goddesstogo

My SO is going to be attending a conference to be held at the Edinburgh Conference Centre, Heriot-Watt University, Riccarton, Edinburgh, in August and I'm tagging along.

We haven't been to Edinburgh for about 40 years so our knowledge of the city is pretty much nil. There are accommodations at the conference centre but they all (from the photos) seem to be student rooms with single beds.

Can you recommend clean, nice and reasonably priced hotels either within a walk or short bus ride to the conference (for him) or to the city centre (for me).

I can't really say what I mean by 'reasonably priced' because I don't know what to expect price-wise, but at the lower end I'd be perfectly happy with something similar to a Hilton Garden Inn or Holiday Inn in North America.

Thanks in advance for your recs.
gtg

flpab

http://www.edinburghfestivalcity.com...ional-festival

You might take what they offer as accommodations go fast and are pricey in August.

goddesstogo

I know, flpab, I'm a little concerned about that. I've sent an email into the conference centre as well as posting here.

Any hotel ideas for me?

And thanks for posting the festival info. I'm hoping we can get to do some of that.

Gardyloo

It's pretty close to the airport, so most airport-area hotels would work, and would likely be cheaper than those in central Edinburgh. The airport Hilton, for example, is walkable from the terminal and from the airport tram station (tram to the central part of town) and I'd imagine it's a cheap cab ride to the conference venue.

flpab

The tram runs from the airport now so that is a big plus. I was trying to see what transportation options you had from the conference center.

How many days? Maybe check apartments also.

goddesstogo

Thanks, Gardyloo. When you say the airport Hilton is walkable from the terminal, do you mean from the airport terminal? We'll be coming from London and I don't know yet if we'll be taking the train from London or flying.

(Which leads me to another question: How long is the train trip from London to Edinburgh?)

And what do people think about the Premier Inn (I know nothing about it but it seems very reasonable and gets OK reviews.)

goddesstogo

The conference itself is three days but we'll likely be in Edinburgh for 5 or 6 days.

flpab

I like Premier Inns and Travelodge in Edinburgh. Nothing fancy, basic rooms.

Gardyloo

Yes, the airport terminal. The tram from EDI to central Edinburgh takes around half an hour.

The train from London to Edinburgh takes between 4 and 5 hours depending on stops.

Premier Inns are decent budget-class places, pretty minimal but okay. I'd be cautious about those in suburban areas; most UK airport-area hotels don't have free shuttles to the airport, so you'd have to take a cab in order to go anywhere.

It may not matter to you, but one advantage of staying out by the airport is that if you wanted to get a car and explore some of the countryside, it's super easy since you can pick up and leave the car at the airport, most airport area hotels have free parking, and at the airport you're right at the nexus of various roads out of town - the Forth Road bridge and the M90 to Fife and the central Highlands, M8 to Glasgow, M9 to Stirling, and the Edinburgh bypass/ring road connecting to the A1 for the east coast.

janisj

You very likely won't find reasonable accommodations in the city centre at this late date. To give you an idea -- last August I stayed in a very central but decidedly down market travelodge which I can usually get for about £45 a night was <B>£177</B>. And that was booked 6 months ahead.

August in Edinburgh is a special case. As much as it pains me to say so -- a hotel at the airport is most likely your best bet. The tram is great for getting into the city

goddesstogo

You're all great.

A Premier Inn or TravelLodge is a perfectly fine level of accommodation for us.

Since I'm more concerned about my SO getting to the conference (which has scheduled stuff) than I am about myself getting to the city (unscheduled stuff), I think I'll look at the airport hotels.

My quickly downloaded google map doesn't seem to show the airport (although it does show golf course which, I guess, says something about priorities! the conference centre is near Barberton golf course). BUT I believe you're saying that the Edinburgh Conference Centre is fairly close to the airport, right?

So a potential plan:
If we fly to L from E, we could stay at a reasonably priced airport hotel. SO could take public transportation or a cab to the conference and I could take public transportation into the city. Is all that correct?

And what about if we take the train from L to E? Is it a horrendous cab ride to an airport hotel? The airport hotel is a good idea since we'll be flying home out of E.

Re renting a car and exploring the countryside, I'd love to do it but it will have to wait till another visit. This time I'd rather do the city, especially since it's festival time. My SO will be pretty much locked into the conference for three days so his opportunity for exploring the city will be limited.

janisj

The conf center is about 3 or 4 miles from the airport so really easy cab ride but won't be cheap doing a round trip daily.

It is on the grounds of the Heriot-Watt University.

goddesstogo

"The conf center is about 3 or 4 miles from the airport so really easy cab ride but won't be cheap doing a round trip daily."

I don't see that we have much choice about that unless we stay right at the conference centre but then it's me that's going to have to get to the tram to get into the city.

I'm going to wait till I hear from the conference centre, hopefully tomorrow, to see what they can offer us. I've taken a peek at the airport hotels on expedia just to get a general idea of prices and they're not that cheap anyway. I expect I can get a better rate if I deal with the hotels directly (seniors rate, etc), so I'll look into that too.

What do people think of the Ibis chain?

janisj

Actually -- if you stay on the campus there is reasonable bus service into central Edinburgh . . . but it is pretty far out so the bus rides would be lengthy

http://www.hw.ac.uk/student-life/edi...ing-around.htm

Ibis is fine --

dotheboyshall

There's a Novotel and a Premier Inn at Edinburgh Park which is on the tram line both to the airport and central Edinburgh

You could also consider the Ibis Budget at the Gyle which is also on the tram route to airport and central Edinburgh

All of them are an easy taxi ride to HW.

BUT what sort of idiot schedules a conference in Edinburgh in August? Makes you wonder how badly everything else about it is.

goddesstogo

"BUT what sort of idiot schedules a conference in Edinburgh in August?"

It's a conference centre. I would guess they have conferences year round and it wouldn't be financially feasible for them to close down for the whole month of August.

I'll check out all hotels suggested, thanks. I'd rather I do the longer daily commute than my SO.

We had exactly this same situation in Korea. We stayed at the conference centre which was convenient for my SO but for me it was a cab ride to the train station in Suwon and then a longish train ride into Seoul. It was OK though. It was actually interesting. But the conference centre in Suwon at least had huge double rooms. If we can get a double at EICC, I'm going to snap it up.

janisj

>>BUT what sort of idiot schedules a conference in Edinburgh in August?<<

Agree 100+%

>>It's a conference centre. I would guess they have conferences year round and it wouldn't be financially feasible for them to close down for the whole month of August. <<

They very likely would make a fortune renting out the student housing to Festival/Tattoo goers. August crowds are (no exaggeration) like New Orleans over Mardi Gras or Superbowl weekend in the host city.. . . only it lasts a whole month, not just a few days. Who ever organized this probably had no idea.

goddesstogo

Maybe the conference planners figured they'd get more attendees because of the festival. During festival time, attendees get a double bang for their travel buck. For example, I'd be happy to go to a conference in NYC any time of the year, but at Christmas? For sure!

Either people will just come for the conference and leave or, like us, they'll stay on for a few festival days. And remember, the conference site isn't in the centre of the city, so if attendees don't want to participate in the festival, they're safely removed from it.

I'm not afraid of cities or crowds so once I have a hotel booked, I'm fine with what's going on around me. I've been to NOLA during Mardi Gras and spent New Years Eve in Jackson Square. If it's like that, I can deal with it. In fact, it may make my three days on my own more interesting!

janisj

Oh -- it is great -- but just a VERY <B>VERY</B> expensive time to visit the city. Surprised that a conference not connected to the Festivals (multiple festivals) or Tattoo would attempt it then.

The same conference in say June would save everyone (or their employers) a fortune. Plus the just finding accommodations . . .

goddesstogo

I would guess that most attendees have a conference budget (as my SO does), so for the Edinburgh part of this trip we're only paying for my airfare. Whatever we do before (London) is our own cost.

I think the way it goes is that you have a certain budget to attend conferences. If your budget allows you to go two conferences during the year and one is in Raleigh, NC, and one is in Burlington, VT, that's what you can spend that money on. Or you can go to the more expensive conference in Edinburgh but only that one.

The employer would be spending the same amount and the attendee gets to choose where s/he wants to present their paper. Some of the international conferences just happen to be in the more expensive places.

For this one, maybe June just wasn't an option. Or maybe, as I've said above, the planners figured the festival would be a great draw. For me, it works out great.