We are continuing with planning for our first trip to Scotland in June / July 2009 (my first trip oversees!) and we're looking for input in two areas:
1. Recommendations on websites that can help identify reputable B&B's or Hotels. I was using arenbrown.com and sawdays.co.uk
2. Recommendations for mid-priced places to stay in Edinburgh.
Thank you.

what is mid-priced, please?

Yes, what is your budget ? Presumably if you are thinking Sawday's / Karen Brown type recommendations, you are thinking "charming" B&B rather than modestly priced chain hotel ?

The poshest B&Bs right in the New Town (the central Georgian area) are generally c.£50/60 per person per night. The further out you get, and the less desirable the area, the cheaper.

Having said that, another poster here has just booked the Adam Drysdale B&B for £60 pn for 2 - it's close to the city centre so that is a very good price. Here's the thread discussing it, which also contains other recommendations - http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35182336.

I wouldn't really recommend any websites for Edinburgh other than here & Tripadvisor. Look at Tripadvisor's top B&B recommendations then see how far out they are by entering the postcode into www.multimap.com.

Sheila & Caroline,
Thank you both for your replies. We're brand new to this, we purchased tickets, but we have yet to go through and make out a detailed budget for lodging, food etc, but we know we have to do this. To answer your questions - based on what I've read I was thinking in the 60 -70 £ per night (for two) would be reasonable. I'm not sure how compatible that is with my desire to stay near Princes Street or the Royal Mile.

Caroline, thank you for the trip adviser suggestion and the Drysdale B&B recommendation.

If you haven't done it yet, do a search here on the forum for "edinburgh" or "Scotland" or "United Kingdom". You'll find lots of threads with many answers to your questions. You can also click on my name, or Janice's or Caroline's name and you will find lots of threads on visiting Scotland, and places to stay in Edinburgh.

Here's a recent thread:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35176004

We stayed at Radisson SAS right on the Royal Mile. It is a hotel, not a B&B though, so if you are set on staying at a B&B, it would not work for you.

I thought the hotel was very nice and certainly very central to what we wanted to see while in Edinburgh. I aslo reserved it through the US Radisson chain and was able to get a AAA discount. Do not remember what the final price was but it was "reasonable" on the grand scheme of things.

Anna

I'm not sure I'd go so far as to say I recommend the Adam Drysdale place, as I personally know nothing about it - except that someone else recommended it in the thread I gave a link to and it is a very good price for being so close to the centre. Please see my other suggestions on that thread.

Caroline, have you heard anything about this place?

http://www.lemondehotel.co.uk/index.html

Hi Sheila. Yes, it's a trendy place in the old Standard Life offices at 16 George St (near the Dome) and is a "boutique hotel" with eating & drinking areas on the ground floor & a nightclub in the basement. I've only been to a Christmas knees-up in the basement & a ground floor bar area. The ground floor comprises various themed areas but is all quite open plan : when it first opened I read a review by someone who'd had a meal there, found it nothing special plus drinkers kept putting their pints on the diners' table !! I daresay the rooms are nice, though, although possibly noisy. Have you seen a good deal there or something ?

The new Apex Hotel on Waterloo Place is offering good deals for its first couple of months - I considered a night there for ourselves !

A friend of mine was asking about it. I'll tell him what you said. TVM

TVM ? What did you do before the Wales game, btw ?

You do not say if you are driving, busing, flying or training. If you are willing to take a 20 minute bus ride to Portobello, the Numberfive self catering apt. are wonderful. If driving, they have free parking. The bus stop is at the front door. Look at http://www.numberfive.com/.

John b.

Caroline, we ended up in Howies in Victoria Street, took a taxi to the game and walked back up to Thomsons in Morrison street afterwards. Boring but safe

Sheila - ah right. We went to the dogs again last night & are agreed it's officially our current favourite restaurant in Edinburgh ! Cheap too.

Re your recommendation, John - no disrespect, but I think I should point out that Portobello is not even in Edinburgh. And the bus journey can take a lot longer than 20 minutes at busy times. I wouldn't want to stay there myself.