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Edinburgh hotel and sight seeing suggestions

Edinburgh hotel and sight seeing suggestions

Old Dec 27th, 2003, 04:59 PM
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Edinburgh hotel and sight seeing suggestions

Six of us (my husband, myself, son and daughter-in-law, other son and daughter, all adults) will be in Edinburgh in June 2004 for three nights. We need suggestions for sightseeing and hotel recommendations.
We can not afford the Balmoral or that level of expense, we hope to stay near the major attractions without taxi rides if possible. This will be our first trip so I do not have an accurate idea of distances and locations there. So far we have determined we want to see the castle, the museum, some pubs, some shopping and what else? We are spending five days touring the Highlands and Skye before we arrive in Edinburgh, so we want to spend the three days in Edinburgh with no side trips.

My husband is 70 and I am 67. We are healthy but not terribly active. We garden, walk for exercise but do not jog or play sports to give you an idea of our level of activity. We are increasing our walking and strength training in preparation for the trip, but at times my ankles bother me if I overdo. (Probably more than you want to know, but I want to give an accurate picture so you can make suggestions). Thanks for you help.
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Old Dec 27th, 2003, 05:46 PM
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The oldest, historic section of Edinburgh is very hilly/steep so you may want to take a cab up to the castle to begin and than walk down the Royal Mile to Holyroodhouse at the other end. The rest of Edinburgh is fairly flat and less challenging. Cannot comment on hotels since my last visit was 7/8 years ago.

Hope this helps!
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Old Dec 27th, 2003, 06:34 PM
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I have been to Edinburgh scores of times and have yet to ever take a taxi. The old city is steep IF you walk up the Royal Mile -- but it is all down hill if you walk down the Royal Mile. The New town is basically flat. The roads do go uphill slightly from north (the firth) to south the city center).

One hint to avoid the climb from Princes street up to the castle and top of the Royal Mile: The hop-on-hop-off bus tour that starts from Waverly bridge is a terrific way to acclimate yourselves to the city - plus you can ride it up too the castle, get off, walk downn the Royal mile (with a slight detour over to the museum) and after visiting Holyrood at the bottom of the royal Mile, simply hop on another bus and it willl take you around to the New Town. You can get off any time you want to visit something and then get on another one to continue the tour.

The bus service in Edinburgh is excellent, so if you cannot afford one of the posh city centre hotels don't worry. Most all B&Bs will be on a convenient bus route.

Here are a few B&Bs to get you started:

Aaron Guest House 011-44-131-2296459 Very nice, close-in B&B with private parking. 16 Hartington gardens

Castleview [email protected] ph: 011-44-131-2265784 Probably the BEST located B&B in Edinburgh. Walking distance to everything and great view of the Castle. Downside ? it is three floors up and there is no elevator. £25-£40

Six Mary?s Place [email protected] 011-44-131-3328965 Lovely Georgian house £30+

The Town House 011-44-131-2291985 Victorian house with parking £30+

Highfield House [email protected] 011-44-1506-881489 £25+ Old country house ten miles west of Edinburgh. Five acres of gardens including a tennis court
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Old Dec 28th, 2003, 01:29 AM
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Janin

There are a couple of econcomy traveller hotels in eth City Centre you may also like to consider. For your purposes, I'd suggest the Premier Lodge in the Grassmarket or the Travel Inn in Morrison Street. They come in about £45 per night per person.

I have posted so much stuff about Edinburgh on here, it's boring to repeat it, but if you send me an email I'll send you the stuff back saved in a Word document.

Warning- I'm heading for the hills this afternoon and won't be back till the 4th.
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Old Dec 28th, 2003, 07:59 PM
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I just recently booked the Old Waverley Hotel right on Princess Street online at a special internet rate of 94 GBP for 2 adults including breakfast and VAT for May 2004. For June, looks like the special internet rate will be 100 GBP. Great location, right in the middle of everything.

Check out the website for Paramount Hotels and select Edinburgh.

http://www.paramount-hotels.co.uk/main
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Old Dec 28th, 2003, 08:01 PM
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Oh, forgot to mention, that if you are taking the train to Edinburgh, the Old Waverley HOtel is right across the street from Waverley Station.
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Old Dec 28th, 2003, 08:56 PM
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We used the local tourist office when we arrived to book a room. They listed locations and prices. We chose a hotel and they booked it for us as well as calling a taxi!
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Old Dec 29th, 2003, 05:12 AM
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I highly recommend the Kildonan Lodge Hotel in Edinburgh. Check out their website. For Christmas of 1998 my whole family of 14, ranging from parents (70's), siblings and spouses (40-50's)and kids from young adults to children, stayed there. The couple who ran it were so accomodating. They arranged it so that my parents stayed on the first floor and that the teenage boys could share a room to lessen the expense. They fixed an early breakfast one morning and held a late breakfast for us another day. Staying there is still one of my favorite memories. It is located two miles from the City centre on the main street and buses run every few minutes straight there as well as cabs pass by very often.
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Old Dec 29th, 2003, 08:26 AM
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Last April my mom & I stayed at the Hotel Ibis in Edinburgh & plan to return there when we go back in 2004. Our twin room was 50 GPB per night, a price you can't beat anywhere in town. It's a modern hotel right smack on the Royal Mile and the South Bridge. Within easy walking distance are all the Royal Mile attractions, the train station, Princes Street, sightseeing buses & the New Town (though as others have mentioned, Edinburgh is a hilly town). Public buses are just a few steps away from the hotel's door. Right next door is the Tron Kirk, now used as a visitor center and they've also discovered medieval buildings buried beneath it. The Ibis has only been open a few years having been converted from a warehouse, and for the 50 pound price you get a decent sized room and private bathroom, but breakfast is extra. For the location & price I don't think it can be beat.
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Old Dec 29th, 2003, 08:57 AM
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Are the prices for hotels and food cheaper in Edinburgh than London?

Janis also listed some B&Bs and I've not seen that done for London.
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Old Dec 29th, 2003, 11:18 AM
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Edinburgh prices tend to be quite seasonal. Though I'm normally a B&B person, I'm booking one night in June at the Ibis for convenience's sake (arriving at night after a long day's travel from Orkney, and it's a short walk from Waverley). In June a double there is 70 pounds w/o breakfast, and I could definitely get a decent B&B for that price or less.
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Old Jan 2nd, 2004, 05:43 PM
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Thanks for your replies. We finally decided on the Frederick. It seems to be a good location and they have an elevator, which is important if the rooms are on upper floor.(arthritic knees) We have never been to Scotland before so we are using advice from the forum, guide books, the internet, "by guess and by gosh" and keeping our fingers crossed. We are celebrating my husband's 70th birthday and my daughter's 40th birthday. We will arrive in Scotland on my 67th birthday. One special dinner for all three events. Any suggestions?
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