Review of The Howard, by Fiona Duncan

The Howard Hotel is situated in a dignified, sedate townhouse in Edinburgh. This seemingly traditional boutique hotel offers anything but ordinary service.

The facilities

For the price of a double room at the Howard Hotel you can benefit from an array of services. From laundry service, your shoes polished or mended and a tailor summoned for a suit fitting, to a candlelit dinner served in your room, or a romantic tea for two in the Royal Botanical Gardens laid on just for you. You can either dine in your room, or in the small, quiet Atholl dining room, with a charming mural by David Roberts, the 19th-century painter of Edinburgh vignettes.

There's no reception desk in the boutique hotel. Instead, we are ushered into the drawing room, with comfortable sofas, a large chandelier and a cabinet of single malts, and are offered tea or coffee before being introduced to our butler, Fernando, his native Portuguese accent overlaid with a Scottish lilt. Dressed smartly in tails, he shakes us by the hand and escorts us to our room. We ask: could he organise a hire car? Could he let me have a list of the most interesting clothes shops, and their addresses? Certainly. Could we take afternoon tea in our room? Instantly, it is rolled in on a white-clothed table with a tier of delicate sandwiches and scones.

Our food, served by Fernando in an entirely butler-like way, is delicious Scottish fare with a twist. We can't fault anything in the meal, which is how I feel about the whole Howard hotel experience.

The rooms

The Howard is a home-from- home with its 18 individually decorated rooms. As well as the luxury of a personal butler like Fernando, guests have comfy king-sized beds and a widescreen LCD TV with access to eTV entertainment - a package of cable channels, internet access, movies on demand, a jukebox and radio. Wi-fi is also available.