdeen Station Hotel. To be honest,
the last few times I’ve been to Aberdeen railway station, it’s been undergoing
significant renovations. So it’s really good to see that
those renovations have been completed. The station looks pretty magnificent,
if a little deserted. The hotel is right outside, as you would expect with one of those
British Transport Hotels. Yep. There we go. There’s the station. And there’s the hotel directly across the road. Literally two minutes walk. Just a quick reminder
about those British Transport Hotels. I like to call them the British Railway
Hotels. They were all built in the late
1800s, early 1900s. All of them have magnificent
external architecture. Inside most of them have a grand staircase
and perhaps a central atrium with very opulent rooms, bars
and restaurants. This one is no exception, but
the difference with the one in Aberdeen, as you would expect, it’s been built
out of the signature Aberdeen granite. Hence
that grey colour that sparkles in the sun. Except it’s not really very sunny today. But believe me,
if it wasn’t, it would be sparkling. Okay, let’s head
on in and see what it’s like. These hotels often have chandeliers. Perhaps not the grandest chandeliers we’ve seen already, but chandelier
nonetheless. Let’s go and find our room. We are on the third floor. Having trouble
finding the grand staircase? Oh, wait a minute. What’s this? Surely they’ve not hidden the grand
staircase behind this old wooden door. Oh, look, here we go. The grand staircase. Something you find in all these British
Transport Hotels. Oh, it’s absolutely magnificent. But why hide it behind that door? I bet a lot of people just walk past. Don’t even know the staircase is here. Head straight to the lifts
and they’ll miss this. Stained glass windows. Grand wooden banisters. And more chandeliers at the top. Little chandeliers. Always feels like a long way
up the stairs. But I have to go up the stairs. I can’t go in the lift. You can’t miss these grand staircases. It’s all part of the experience. Third floor. Here we are. Pity they’ve not made a little bit
more of these landings. A big leather
sofa here would have looked amazing. There we are from top down to the bottom. Once again, a hotel giving me Shining
vibes. Room 331. Well, as it says on the key card holder, welcome to the Station Hotel, Aberdeen. And welcome indeed to our superior
double room. Now, I’ll tell you how much this room cost
after we’ve had a good look around. Grey carpets and a darker grey and magenta
rug, which I actually quite like. Obviously
reflecting the colours of Aberdeen. But first impressions of this room
are actually pretty positive. Look at that great big double bed. I was going to say that’s a king size
bed, isn’t it? But it is actually two singles pushed together and it looks really comfortable,
doesn’t it? Black and white photographs adorn
the room again. Very Aberdeen. Isn’t that very Aberdeen? This room is pretty big. Let’s count. And we’ve got one, two, three, four, five windows. I do like the throw on the base
of the bed, the matching cushion. Now let’s check out these pillows. Oh yes. Those are soft but slightly firm. I think we’ll get a good night’s
sleep on those. does the bed bounce? Oh, that bounces and a lot more. I almost sank halfway down.
And on each side of the bed. Plenty of plug sockets
and USB charging sockets and a lamp. On the other side of the bed, we have the obligatory comfy chair. And from the comfy chair,
I’ve got a great view of the colossal television
on the wall over there. And there’s a table by my side,
and maybe there’ll be a glass of wine on that table later on. There’s a very ample sized desk to sit at if you’ve got any work to do
or if you just fancy perusing the room service menu. Coffee, tea and hot chocolate
making equipment. What’s this? All butter shortbread, of course. Well, we are in Scotland. Below the coffee making equipment. We have a cupboard and oh yes. Is this a minibar? Oh, there is two bottles of water and two cartons of juice. I wonder whether they are complimentary. It’s one of those metal things
to put your bag on. And then we have a fairly sizable
wardrobe here. Inside, an ironing board. There’s a hairdryer hidden down there and plenty of hangers for clothes. And what’s this? Ear earplugs. Actually, we saw something similar
in the Newcastle Royal Station Hotel. And this hotel, the Aberdeen Station Hotel is run by the same company,
Cairn Group. Earplugs must be a Cairn Group thing. It says. Whilst many people enjoy
the sounds of the city, we appreciate that some people prefer a silent night. Please take these earplugs
with our compliments. Maybe it means there’s a lot of traffic
noise, or perhaps has a nightclub underneath the hotel, but to be perfectly
honest, it’s very quiet at the moment. Well, I’m pretty impressed with this room
so far, so let’s check out the bathroom. Oh, nice and bright white tiles. Oh, wait a minute. We have a step up to the toilet
and the basin. You’re gonna have to watch that later on. And around the corner. Well, like those gray tiles again. Grey is the theme of this Hotel
Aberdeen theming. Oh, the shower is round the corner. Rain forest shower. Not bad. Quite a noisy
little extractor fan as well. Plenty of towels under the basin. We have a couple of glass glasses. Oh, I was like it when they give you
a glass glasses rather than the plastic shiny spotlessly clean tops. Usual notice about the environment
to putting the towels on the floor if you want them washed. I love that little diamond on the top of the toilet
paper. Aqua senses smelly stuff. By that I mean hand hair and body shampoo. There’s that step down. Crikey, you can really have to watch that during the night,
especially if it’s really dark. I might have to leave a light on. Difficult
to negotiate if you had a few red wines. So tell me, what do you think of this superior double room
here at the Aberdeen Station Hotel? I’m really impressed. The room’s huge. Five windows. It’s going to take me half the night
to close all the curtains. Huge bouncy, comfy bed and a really spotlessly clean bathroom. Do you want to know how much I paid
for this room? Now, admittedly, I booked a direct. And if you booked direct,
you get a 10% discount. They were also running a special offer
on top of that, so I get an extra 5% discount on top sofa bed and breakfast
in this superior double room £94, which I think is absolutely brilliant for the quality of the room
that we have here. And of course it’s a British Transport
Hotel as well, so you get the grandeur of the facade
on that magnificent staircase. Here is the rest of the night’s plan. We’re going to go and have a little wander
round Aberdeen, perhaps a wander along
Union Street down by the harbour as well. And if the rain holds off,
I might wander along to the beach and have a look at the fairground
and the fish and chip shops. Then we’ll come back to the hotel
and have our customary glass of red wine in the bar. See what the atmosphere is like here
of an evening at the Station Hotel. And then tomorrow morning, of course, we have to dive into the Station
Hotel breakfast. So let’s get ourselves
out onto the streets of Aberdeen. Oh, it’s pretty grim. Actually, there’s quite a lot
just outside the hotel. Obviously,
there’s the station we came from before. Union square is a shopping center, and if you don’t want to stay
at the Station Hotel, we have Leonardo Hotel, Union Square,
I believe that’s quite good. Used to be Jurys Inn. I’m not sure how far we’re going to go, to be honest,
because the weather is really pretty grim. But I do want to have a look
at the harbour. Of course, it’s more than just a harbour. It’s the ort of Aberdeen. Well, unfortunately, I couldn’t find any public access
to the Port of Aberdeen, so we’re not going to be able to have a
look at those gigantic ships and ferries. Thought I’d walk up here to Aberdeen Beach, but the weather’s so dry today
it just looks pretty grim and miserable. And there’s actually very few people
about. That’s the entrance
to the Port of Aberdeen over there, and the ships we see on the horizon
just look like ghosts fading into the mist and cloud. I’m feeling the pull of that glass of wine in the bar
back at the Station Hotel. I think what we’ll do
is we’ll head along that Union Street, and then we’ll go back to the hotel
and have ourselves a glass of wine. What do you think? Even the promenade cafes are pretty empty. I think everybody’s staying indoors,
and I don’t blame them. Well, back up in Aberdeen City now,
and this is Marischal College. A perfect example of Aberdeen’s
granite architecture. That is spectacular, isn’t it? Definitely one of those buildings that sparkles when it’s sunny, but today it’s glistening in the rain. Here we have a statue of Robert the Bruce, King of the Scots, looking magnificent. With that college buildings as its backdrop. And these are dancing fountains. Or at least
they were dancing a few moments ago. I think we have to wait for them
to ignite again. Now we’re at the top of Aberdeen’s
very famous Union Street. Lots of shops, lots of bars, lots
of restaurants and incredible buildings like the one behind me. Like in any city, the hidden gems are always off the main street. Beans, coffee roasters
and tea specialists. Ma Cameron’s. I love this street. This is typical old Aberdeen. And this restaurant here. Poldino’s Ristorante Pizzeria. Chicken cacciatore. Absolutely delicious. Good pizzas too. Well, it has finally stopped raining,
but the light is starting to go as evening progresses, so I think it’s time
for us to head back to the Station Hotel and get ourselves
a well-deserved glass of red wine. And I’m really ready
for this glass of red wine. Oh, I’m definitely ready for this. A glass of Malbec from Argentina,
£7.50 for a large glass. Let’s give it a try. Oh, that is a good glass of Malbec. Actually, Malbec
is one of my favorite types of red wine. Barring Zinfandel, Malbec is probably my favourite wine. Well, I really enjoyed Glass of Malbec. Truth be told, I’m a little bit tipsy. What I didn’t tell you is after
I’d had that little walk around Aberdeen,
I met my son, we went for a meal, and then he took me to a cocktail bar
and we started drinking Vesper Martinis. You know those James Bond drinks? Three parts
gin, one part vodka, and Kina Lillet, and a splash of ice and a twist of lemon
peel. Well, we had a couple of those,
so I am definitely ready for my bed. I will see you in the morning,
and we’re going to check out the breakfast here at the Station Hotel. Well, this looks like a pretty decent breakfast
at the Aberdeen station. The hotel
and of coffee with a really frothy top. Oh, pretty decent coffee too. Well, what did you think of the Aberdeen
Station Hotel? Do please let me know
in the comments down below. I was absolutely delighted for £94
for that huge room, bed and breakfast. I think I got real good value for money
there, and I would more than happily stay here at the Station
Hotel again in the future. Thank you so much for watching this video. I’ll see you on the next one for some more travel adventures
and a little drop of history.