LOTRHP

Hi Fodorites,
I am hoping for your recommendations on some solid hotels in Edinburgh....

I am planning on going in the Summer to Scotland(yup the plans are starting already), and would really appreciate your advice.

Please let me know what area is best to stay in.
Is it best to stay in old town, or not necessary?

I am looking for a well located hotel that is no more than $300 per night (and that's pushing it as I'd prefer to spend only $200)

Please let me know what places, and part of Edinburgh you most recommend to stay in, and where to stay away from.

Thanks for your valuable insight.

sheila

The town is small and very walkable. YOur rate is very reasonable. Can you tell me what you look for in a hotel and I'll think which one might be suitable.

Ackislander

One caution is that during the Festival (roughly August), it is very difficult to find lodging at many price levels unless you book soon.

meks

I personally would prefer to stay in the Old Town for a short visit, as it is within walking distance of the majority of places of interest / attractions etc. Have a look at www.edinburgh-royalmile.com
as that will give you some ideas as to accommodation and attraction locations etc.

You can also look at previous guests reviews on www.tripadvisor.com for any accommodation which you feel suits your budget / requirements. You will find that some accommodation providers continually give good service and get excellent five star reviews whilst others may fluctuate from excellent to very poor and in these cases you will not know until you arrive what type of service / room you will receive.

traveller1959

We stayed at the Balmoral for a very good rate and found it quite good. The location is excellent because it is right on the interface of Old Town and New Town. Both areas are in easy walking distance.

LOTRHP

Hello, thank you for replying.
I've been using tripadvisor but it's been kind of hard to choose a place. Some of the reviews are rather mixed for the hotels I looked at.

Would love to combine your great recommendations with what I've seen.

What I look for in a hotel--good price, nice service, very clean, good location, prefer a boutique over a chain like a Marriot, charming, safe.


Thanks for your interest and help.

jkbritt

Why not look into a self-catering apt. if you are staying a week or so. Cheaper than a hotel and ability to fix your own meals, saving a bundle in the two for 1 problem.
We stayed at the numberfive.com self catering in Portobello. A single can be as little at 90 pounds per WEEK. It is a 20 minute drive to town by bus and the ticket is around 2.30 pounds with return. Parking is free as opposed to in town in Edinburgh. You can easily pay 20 pounds a day for parking in Edinburgh. Bus is much cheaper.

janisj

If one wants to rent a flat there are many available w/o staying out in Portobello. There are lots of holiday flats in central Edinburgh - even right at the foot of the castle, and many rent for less than a week.

LOTRUP: You say "I" several times - does that mean you are traveling solo? if so - flats won't generally pencil out. They can be a great bargain if there are 2 or more of you though.

Your budget is pretty generous for a single - but do clarify if you are talking single or double/twin.

sheila

YOu can gget great bargains at the Balmoral, Scpotsman or the Cally (Caledonian) but generally the summer and epecially the Festival, you won't.

Personally I like the Crown Plaza on the High Street if someone else is paying. If I'm paying myself, and I fancy splashing out then I use the Apex in the Grassmarket. If I'm skint I use the Travle Lodge in the Morrison Street Link, or the Holiday Inn Express at the top of Leith Walk.

Having NOT been a fan of the George for some time, the experience of their north facing top floor rooms was well worth a repeat.

None of these are boutique hotels. In Edinburgh, their rack rates are just too dear.

GSteed

We visited a tourist information office near the main rr station. They found us a hotel a bit out. Really great place...I asked the bartender about scotch and we got a three hour tasting session. Conclusion, it was hard to tell the difference between 25 year old scotch and 40 year old scotch. How about the hotel over the train station...

WillTravel

I stayed in much more modest accommodation, but I did look longingly at the Radisson SAS. This has an extremely convenient location on High Street, and the windows are triple-glazed, so perhaps that is sufficent to prevent being bothered by noise. I took a look around and it seems very pleasant, although I did not see any rooms.

I do hope you get a chance to be in Edinburgh during the festival.

Personally I would recommend staying in Old Town, but given how compact Edinburgh is, New Town should be fine too.

BKP

We stayed at the Radisson on the Royal Mile and really enjoyed it. It is more of a chain than a boutique but there were nice touches that made us feel we weren't staying in a cookie cutter hotel. The location cannot be beat, we actually had a view of the Castle from our room. Although our street also overlooked an alley with a nightclub we were never bothered by the noise. My biggest complaint (besides the scrambled eggs) was the pillows were of a very poor quality. I saw that if we had upgraded our room to business class we would have been given nicer pillows. That did irk me a bit. The room wouldn't have changed, no difference in size, but I could have paid extra for pillows! I thought it was sort of like they admitted that their regular pillows were lacking. I cannot comment on the price because my husband takes care of that side of our travel. Enjoy Edinburgh!

sheila

Ooops. The Crown Plaza IS the Radisson SAS;(