Edinburgh hotels: The best places to stay for location and value of money
Edinburgh has always caused a fuss. Consider the medieval riddle of its subterranean alleys or the sublime drama of its fairytale castle, and it’s little wonder visitors fall under its spell. Arriving into this mind-boggling spectacle is the easy part. Figuring out where to stay is the real puzzle.
I’ve lived on a Georgian crescent in the West End for years – my family is from the city – and I’ve explored dozens of hotels for guidebooks, magazines and newspapers. The right bed or breakfast, or the right top-shelf dram before midnight, can be a highlight of any capital stay; but with the world’s biggest arts festival every summer, and festivals bookending the year, competition is fierce.
So how to avoid ending up with a dud? Edinburgh is easily navigable by foot, but it’s still crucial to pick a neighbourhood that’ll suit your personality, so you can map out the perfect itinerary.
Here are my favourite places that combine trend-setting style with enough tartan trim to remind you why you came to Scotland in the first place.
The Independent’s hotel reviews are unbiased, independent advice you can trust. On some occasions, we earn revenue if you click the links and book, but we never allow this to affect our coverage.
The Balmoral
Neighbourhood: City Centre
Best for: Glamour
Graced with ornamental balconies, neo-renaissance turrets and a landmark clock tower that runs reliably three minutes fast (so locals don’t miss their trains at nearby Waverley Station), The Balmoral is Edinburgh’s most prestigious address at No 1 Princes Street.
It’s the flagship property in hotelier Sir Rocco Forte’s portfolio, and it shows. There’s Michelin-star restaurant Number One for house-smoked salmon and a lifetime’s worth of single malts; new restaurant Brasserie Prince from French chef extraordinaire Alain Roux; and a tartan butler (should you desperately need a bespoke plaid kilt hand-delivered to your room). Room decor runs the gamut from Hebridean armchairs and woodland wallpapers to Sean Connery James Bond prints and brass owl door knockers. Those mighty fine birds can be seen when splashing out on the JK Rowling Suite, where the Edinburgh resident wrote the last instalment of her wizarding saga.
Of the individually designed 188 rooms, pick a west-facing suite with heart-in-mouth views of Edinburgh Castle and the steampunk gothic aesthetic of the Scott Monument. A prospect good enough for The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney and Elizabeth Taylor no less.
Doubles from £220, room only
grandluxuryhotels.com
Prestonfield House
Neighbourhood: Prestonfield
Best for: A Highland fling
Neighbourhood: City Centre
Best for: Train travellers
There’s still a secret spot in Edinburgh’s Old Town: at least for those who haven’t visited in a while. It’s the just-opened Market Street Hotel, the flashiest new address in town, and a place ideally located for a seat-of-your-pants rush to platforms 8 or 9 at Waverley Station, right across the road. The fact this is Scotland’s first member of the Design Hotels group, a boutique network of hand-picked, design-heavy properties, won’t mean much to those outside the travel industry, but here the label is shorthand for carefully thought-out style that elevates the hotel into something memorable. Watch out for plenty of nods to Edinburgh’s history woven throughout the building’s fabric too.
From the outside, consider nostalgic wooden shutters and rooms softened by fabric wallpapers and woollen, custom-made furniture for that Scandi-but-still-in-Scotland look. There’s seventh floor champagne bar Nor’ Loft, all floor-to-ceiling windows flooded by castle turrets and gothic spires, and rooms that invite you to “coorie down” (Scots for get cosy) with a blend of white oak and textured stone fit for a Hebridean croft. Keen for a splurge? The Alba Suite, with telescope, private outdoor terrace and unparalleled city views is the one to book.
Doubles from £107
carlton.nl
Moxy Edinburgh Airport
Neighbourhood: Ingliston
Best for: Early departures and late arrivals
While Edinburgh is a city that rewards wanderers, arriving late or leaving early is no time to be clonking over the cobbles in the dark with a suitcase. An easy two-minute walk from the airport terminal, this millennial brand from globe-hopping hotel giant Marriott prioritises function over form, with out-the-box queens and twins, with plasma TVs and floor-to-ceiling wall murals in the bathroom. Downstairs, there’s little more than an industrial-design bar and lounge, but the aesthetic works a treat, with movie lamps, egg nest cocoon chairs, arcade machine and a blast of colour to help you feel awake whatever the time.
The view across the road is of long-running stalwart now rival DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel (handy should the Moxy be full). Otherwise, if you have time to kill before your flight, the tram and airport bus stop couldn’t be better placed for the 30-minute ride to the city centre.
Doubles from £52, room only
marriott.co.uk
Fingal
Neighbourhood: Leith
Best for: Port views
Despite opening in February 2019, hardly anyone in Edinburgh knows about this gorgeously unusual boutique hotel yet; the twist being it’s a repurposed boat. First launched in 1963, the 237ft ship has been decommissioned and turned into a 23-room, Art Deco-themed floating hotel by its owner, the Royal Yacht Britannia, anchored nearby just across the Albert Dock Basin in the Port of Leith.
You could label Fingal a gimmicky ‘floatel, but the idea is a sweet reminder of the days when the Royal Family took to sea. The top deck has been transformed into a 1930s-era restaurant and cocktail bar, with shimmering gold ceiling and jazz-age saxophone swoons. The suspended-in-time engine room has been peeled back to form part of one of the corridors. The hull has been remodelled as a lavish private dining space and ballroom. There is a glass capsule lift. And no cabin is the same, with every line and angle leaving you in no doubt you’re on a boat. All terribly clever indeed.
Cabins from £300, breakfast included
fingal.co.uk
Read more
10 of the best boutique hotels in Edinburgh
Edinburgh hotels: 10 best places to stay on a budget
Principal Hotel Charlotte Square
Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh – The Caledonian
