Aberdeen, not just Gas and Oil?

I had never been to Aberdeen before, so when Loganair asked me to join them along with some travel agents from the North East to visit for the day, I jumped at the chance. I have to admit that I didn't know a great deal about the 'Granite City' other than there had always been (for as long as I remember) a flight service that took oil and gas workers from Newcastle to Aberdeen. The Scottish offshore industry has taken bit of a downturn in recent years, so I thought it would be interesting to find out if the city has the appeal to drawer in the leisure traveler to bolster the local economy?

After a very smooth, short 50 minute flight up from Newcastle with Loganair, we landed at a very wet Aberdeen airport. The first thing you notice is the vast amount of helicopters buzzing about which service the offshore rigs. They use a separate terminal, but the main passenger terminal is modern and has a good selection of facilities to keep most leisure travelers happy. We sampled the Northern Lights executive lounge which was excellent. It was very bright, homely and had a huge window overlooking the runway offering amazing views when it's clear.

Staying close to the airport, we headed to our first visit of the day, the Aloft hotel at the recently opened P&J Live events venue. The Aloft, as with other Aloft properties offers a very urban design edge which would appeal to a younger crowd. Directly across from the Aloft and attached to the P&J Live venue itself was our next visit, the Hilton. This is not a Hilton 'Garden Inn' or a Hilton 'Doubletree' that have popped up all over the UK in recent years, but a real Hilton 'Resort & Hotel' offering opulent décor and world class facilities such as a Clarin's Spa and an executive lounge. Now, the main reason anyone would stay out of town away from the city in either hotel is of course to use the neighbouring events centre. It is huge and is capable of holding world class exhibitions and conferences. It is also attracting world class artists to become a real player in the concert events too. For anyone going to a gig, these hotels are perfect. Fly in, check in, walk across to the concert, sleep over and fly out the next day. It couldn't be easier!

Next on the agenda was a 20 minute taxi trip in to town to meet up with Autumn, our art walking tour guide. Now this was a surprise! I had never though of Aberdeen as a hotbed of street art. We spent a fascinating hour and a half walking around the city centre to be shown the creations from local and international street artists. The city hosts the annual Nuart festival (in April) where artists are invited to present relevant and inspiring street art to the public. It really was more like Shoreditch that what I expected from Aberdeen!

After our tour ended and we said our goodbyes, we headed off to our final visit of the day at the Sandman Signature hotel. Sandman took over the historic Robert Gordon University campus in the heart of the city and totally renovated it in a bold, trendy luxurious style. This hotel is perfect for a city break only minutes from his Majesty's Theatre, shopping centres and Maritime museum. We were lucky enough to sample the on site restaurant 'Chop', which offers an amazing selection of locally inspired food from fish tacos to Haggis bon bons!

It was soon time to head back to the airport for our 4pm flight back to Newcastle. There was just enough time to check out the mind blowing selection of whiskies on offer in duty free and sample a couple too. I noted one bottle in a locked cabinet priced at £16,000, which we were not offered.

I really enjoyed our day in Aberdeen and felt that it would work as an alternative city break destination. With the brand new events centre it also offers a real alternative to see touring music artists too. The Aberdonians are a warm, friendly bunch proud to show off their city. My only regret is that we didn't have more time!

Feel free to get in touch if you would like my help to arrange a city break to Aberdeen (or anywhere else for that matter). All city breaks that I can arrange are 100% financially protected and will be managed personally my me.