Truly Scottish experiences

Centuries of Scottish tradition are woven into the beautiful scarves, throws and textiles produced by Araminta Campbell and her talented team. This unique experience takes you behind the scenes, offering a rare opportunity to witness the artistry and dedication that goes into creating exquisite textiles, engage with the weavers working on the looms, and gain an insight into their traditional techniques. During this experience, you will meet Araminta, have the atelier to yourself to learn about how each piece is made, and be able to commission your own bespoke pieces. Please note that this experience needs to be booked at least one month in advance.

If you have ever dreamed of making your own gin from scratch, you can do just that at Kingsbarns Distillery close to St Andrews, which is about an hour’s drive from 100 Princes Street. On your arrival at Kingsbarns, you will be given a personal tour of the distillery and learn about the local area and the rich history of 'mother’s ruin'. Along the way, you will obviously sample gins and enjoy a few tipples, before moving to the gin school, where you will become a distiller for a few hours, and create a one-of-a-kind bottle of gin, made with your own recipe of botanicals. The hands-on experience continues as you begin to distil your bespoke gin. At the end of the afternoon, you will leave Kingsbarns with your own 70cl bottle of gin to take home and enjoy.

Lying between the villages of Kelso and Coldstream, Upper North Wark is a prime and private mile-long fishing beat on the River Tweed, owned by Jonathan Hufford. Upon your arrival, you will be met by the head ghillie, and begin by toasting the river with some sloe gin in the re-built fishing bothy. Your morning will be spent learning how to cast, before heading out on a traditional Tweed rowing boat to fish on the river. At lunchtime, a chef from a local restaurant will prepare a delicious lunch for you to enjoy at a leisurely pace, including a selection of wines. After lunch, should you wish, you can go back out onto the river for more fishing. There will also be an opportunity for you to venture into the river in waders, and fish from there, should the water levels allow. All the necessary equipment is provided - you need bring nothing at all. This experience is available to complete novices as well as experienced fishermen.

100 Princes Street has teamed up with The Potter Trail to create a unique tour experience exclusively for the hotel’s guests. Each curated tour is tailored to the guest, and can be adjusted to an individual’s specific Harry Potter interests. Every tour begins at the hotel, and typically starts by visiting the most famous Harry Potter locations throughout the city, including Greyfriars Kirkyard, Edinburgh University, Spoon Café and The Elephant House (where J.K. Rowling wrote some of the Harry Potter books) and Victoria Street, which is said to be the inspiration for Diagon Alley. There are many opportunities to add-on other locations made famous by the books, and ask as many questions as you wish.

Once an endangered craft, Matilde and Jonathan have trained to make kilts using traditional techniques. Taking place in their home studio, or in your suite at 100 Princes Street, you will be involved all aspects of the design and crafting of your kilt, including choosing the tartan, selecting the leather for the straps, and deciding the pattern of the pleats. Everything used to fashion your kilt is made in Scotland and locally sourced. You will also have an opportunity to learn about the process of tartan pleating. After visiting Edinburgh, there can be surely be no better souvenir of Scotland, than a custom handmade kilt.

In some ways a fledgling Scottish incarnation of Creed, Kingdom Scotland is the country’s first luxury perfume house, and is dedicated to the creation of contemporary, artisan, unisex fragrances, inspired by the Scottish landscape, using the finest ingredients available. Every bottle is numbered, and everything is created, bottled and packaged in Edinburgh. Whilst there are currently four fragrances in Kingdom’s collection, 100 Princes Street can arrange for the house’s founder and nose, Imogen Russon-Taylor, to make a private visit to the hotel, conduct an intimate personal scent consultation, and create a personalised bespoke scent for an in-house guest.