Most guests arrive not entirely sure what an outdoor bath is. Many assume it is some kind of hot tub. It is not. By the time they leave, almost all of them say it was the best part of their stay.
This is the story of how we ended up with an outdoor bath in our walled garden, why we have never considered replacing it, and what guests tell us makes the difference.
What it actually is
The outdoor bath at The Garden Rooms is a full-size freestanding bath, positioned on a stone terrace in our private walled garden. It is double-insulated, which means the water stays warm for a very long time. It has gold taps. There is a wooden bath tray for your wine or champagne. The garden around it is lit with festoon lights in the evening.
When you fill it, you fill it fresh, exactly as you would fill a bath indoors. You choose the temperature. You add whatever you like: bubble bath, bath oil, bath salts. When you get out, the water drains away. Next guests get a freshly filled bath, not recycled water from the last occupants.
No chemicals
This is the thing that surprises guests most. Hot tubs need constant chemical treatment to stay safe: chlorine, bromine, pH adjusters, shock treatments. You can often smell it. The water is never quite fresh.
The outdoor bath has none of that. The water is Edinburgh tap water, which is excellent. Whatever you put in it, you chose. It smells of whatever you brought with you. There is nothing clinical about it.
It is ready in 10 minutes
Hot tubs need to be maintained constantly at temperature, consuming electricity around the clock, and they take hours to heat from cold. Our outdoor bath fills in around 10 minutes from the time you turn the taps. We tell guests to put it on when they arrive. By the time they have unpacked and settled in, it is ready.
The outdoor experience
This is the part that is harder to describe until you have done it. You are lying in warm water. The air around you is cool. Above you is the Edinburgh sky: in summer, still light at 10pm; in autumn, stars appearing early; in winter, often a bright cold sky with the stone wall around you keeping out any wind.
The garden is completely private. The walls are high. You cannot see or hear the neighbours, and they cannot see or hear you. In a city of tenements and shared closes, this kind of privacy is genuinely rare.
Many guests use the bath on arrival and again on the last evening. Some use it every night. Winter guests in particular describe it in terms that are almost impossible to improve on.
"We stayed in December and used the bath under the stars every evening. Lying in the warm water looking up at the sky while it was properly cold all around us. It was extraordinary."
Guest review, December 2024
It is more intimate than a hot tub
Hot tubs have jets and bubbles and timers and control panels. They are designed for groups. There is an industrial quality to them, even the nicest ones.
A bath is quieter. More still. There is no hum. You can hear each other. You can hear the city distantly. You can hear the birds in the Botanic Gardens two minutes away. It is a more personal experience, and most couples say it feels more romantic because of it.
Why we will never switch
We opened The Garden Rooms in 2013, and added the outdoor bath in 2021 as part of a renovation of the property. Since then, it has never been anything other than a highlight in guest feedback. We have had guests book return trips specifically because of it. We have had guests use it at midnight in January. We have had engagement announcements made from it.
A hot tub would need more maintenance, more chemicals, more infrastructure, and in our view would create a less personal and less beautiful experience. The bath fits the walled garden and the stone terrace. It belongs here. We would not change it.
Come and see for yourself.
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