Ten Hill Place, a four-star hotel in the heart of Edinburgh, is far more than a place to sleep. Behind its doors lies a deep connection to the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, an institution whose origins go back to 1505. The hotel itself opened in November 2006 and now has 129 bedrooms, sitting on a campus belonging to an institution more than five centuries old.
The rooms are large and exceptionally clean. The food is excellent, the service is first-rate, and there is the considerable bonus of designated parking behind the building, something that becomes particularly valuable when Edinburgh is being overrun by the Fringe. It is also brilliantly located, close enough to the Old Town and the Royal Mile to make exploring the city easy, while still providing somewhere to retreat to when you have had enough of the crowds.
A remarkable mixture of history and modern life
During a stay, a tour of the buildings was given by the hotel's general manager. There are grand halls where surgeons study and train, sitting alongside spaces being used for Fringe events. People were coming and going for performances while, elsewhere in the same complex, medical education that has been taking place in one form or another for more than five centuries continues. It is a remarkable mixture, and somehow it works.
The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh began life as the Incorporation of Surgeons and Barbers of Edinburgh in July 1505. The two professions were once joined together. The College is now the oldest surgical college in the world and supports surgical training, examinations and professional development across more than 140 countries.
The Surgeons' Hall Museum is right there on the campus. Its collections have been developing since the late 17th century and have been open to the public since 1832. It is home to one of the largest and most historic pathology collections in the UK. During a tour with the Surgeons Quarter General Manager, Mark McKenzie, a quick look revealed an anatomy theatre with an interactive dissection table recreating the first public dissection held in Scotland in 1702.
From barber surgeons to Sherlock Holmes
The museum also tells the story of figures including Joseph Lister and James Young Simpson, while Arthur Conan Doyle's time at the College is explored through his relationship with surgeon Joseph Bell, the man he credited as the inspiration for Sherlock Holmes. There is also the darker side of medical history, including Burke and Hare, whose crimes involved supplying bodies to the medical profession for dissection.
The hotel itself is a genuinely excellent place to stay. Our room was large, exceptionally clean and extremely comfortable. Room service was excellent, too. The restaurant served exceptional food and service at lunch, dinner and breakfast. The haggis, neeps and tatties with whisky sauce was a particular highlight, as was the Scottish cheeseboard with plum and apple chutney, quince jelly, grapes and oatcakes. The desserts were excellent, particularly the traditional Scottish Cranachan with raspberries and honey.
Profits go back into training surgeons
The hotel's profits go back into training surgeons. Surgeons Quarter, which manages the hotel and the College's wider commercial activities, recorded revenue of £12.7m in 2024 and contributed almost £3m to the College. Ten Hill Place itself recorded 97 per cent occupancy that year, selling more than 45,000 room nights. The College describes it as Edinburgh's largest independent four-star hotel.
So the commercial side of the operation is doing exactly what you would hope it does: it makes money. And that money helps support the work of an institution whose purpose is to educate and develop surgeons. That gives the hotel a sense of purpose which most venues simply don't have. You aren't just paying for a room. You are staying in part of a 500-year-old institution.
With Ten Hill Place you get a very good hotel and for a couple of nights you will find yourself part of something much bigger than one. Hotel and surgical college. Five hundred years of history and a modern four-star hotel. Fringe performers and surgeons. Tourists and trainees. And somehow, rather wonderfully, it all fits together.
