Apex Hotels has today (Monday 1st April) announced its plan to bring an urban aerial transport link to Scotland’s capital for its guests.
The proposed Apex Grasshopper, an aerial gondola, would run from the family owned hotel group’s Grassmarket property straight into Edinburgh Castle’s Esplanade at the top of the Royal Mile.
A feasibility study is underway for the project, which would see up to eight, four-person gondolas make the 200 meter round journey from the roof of the Apex Grassmarket Hotel to the World Heritage Site and back again in under ten minutes.
The Apex Grasshopper will provide users with not only a bird’s eye view of both the Old and New Town, but shave an incredible 10 minutes off journey times from the Grassmarket to the Castle - ideal for tourists keen to cram in as much sightseeing as possible.
Poppy Cox, Apex Grasshopper project manager, said: “Tourists love the fact Apex’s Grassmarket hotel offers amazing views of the Castle. But many are often time poor, with only a few days to spend exploring, so now they’ll be able to walk out of their rooms, hop into a gondola and be in the Castle grounds in minutes.
“We pride ourselves in going the extra mile for our guests and this is the perfect example – no other Scottish hotel will boast a link directly from its rooftop to one of the world’s most iconic tourist attractions.”
The hotel group is working in partnership with ISA Architects on its vision for the ambitious project – today revealing the first images of how the transport link will look. The practice, with over 20 years’ experience in commercial, residential and hospitality sectors, believes the Apex Grasshopper will be a talking point for the city of Edinburgh worldwide and will complement the tram extension set for the city.
Ian Springford, Director of ISA Architects, said: “We’re very excited to reveal the first CGIs of the Apex Grasshopper showing the transformation it will make to the Grassmarket’s skyline. If given the go ahead, we’re confident we can deliver this project quicker and cheaper than the tram extension and our ambition is to see the project come to fruition by 1 April 2021.”
Apex is calling on members of the public to give their view on the project as part of its feasibility study – send your views or request more information at: apexgrasshopper@apexhotels.co.uk
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Note to Editors
Apex Hotels is one of the UK’s leading independent operators for four-star contemporary hotels. Headquartered in Edinburgh, the group operates 10 hotels in London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee and Bath.