It was quite the star turn for The Caley. Having hosted a glittering gala dinner with Eva Longoria last month, the iconic Edinburgh hotel then invited none other than Barack Obama through its doors – albeit discreetly – as the 44th US President popped in to freshen up for a charity event in the city. In publicity terms, it’s the kind of ‘profile’ that marketers dream of.
I sit down with Dale MacPhee, the hotel’s ebullient General Manager, who is clearly in high spirits after the Global Gift Gala dinner, featuring the former Desperate Housewives star, garnered a press audience of over 700,000 worldwide. Not bad for a Wednesday night event in May.
MacPhee, elegantly attired in a royal blue skirt and blazer, says The Caley or, to give the hotel its full title, Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh – The Caledonian, is still reaping the rewards of an extensive £25m refurbishment in 2012, and a marked pivot towards hosting events.
“We do a lot of charity work in the hotel, which we’re really proud of, so it’s about raising the profile of events that make money for the charity. And to make over £100,000 for a first event was a great achievement, I think. Secondly, it was about the profile of the venue; it’s probably the highest-profile event we’ve done in Peacock Alley since we started to do events in the space.”
Sadly, she is unable to elaborate about the Obama stay, but well-placed sources say the former President was relaxed, affable and friendly towards the guests, including a family who he bumped into as they made their way to the spa. He reportedly made use of the opulent Alexander Graham Bell suite to freshen up after a day of golf in St Andrews as he prepared for a speech at the Hunter Foundation charity event at the EICC.
MacPhee is very focused on building the hotel’s credentials as an events space. We are seated in the beautiful Peacock Alley, which unbelievably was once a platform at the old Caledonian railway station, and was chosen expressly for the Global Gift Gala because of its unique Victorian atmosphere.
“It’s a really unique space but it’s also not solely an event space,” adds MacPhee. “We will use it for events, but it has to be the right event. In 2012, the owners spent £25m refurbishing the hotel – they added the atrium roof but kept the true authenticity of the exterior of the building, which is fantastic, and created a fabulous space for events or for dining or teas and coffee. It’s multi-purpose. On the night of the Global Gift Gala the hotel was full and we had to close down the space during the day. I was speaking to the clients coming down the staircase at 7:30am the next morning and they couldn’t believe that we had a big party the night before and it was all back to normal by 6am, considering the last guest had left the room at 3:30am. So, I think for events I have a very dependable team.”
She added: “I also saw Eva the next morning and she gave me a big hug and a kiss as she was leaving. I’m surprised she recognised me standing in the lobby in my suit with my hair up, but it was a nice moment. Overall the feedback for the event has been really positive.”
There is no doubt that events will continue to grow under MacPhee, who has travelled extensively around the world as general manager at some of biggest hotel brands, including Hilton.
She adds: “If I look at where we were in my first year versus where we are today, it has transformed massively, events are a very important segment for us, which we are keen to grow.
“I think also for The Caley, the whole transition from the Hilton five-and-a-half years ago to the Waldorf Astoria now has been massive. During that time we have aspired to make the hotel a unique experience for guests with unique events –one of our tag lines is ‘unique experiences’. For me that’s about sitting down with clients and finding out what they want to get out of the event, and making it happen.”
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