The best Edinburgh hotels
There's plenty to love about Edinburgh – the rich history, the neoclassic architecture, the lively pub culture. The hotel scene is also at the top of its game. To book a room at one of the city's historic and grand addresses – particularly The Balmoral – is less about a typical hotel stay and more about a prized experience. And then there are the chic boutique hotels and smart apartments that are popping up around the city, from secret and serene hideaways in the Old Town to converted Victorian townhouses. Whisky bars are naturally a given, as are opulent and colourful interiors. This is also a city where it's worth booking a room with a view, or making the most of a hotel rooftop bar should the temperamental weather be in your favour. Yes, there are a lot of hotels to love in Edinburgh. To help you narrow down your search, our editors have reviewed the best hotels in Edinburgh. What a more homely option? See our edit of the best Airbnbs in Edinburgh.
How we choose the best hotels in Edinburgh
Every hotel on this list has been selected independently by our editors and written by a Condé Nast Traveller journalist who knows the destination and has stayed at that property. When choosing properties, our editors consider both luxury hotels and boutique and lesser-known boltholes that offer an authentic and insider experience of a destination. We’re always looking for beautiful design, a great location and warm service – as well as serious sustainability credentials. We update this list regularly as new hotels open and existing ones evolve.
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100 Princes streethotel100 Princes Street
A discreet address with castle views
The city's latest newcomer combines the plush seclusion of a member’s club, with the personal service that Red Carnation hotels are known for. There’s no doorman, so a black “100” flag is the main giveaway. Inside, it’s a place of low-lit and low-key velveteen elegance, with 30 discreet rooms over five floors. At The Wallace, a leather-walled lounge and bar area on the 2nd floor, there are vintage globes and oil paintings of tiger fights and steamers on storm-lashed seas. Over a Penicillin whisky cocktail on a tartan-upholstered chair, I take in unobstructed golden views of the lowering sun hitting Edinburgh Castle — a rare treat, even for locals.
Each of the 30 rooms share a certain cocooning tactility — many taking reddish or greenish colour schemes from walls covered in one of the hotel’s bespoke tartans. All have marble bathrooms, and a similar thematic fusion of the intellectual and the exotic. Beyond the building, the hotel offers an impressive list of experiences – from fishing on the River Tweed with a bothy lunch to private visits to the atelier of designer Araminta Campbell, with the chance to commission bespoke fabrics. There’s room for golf bags downstairs, so for many this may well be the city stop before heading for Muirfield or St Andrews, or perhaps the fly fishing beats to the north. Toby Skinner
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Gleneagles Townhouse
The member's club-meets-hotel
Everyone knows all about the original Gleneagles, in rural Perthshire, which has long been the stuff of legend and a firm favourite for one of the best hotels in the UK. Acquired by Ennismore in 2015, it was given mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and an invigorating defibrillator blast – and it worked. The place has surely never looked better or felt more lively than it does today. You can perceive a family resemblance in the Townhouse, though in terms of temperament – as well as scale, tone, and emphasis – she is very much her own person. This is ostensibly – though not entirely – a members’ club, though it most respects it also functions as a normal hotel. Non-members can dine in the restaurant (spectacular), stay in the rooms (delightful), and get squiffy in the rooftop bar (terrific). Senior staff members are notable for their presence. You see them all the time, they remember your name, they are actively solicitous of your well-being, and they will actually take time to chat – all of which is more impressive and less common than it might sound. Read our full Gleneagles Townhouse review for more.
Virgin Hotels
A new vibe for Edinburgh’s Old Town
A fabulous addition to Edinburgh’s UNESCO-listed Old Town – itself a place of great drama, with its mysterious lanes, moody shadows, looming stony facades and suddenly expanding vistas. The hotel occupies a prime spot on curvy, hilly Victoria Street. Though much of the 19th-century charm of the original India Buildings, as they were known, has been preserved – the three-tiered domed rotunda is especially lovely – the overall feeling inside is one of carefully choreographed postmodern mischief. The 222 rooms are thoughtfully configured, pale and creamy in tone with vivid red accents (in case you forget for a nanosecond that you’re in a Virgin-branded property). Each of the eight Grand Chamber suites has something delightful and/or unexpected about it – a mezzanine decorated in the style of a Bedouin tent, for example. In a city blessed with more than its share of excellent restaurants and bars, the Commons Club Restaurant and Bar more than hold their own – they’re outstanding. Though the hotel is by no means short on the kind of whimsical, self-referential touches for which Sir Richard Branson is famous, this is offset by an appealing sense of fun mixed with seriousness of purpose. Steve King
House of Gods
An intimate, velvet-clad hotel where beige is blasphemy
Though any and all are welcome, this is not, perhaps, going to be a house for every god. But if you’re the right kind of god – that’s to say, one with a disdain for natural light, a fondness for velvety opulence, neon signage against Gucci heron wallpaper and an atmosphere of playful debauchery – then you’ll fit right in and have an absolute ball. With the exception of a single suite, the 22 rooms are, shall we say, compact; but what they lack in scale they make up for in attitude. (The design of the smallest rooms was inspired by the compartments on the Orient Express – another kind of minimalist space with maximalist ambitions.) There’s a gadget by the door with three buttons: one for your butler, one for milk and cookies, one for prosecco. An ace mixologist may also be summoned to prepare cocktails in your room; not only that but, to make the decision-making process simpler, you can order your drinks based on songs you like – which your mixologist will play for you while he or she prepares the relevant concoction. (You might consider ordering pizza to be delivered in the meantime.) Directly opposite the hotel’s Lounge Bar, on the other side of a tiny courtyard (the crossing of which may be the only time you spend outside during your stay), are two additional House of Gods bars, Lilith’s Lounge and the Casablanca Club, where, somehow, the decadence-factor has been dialled up even higher. Lord have mercy. Steve King
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The Balmoral Hotel
Edinburgh's original grande dame hotel
While there are other hotels synonymous with a city, few can claim to be such an integral part of its home town’s landscape as the Balmoral in Edinburgh – or to be as well-loved by locals. Thanks to its imposing 190ft clock tower it is an unmistakeable part of the Scottish capital’s skyline, perhaps the most unmistakable in the UK – with the possible exception of London. If you're after a full-on, north-of-the-border experience without having to tramp through scratchy gorges or be devoured by midges, then head to The Balmoral.
The neo-Renaissance building is Edinburgh's most famous hotel, opening as the North British Railway Hotel in 1902. Back in the day, schoolboys would take a sneaky shortcut through the cavernous mailrooms and luggage stores that link the hotel to Waverley station – today, this is more likely to be the way in for royalty. It's recently had a multi-million-pound makeover: Rocco Forte Hotels' Olga Polizzi aims to whisk guests off on a virtual grand tour of the country with a colour palette taking in the golden lichens and fern greens of the lowlands, the moorland's heathery purples, and the stony greys and sultry blues of the Highlands and islands. (For £1,000 a night you can stay in the suite where JK Rowling finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.)
The food at Brasserie Prince has also had an update, overseen by Alain Roux, the chef behind the three Michelin-starred Waterside Inn in Bray (he’s the son of Michel, nephew of Albert). French techniques are used to cook Scottish ingredients, with rich Normandy onion soup and steak tartare on the menu. The interiors, meanwhile, have been spruced up by Martin Brudnidzki, whose designs at member’s club Annabel’s are among the most photographed in London. As everyone here will tell you, the great clock of the Balmoral has always been set three minutes fast, to help the good people of Edinburgh to catch their trains. (Except on Hogmanay – unsurprising when you think what a big deal New Year is to the city.) Now it will help you get to lunch on time too.
Eden Locke
Studio apartments made for hipsters
Eden Locke calls itself an aparthotel for self-sufficient people staying in downtown Edinburgh, but don’t be put off by the description. From the street it looks just like any other classical New Town Georgian townhouse: staid and rather imposing. But inside, the Mint Julep walls, wicker chairs, tropical plants and rag rugs on pale oak floors beat the ubiquitous tartan to the punch. This place is a hipster headspin. Check-in happens at the ground-floor third-wave coffee shop Hyde & Son, which transforms at night into a lively bar serving razor-sharp cocktails, artisanal gins and beers. On Saturdays a DJ plays funk and soul. Apartments are a perfect storm of millennial pink and Elephant’s Breath, brass detailing and anglepoise-style lamps, curated by Manhattan design firm Grzywinski+Pons (other projects include New York’s Nolitan Hotel and Hotel on Rivington, and sister property Bermonds Locke in London). The original sash windows give views down to the clickety-clack of George Street. Kitchens are equipped with a Smeg cooker, a stash of Rude Health granola and T2 tea bags, plus spot-on listings of the closest grocers and provisions that can be delivered to your door. Or step out to one of the recommended favourite few restaurants in Edinburgh. And the longer you stay, the cheaper it gets.
Rita PlattsThe Dunstane Houses
A super-smart boutique hotel
This 16-room William Playfair-inspired Victorian townhouse in Edinburgh's West End has huge fireplaces and ornate cornicing reflecting the building's solid Victorian past. Peacocks strut their stuff across bedroom wallpaper, there are Persian rugs, velvet sofas and free-standing copper bathtubs. The owners' Orkney heritage is celebrated in oatmeal tweeds, fringed wool throws, stone-topped tables, while the Ba' Bar – home to one of the widest selections of rare and vintage whiskies in Edinburgh – is named after a feisty football game played on the islands. All-day dining includes velvety-smooth cullen skink, crispy Ayrshire pork, seared scallops and cranachan, a traditional pudding made with whipped cream, honey, whisky and raspberries.
The Witchery by the Castle
A deeply romantic hotel that takes you back in time
The Witchery by the Castle would be Count Dracula's choice of hotel were he to visit Edinburgh, and you may feel apprehensive of encountering him as you climb the stone turret staircase into the Inner Sanctum on your way to bed. One of the hotel's nine suites, the Sanctum is swathed in crimson, claret and port, and styled like a scene from Vampirestaged within a Gothic castle. Feast on Angus beef steak tartare in the Secret Garden restaurant, then wallow in a claw-footed, roll-top bath before climbing into a huge four-poster bed made from an old church pulpit. Children are not welcomed at the Witchery, although they would probably enjoy the experience even more than you.
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Intercontinental Edinburgh The George
An impressive hotel with a superb location
There has been a hotel on the George’s site since 1881. Its prime heritage suites – as well as its popular Burr & Co café and Printing Press Bar & Kitchen – are spread across five adjoining townhouses on George Street, diagonally opposite the Assembly Rooms. But the hotel is bigger than it looks from outside. Thanks to two modern extensions that are almost invisible from the street, it comprises more than 200 rooms. Some of the loveliest views, in fact, are those from the upper floors of the modern buildings, which overlook a patchwork of Georgian rooftops and gardens, and, beyond them, the Firth of Forth.
A subdued palette has been employed throughout – neutral oatmeals and greys perked up here and there with liturgical greens, blues and purples. There are thickly textured throws and cushions – and the respect for local materials extends to the doorman’s trousers, in an exuberant City of Edinburgh tartan. Original architectural features have been preserved, and the interior design mixes contemporary and period elements – Victorian-style leather armchairs and velveteen sofas alongside pendant lamps and geometric side-tables.
The George may not be quite as imposing as the Balmoral or as enchanted as the Waldorf Astoria Caledonian, and nothing like as wildly quirky as The Witchery, or as sweetly intimate as Rock House. But it occupies a superb location in the heart of the New Town and does what it does with becoming modesty and grace. By Steve King
Porteous' Studio, Grassmarket
A secret hideaway in the heart of the Old Town
One of the best things to do in Edinburgh, sign up for a walking tour of the city and you’ll pry into many of the Old Town’s haunted nooks and crannies. But not, however, the cobbled alley off the Grassmarket that leads to the Porteous' Studio. A former 18th-century blacksmith’s workshop, it’s now a beautifully honed example of stealth architecture – a minimal bubble of texture and woodgrain and light amid the doughty medieval brickwork and cobbles. It’s the work of Izat Arundell, a local design practice run by a couple who wanted to do something a little different. There’s certainly nothing like Porteous' Studio anywhere else in Edinburgh. It’s like having your own hideaway just off the Mall in London, or a speakeasy boudoir next to the MoMA in New York. A single oak was used by a cabinet-maker friend to craft the table, sofa and worktops, as well as the slatted doors and screens that cast a pleasing interplay of shadows as the light streams in – bringing to mind komorebi, the word the Japanese have for when sunlight filters through the trees. Walls were cast from clay-based plaster, which seem to catch the light and make you want to run your hands over them; the limestone tiled floor is heated in the winter and spring. Simple shelves hold vintage ceramics, copies of Cereal and Kinfolk, and foodie books to stick your snout in. The bed is set below a set of stairs from the flat above, like an inverted sculpture by Rachel Whiteread. Considering the limited space, the bathroom is surprisingly large. This isn’t just another holiday home – the couple use the space for supper clubs and craft-makers showcases. At night, draw the floor-to-ceiling drapes across and cosy up, then walk out in the morning to see the castle high above. There are plenty of bars and restaurants nearby – Timberyard for Noma-inspired plates, and Sandy Bell’s around the other side of Greyfriars Kirkyard for live fiddles. But you may want to stay indoors and make your own entertainment.
Cheval The Edinburgh Grand
Family-friendly apartments on St Andrew Square
The huge oak doors to Cheval The Edinburgh Grand have reopened for the first time since the Royal Bank of Scotland closed them in 2007. And no expense has been spared in the neoclassical building's reinvention: a mass of chequered marble floor, wood panelling and the soaring ceilings so familiar to Edinburgh. But this isn't your average grand hotel, because inside are 50 family-friendly apartments in all shapes and sizes – the huge penthouse suite with wrap-around views of Edinburgh sleeps six, and all apartments come with sofa beds for extras. In the bathrooms, there are roll-top baths and framed RBS cheques from the 1950s hanging above the loos. And in the vaults, is a Hawksmoor steak restaurant – the city's first; and in the west wing, is a champagne bar that dishes up lobster rolls. With a great spot on St Andrew Square, The Grand is a self-catering option with all the best bits that a hotel has to offer too. Read our full review of The Edinburgh Grand.
Market Street Hotel
A contemporary Design Hotel right by the station
Step off the train at Waverley and you’ve practically already arrived at this new-build Scandi-meets-Scottish bolthole. Its rooftop reception and Champagne bar, and its best rooms, have an enviable panorama over to the Balmoral’s clock tower and the New Town beyond. It’s the Carlton Hotel group’s first opening in Edinburgh and the first member of the Design Hotels club anywhere in Scotland, which means aesthetic standards are high: rooms inspired by baronial Highland castles have wooden floors, granite walls and sliding oak shutters to block out sound and light, along with mid-mod furniture with a tartan twist, and impressive carved marble basins in the bathrooms. The free minibar full of Scottish drinks and snacks is a bonus. Friendly staff and a hearty Scottish breakfast (with tattie scone and haggis-and-beef sausage) provide the perfect start to a day exploring the Old Town, which rises up directly behind the hotel. There are Champagne cocktails and canapé-style small plates to welcome you home, too. By Sonya Barber
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Principal Hotel Charlotte Square
Colourful townhouse hotel with feelgood weekend flavour
We like the Principal hotels, a name that’s popped up over the years in several city centres, shaking down weary Victorian hotels and throwing open their public spaces to a youthful, cocktail-canny crowd. There are two in Edinburgh: one on George Street (see below) and this more recently unveiled property on Charlotte Square, site of the annual book festival. It’s a Penguin Classic of a hotel – part Arthur Conan Doyle, part Muriel Spark, and set-designed with real attention to detail: with prints, maps and memorabilia in the petrol-blue drawing rooms riffing on the golden age of travel – the kind of salon that explorers such as David Livingstone or Mungo Park would be at ease in, peering out onto the square from behind velvet drapes.
The Principal has a knack of inviting local food heroes in to run upscaled restaurants – in Manchester it was the crew behind Volta; here it’s Glasgow-based Ox and Finch, who raid the Middle Eastern spice larder and lay down a jumble of well-seasoned small plates that mainly work very well, although at weekends it can get so busy with a home crowd that some orders take a while to arrive. Persevere, though, for dishes such as slow-cooked lamb shoulder with Israeli couscous, the patty-like haggis-and-harissa kibbehs, and pomegranate sorbet with mint.
Polished bannisters lead upstairs to the bedrooms – go for one in the original townhouses for the fireplaces and high ceilings. All are designed in a well-upholstered Edwardian style, embellished with succulents, letterpress-style illustrations and record players – and if you’re lucky a copy of Ziggy Stardust.
The subterranean spa continues the foliage theme seen in the hotel’s central sky-lit ‘garden’ restaurant, with a living wall that's home to lavender, fern and eucalyptus. With a strong focus on results, facial treatments begin with a full assessment of your skincare hopes and hang-ups and culminate with a very deep cheek (and arm and leg) massage. Go float in the medium-sized up-lit pool and shine it out in the sauna and steam room afterwards. Concierge Gavin Stirling, meanwhile, will make sure everything’s hunky dory. Read our full review of The Principal London.
The Principal Edinburgh George Street
A historic stay
One of the newer hotels in Edinburgh is also its oldest, a riddle explained by the much-loved George Hotel's multi-million-pound relaunch in November 2016 as The Principal Edinburgh George Street (a sister hotel has also opened on Charlotte Square, see above). Oil millionaires, oligarchs, estate owners and establishment figures once partied at The George, but The Principal now aims to attract a younger celebrity crowd. And it's big enough for Beyoncé to make an entrance. The bedrooms are spacious and decorated in a creamy palette; a tuck box beside every bed is stocked with Tunnocks Caramel Wafers. In the Printing Press Bar and Kitchen there's moody lighting, dark-chocolate-coloured banquettes and a marble floor. And on the menu are dishes including smoked salmon and pickled fennel, horseradish and potato scones, and flat-iron steak sandwiches with a duck egg and wild-garlic mayo.
Andy SempleNorth Bridge Lofts & Lord Lyons Chambers
Self-catering apartments in the centre of town
Once there were printing presses in the basement and carrier pigeons in the loft of The Scotsman newspaper building. Now, there are 10 self-catering apartments - North Bridge Lofts - sandwiched into the former editorial offices. Interiors are seriously smart in white and grey and solid Victorian fire safes (which once housed staff wages and probably a few of the nation's secrets) have since been converted into walk-in showers. The lift stops at the third floor and so the fourth and fifth floor apartments (with better views across the city) can only be reached by stairs from there. Three bigger apartments are in the Lord Lyons Chambers at the same address complete with leather sofas, pendant lighting and herringbone-parquet flooring. Mere metres from Waverley station this is a great place to be based.
The Raeburn
A Georgian hotel in Stockbridge
A 15-minute stroll from the town centre, The Raeburn is a grand Georgian mansion in Stockbridge. Known as a restaurant with rooms, guests hang out in the bar sipping Negronis on tartan armchairs and buttoned Chesterfields. In the brasserie-style restaurant, steaks from the Buccleuch Estates are charred on a Josper grill, as are Borders lamb and west-coast scallops. Scottish weather permitting, eat outside on the lovely terrace. In the bedrooms, headboards are covered in woollen tweed but things have been brought up to date with hair-straighteners, huge plasma TVs and espresso machines, while marble bathrooms are kitted out with enormous rain showers.
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The Pavilion at Lamb's House
A house to rent by the sea
Tucked next to Lamb's House (built in 1610 at Leith Harbour for local merchant Andrew Lamb), The Pavilion is an 18th-century-style new-build. Kitted out in pretty shades of Farrow & Ball, it sleeps up to six and has a great set-up for anyone visiting the city for a few days. Up a spiral staircase is a homely sitting room and a fully equipped kitchen – although the arty neighbourhood of Leith is home to some of the best restaurants in Edinburgh too. Try Mimi's Bakehouse for morning pastries, and Pitt Street Market on weekends for the latest street-food trends.
Radisson Collection Hotel, Royal Mile Edinburgh
A fashion-forward hotel in Edinburgh's Old Town
Doormen wearing designer kilts and Nike Flyknit trainers are the only reminder that Radisson Collection Hotel, Royal Mile Edinburgh was once the Missoni. That, and its enviable central location by the Royal Mile. The recently refurbished rooms are fitted out with vibrantly coloured furniture, shaggy rugs, patchwork throws and velvet curtains. There are five penthouse suites and the best view of the nearby castle is from room 507. Living on the rooftop itself are more than 180,000 bees, whose honey is used in chef Mattia Camorani's Cucina restaurant - Brie infused with truffle honey, cod with honey-glazed carrots, and for pudding, a honey-and-milk sorbet.