Can anyone give a personal recommendation on staying overnight in a castle in/near Edinburgh? I'm overwhelmed by the internet choices, and I've read some guide books as well. We'll be there in mid-March for a couple of days. Any advice would be appreciated. Many of the ones I've checked are quite pricey ($700 USD). Guess I want it all-charm, authenticity (or near it)but not pay a fortune. I can probably do as much as $500 per night, but that's it.

Already asked - //www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessages.jsp?fid=2&tid=34911927&numrespo nses=7&start=0

Alan Row has brought up a previous similar question showing the varying suggestions. Most of the Castles which provide accommodation are located outwith Edinburgh and for this reason I would suggest that if you intend spending a lot of time staying in a castle then the likes of Borthwick Castle / Dalhousie Castle would be ideal. however if you intend using it for overnight accommodation and spending quite a bit of time siteseeing in Edinburgh city centre during your 2 days then why not think about staying in Edinburgh somewhere near the castle / with a castle view or theme. There are a number of hotels / apartments etc which will give you that choice and they should be well within your budget, the exceptions would be the Balmoral Hotel and Witchery by the Castle both of which are very expensive. With the Balmoral you would have to request a room with a castle view. The Witchery is themed apartments and although they are located near the castle I doubt if they have full castle views.
For castle views then I would suggest the Apartment By Castle - located immediately beside Edinburgh Castle, The Apex Hotel or the Castle Apartment both in the Grassmarket but these can be very noisy overnight as there are numerous late night opening bars / clubs there. To assist you with a decision have a look at the reviews from others who have previously stayed at these or other accommodations on the tripadvisor.com website. With that in mind I would tend to avoid Castle Apartments - as they continue to receive poor reviews.
If staying at any of the castles just outwith Edinburgh then please check out the transport links to that accommodation as these may require to be accessed by car / taxi which could be expensive to hire or they may involve a longish walk from the local bus stops.

I forget how popular this message board is. I had to check through 194 posts before coming to mine that I wrote just yesterday! Anyway, thanks for the helpful responses alanRow and meks. We will not have our own transportation, so I think I'll have to rethink this castle thing.

schoolmarm: You don't have to scroll back through all the threads to find your posts - simply click on your name.

schoolmarm, as you do not have your own transport then I would suggest staying somewhere in Edinburgh City Centre and getting a full castle view.
The Old Town is probably a better area if you want to walk to the majority of attractions and places of interest or the New Town with its Georgian buildings may be of interest if you are interested in buildings, however it is a fair walk uphill to the likes of Edinburgh Castle / Royal Mile.

I don't think it qualifies as a castle - more of a stately home - but Prestonfield house is one possibility:

http://www.prestonfield.com/welcome.htm

It looks like it might (just) fit your budget. And while it's not slap bang in the city centre, it's not out of town either.

I have read about Prestonfield and it sounds wonderful. Janisj-thanks for the tip on retrieving messages. Everyone has been quite helpful. I appreciate your thoughtful suggestions.