I am taking a trip to Scotland in May/June and will be spending 3 nights in Glasgow, 8 on the West Highland Way and then 4 to close out the trip in Edinburgh.
I have stayed in vacation rentals / apartments, with the help of fodorites, in Italy, Croatia, and Paris and I have always had good luck. Does anyone know any apartments / B&B's in Edinburgh that they would recommend, maybe that they have rented before or know about? Also, what is the best location for a 3-4 night (no car), don't mind walking, close to restaurants, pubs, and attractions?

My wife and I are 30 somethings, and the most important thing about an apartment is the location. Cleanliness is close second though. We don't need much in the apartment, really just a bed and bath, as we probably won't spend much time there. Our range is probably up to 100 sterling, the less the better.

Any help would be appreciated.

I should mention that I am actively looking and searched this forum as well as others, and craigslist, and vrbo. I will probably have a specific few I like shortly after I get some responses to inquiries I have made. A personal recommendation is always better than what is on the website.

There are a few which continually get good reviews on the fodors forum and also on tripadvisor
These include the

Apartment By Castle http://www.abc-edinburgh.co.uk
Their reviews are shown
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev..._Scotland.html

Slightly further away from the castle is the
Knight Residence www.theknightresidence.co.uk
Their reviews are shown
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev..._Scotland.html

The Holyrood Aparthotel
www.holyroodaparthotel.com and their reviews are shown
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev..._Scotland.html

If you are only looking for a one bedroom apartment, then Fountain Court Apartments have a number of one bedroom apartments in Morrison Street
www.fountaincourtapartments.com and their reviews are
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev..._Scotland.html
Unfortunately the reviews are not as good as the others above but they should be cheaper.

Thanks for the response, we are only looking for a one bedroom. I'll follow up with you links.

Have you looked at www.slowtrav.com?

You didn't ask but I can recommend a very nice apartment in Glasgow for 3 nights minimum. It's here: http://dowanhill.tripod.com/queensgateapartment/. 70 GBP per night. We really liked the location in the West End. The same owners have other options also. (See my review on Slow Travel.)

Thanks for the Glasgow option, I haven't even started working on Glasgow yet, currently its just Edinburgh and the nights on the trek that I am working on. Once I get to know the neighborhoods of Glasgow a bit better, I'll start looking for a place. What is the best location to be close the attractions but also a quintessential neighborhood? Preferably within walking distance.

I highly recommend the Knights Residence (#1 on Trip Advisor). We stayed there in June in a two bedroom (they do have one bedroom ones), and it was close to everything in Old Town. What can't be beat here though is the service, outstanding.

I have a full review on TripAdvisor (username AmelieCleveland)

We booked a great 2-bedroom/2bath apt in Edinburgh, it is about 2 blocks north from Princes Street.

The apartment looked exactly like the pictures on the Internet . . . one room had a big bed and bath; the other had twin beds, a fireplace, and a bath had a sink and glassed in shower but the toilet and another sink was in the hall. Both bedrooms had TVs, as well as a large TV in the living room. The living room had comfy leather sofa and two leather chairs . . . lots of CDs, DVDs to watch on TV.

The kitchen was small but had everything we needed, including a washer/dryer combination. The small refrigerator didn’t have a freezer . . . when we wanted ice, we sent our beautiful daughter to the pub next door . . . voilá . . . ice!

The apartment was very quiet . . . this was definitely a great location and a great deal.

Here's the info:
37a Thistle St, 2f2
Booked w/Glenn Ford
Wild Thyme, 3 The Cross, Pencaitland
Ph: 44(0)1875-341490
www.edinburgh-selfcatering.co.uk

We really lucked out with this apt!

Sandy (in Denton)

Re: the apartment in Glasgow, it's in a residential neighborhood a block or two from Byres Road and the subway stop for getting downtown. (Actually it's in a Victorian terrace house with Arts & Crafts details.) The West End contains the university, the Kelvingrove and Hunterian Museums, and the Botanical Gardens. Byres Road has a number of good restaurants as well as a selection of shops including a supermarket and a M&S Simply Food (prepared meals). This location was ideal for us, much preferable to a hotel in the city center.

Thank you for all your responses. I have been contacting the places you listed. So far, this is leading. Has anyone stayed here or can they tell me if its a good location?
http://www.stay-in-edinburgh.com/index.html

There are a few apartments in this area as the Grassmarket is a great place for visitors who enjoy a busy / lively area. It is very close to the Old Town attractions and is a popular area for its night life, with many late opening bars ( open till about 5a.m). It is a popular student haunt so will be noisy. There are many good cafes, bars and restaurants so you will have a good choice of places to eat.

Since you're only in Glasgow for 3 days, you may not take an apartment and may opt for a hotel or a b&b. Let me save you the trouble, DO NOT stay at the Alamo Guest House. Our experience there was terrible. The location was great, across from Kelvingrove gallery, however, there is a nice little hotel around the corner in the same area called the Sandyford (includes full hot scottish breakfast), I wished every second that we were there that we had picked it, everytime we walked by I was muttering grrrrrrrr. This location is great for Glasgow in the trendy West End.
http://www.sandyfordhotelglasgow.com/

PS* Don't know if you've ever been to Glasgow, but we LOVED it and would go back soon if it weren't for the weak dollar. We spent 7 days there and had a wonderful time.

Here is an excerpt from my travelogue about the Alamo Guest House....

We checked into the B&B and apparently I misread the description. I thought it said “quiet room overlooking garden” but I must have misread the description since this is clearly “quiet, dark, dungeon-like room overlooking would be garden being used for trash can storage”. The place is really dark since it’s below ground level. I’m a big fan of light, I like lots of light, and more light than necessary or prudent. This has nooooooooo light and every lamp in here has a 40 watt bulb. It’s got that great “garden view” window, but it never sees sun since it’s in a courtyard with 3 stories above it. We have to walk down a flight of stairs to the lower level which looks like the red-headed step-child’s quarters. Don’t get me wrong, the room is beautiful, really beautiful, The furnishings were nice, very pretty antiques in good condition, a nice armoir, marble topped dressors and nightstands, nice big tv and so on. However, the bedding is that damn “European size” where your feet hang out from the bottom of the comforter if you’re over 5’2”. The bed is so small, it’s a double, that we are thrashing and kicking each other all night.

I was consoled because I thought, oh well, everything will be better in the morning when we get to have our delicious Scottish breakfast of eggs, bacon, potato scones, grilled tomatoes, haggis, baked beans, toast, smoked haddock etc. So despite the dark, and the cold feet at night, I was happy to get up the next morning and go into the beautiful Victorian dining room with giant bay windows and get the day started. There was only one problem. I guess I should have clarified that the complimentary “hot breakfast” was indeed a Scottish breakfast and not just hot crap. I would have never thought to ask this, since in my mind, any self respecting B&B owner in Glasgow , Scotland , the most seemingly Scottish place in the entire country, would have a Scottish breakfast. Not this place. This was a Kirkland breakfast. The only hot things were some very strange looking eggs which likely came out of a carton labeled “egg food product” and some warmed croissants from a palette labeled Kirkland i.e. Costco. They have freaking Costco here? Can we never escape the big box? The rest of their “amazing” breakfast was cold canned fruit, sugary cereals, packaged cheese, and other foods so devoid of nutritional value that you’d surely find them at the Best Western continental breakfast buffet. AAAARRRRGGGH, I was so pissed and not drunk pissed, but just regular pissed. Breakfast in Scotland is a tourist attraction in and of itself; there are entire travel blogs devoted to it! I was really looking forward to it, not to mention that I factored one free meal into the budget. So now I’ve been tortured walking down the street seeing hotels that actually paint it on the side of the building that they offer a “full Scottish breakfast”. The lady who’s running this place for the owners while they are on holiday hates us I’m sure. She’s very sweet but I’m sure she’s getting the drift that I’m not happy. I mean what do they think, that they can put someone in a dungeon, albeit a vintage furnished dungeon, and feed them Costco food and they won’t be upset???? Additionally, I keep putting the dirty towels in a pile on the floor, on the dirty floor mind you, and the maid keeps hanging them back up. I finally had to get a piece of paper and write "please replace towels" and lay it over the pile which I put back on the floor. I hate this place, I can't wait to leave. It's a shame since the area is so lovely. Damn.

I will make sure to skip the Alamo. I have finished booking all the stops on the WHW and also have a spot in Edinburgh. Now for Glasgow, where is the best hotel location for touring all the sites? Any recommendations for guest houses or small hotels would be appreciated.

I believe the West End/Kelvingrove Park area is the best for touring the city. It's the most posh part of Glasgow and you can reach all the sights very easily from there.

http://www.glasgowwestend.co.uk/

http://www.glasgowguide.co.uk/images_ashton_lane.html

Public transportation in Glasgow is fantastic, reliable and frequent. I don't remember waiting more than a few minutes for a bus. There are wonderful restaurants in the West End all within walking distance of the park area. Also, Ashton Lane is a really hip strip of pubs and upscale restaurants near the University some quite pricey though. However, I must say, for all the hype, the Ubiquitous Chip was not worth the money. Here are two guides to the Byres/Ashton lane area:

http://www.myglasgow.org/glasgow/res...byres_road.htm

http://www.glasgowguide.co.uk/images_ashton_lane.html

A few favorites in the West End:

Ashoka- Indian http://www.harlequinrestaurants.com/...a_west_end.php

The Drawing Room- Scottish
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm...ndID=184067931

Stravaigin (Gibson St) - Scottish
http://www.stravaigin.com/gibstreetmenus.htm

DO NOT be fooled into eating at the Willow Tea Room on Sauchiehall St, the food is disgusting and that's putting it mildly. Just go have tea and a scone if you really want to see the place. Ugh, I can't even tell you how bad the food is. Even the Frommer's guide said the food is bad!

I just love, love, love Glasgow, it's one of my favorite cities! Feel free to email me if you want help planning that part of the trip!

Also, the Sandyford like I posted earlier, good price with free breakfast. The URL is in the earlier post.