Hotels in Edinburgh
 

Hi,

Narrowing down our search for a hotel for three nights in Edinburgh in August.

What do you think.... The George - Roxburghe or Apex International ?

We were hoping for the Scotsman or Balmoral but they are booked - no surprise given the time of year.

Thanks !

ttt

The order in which I would choose from those (and this reflects personal preference)is Apex, Roxburgh, George

I do not know what you are talking about. So I have checked, and The Scotsman is available for the entire month of August, and I would imagine the Balmoral is also available for your dates which are only three nights out of the thirty one in August.

Look again!

Thanks. Sheila I was hoping you would reply ! I've been following your Scotland advice and it's terrific.

I did check the Scotsman and it is indeed booked. As it turns out the Balmoral is s not booked - but more money than we want to spend.

Appreciate all your advice.

Carolyn

Go to www.lhw.com and you will find that you can have a room at the Scotsman for the entire month of August. Although I always feel prices for Edinburgh are even more than deluxe properties in London which is quite wrong.

Thanks. This is good information. I was merely checking the hotel website and expedia.

Lesson learned :)

Has anyone stayed at Number 10 apartments in Edinburgh ?

Is is too far out of the way ?

Appreciate your feedback.

Thanks

I would rank your original 3 in the same order as Sheila.

I hadn't previously heard of No. 10 but it's on the fringes of the New Town & Stockbridge - more Stockbridge really. Stockbridge is a very nice, village-y kind of place; but you'd have a 10-15 minute walk uphill to the centre of town. Downhill at the end of the day, of course !

Thank you Caroline. I appreciate your thoughts on this. I also was wondering about the walk and though we do enjoy a nice stroll just not sure that makes a lot of sense. Is it safe to walk around the outskirts of the city at night ?

I would greatly appreciate yours and Sheila's advice... It seems as though comments on tripadvisor are mixed for both the Apex International and the Roxburghe. The hotel that gets top marks is the Balmoral. Which at this point does have rooms and may be our best option.

Thanks again. I am really glad you responded as you have helped so many would be Scotland travelers on this site.

Carolyn

As a former Stockaree resident I'd hesitate to say No. 10 is in Stockbridge - maybe the "silk stocking fringe" a la Danube Street (nudge nudge wink wink.) Looks nice from its (hard-to-find BTW) website, www.hotelnumberten.com. Not encouraging, though, that the hotel's site refers to it being in walking distance from "Princess Street."

Thanks. It sound as though it's too far out of the way. We'll keep looking.

Carolyn

If you're thinking that No. 10 is too far out of the way, I believe that is not true.

Its neighborhood is lovely, very accessible to all the attractions in central Edinburgh, and there's excellent bus service on several streets a few yards from the hotel. It's more a residential than a commercial area.

It will benefit from less congestion and traffic noise than the George or Roxburghe, although certianly those are nice places. I wouldn't discount the northern edge of the New Town as a great location for staying in Edinburgh.

There are some pretty decent pubs within stagger range too, BTW.

It's not "out of the way" and is actually closer to the city center than all those hotels on the south side. The "apartments" look very nice,although I'd like a mat of some kind beside the bed. It's not a "hotel" though, they are apartments, but without kitchens or a dining room as far as I could see. I'm not sure what you do about eating.

Gardyloo, I haven't heard "Stockaree" for a long time. I grew up in the Orchard Road area. Wasn't it No. 17 Danube Street?

Thanks for your help. The maps certainly can be deceiving so knowing that it's not too out of the way helps.

The Number 10 website mentions a bar and restaurant but does not show a picture so I'm not sure what that's all about.

I like the look of Number 10 and the rooms seem spacious. Reviews on trip advisor are favorable as well.

Too many decisions !

Carolyn

PS - Gardyloo - stagger distance is always a consideration...

<i>Wasn't it No. 17 Danube Street?</i>

How would I know? ;)

Hey; if you can afford the Balmoral it's a no-brainer!!

Gardyloo, LOL!

ckyle, Stockbridge is not exactly &quot;the outskirts of the city&quot; - it's only just outside the very centre. Anywhere that you are likely to be (i.e. anywhere other thabn a few housing schemes on the real outskirts) is safe to walk round at night. A few areas like Lothian Road may seem quite rowdy with lots of drunk young people roaming round at night, mainly at the weekend, but it's all perfectly safe.

Caroline,

Thanks. I love cities and walking around - but it's always good to know areas to avoid.

We are looking at the either the Balmoral or the Glass House ( my husband likes the look ). Then we'll be ready to book the rest of the trip !

Regards,
Carolyn

The Glasshouse looks very groovy but I don't like the location. It has Calton Hill on one side which is nice, but the other side overlooks a roundabout on a fairly major, &amp; not very attractive, route into the city. The rooms are also, bizarrely, on top of a leisure centre - multiscreen cinema, nightclub, various chain restaurants...

As Sheila said, if you can afford the Balmoral, just stay there. The location couldn't be more convenient &amp; it is the grande dame of Edinburgh hotels. The pool is quite nice (if small) too.

Caroline,

Wow - this is exactly why this site is so great.

I am booking the Balmoral as I type this - well almost.

Thanks for the heads up.

Carolyn

Just back from Edinburgh. I went back and forth between a great many hotels, including the Scotsman and the Balmoral. I ended up at the Howard Hotel. An upscale boutique hotel--English style with large four poster beds, fireplaces, private butler service, etc. Short walk to Princes Street but quiet in the evenings. I'd highly recommend it.

LoriS - thanks for your feedback. Well as you can tell from all my emails we went back and forth a lot. I appreciate your help.

Carolyn

I'm sure you will not be disappointed in the Balmoral.

Yes- now that Edinburgh is all set the fun part is putting together the other days. The more I think about it - I am not sure Isle of Skye is doable in our amount of time. Only nine days of travel which includes our travel days.

BTW the International Festival programe came out today - I'm already booked up ! www.eif.co.uk

Caroline,

Thank you ! wow - this is an awesome program and just the type of events we love. Makes me wish we had even more time in Edinburgh.

Have a good day.

Carolyn

You're very welcome, Carolyn.

In case I didn't mention it before, the Fringe programme comes out June 8 (www.edfringe.com), the book festival programme on 16 June (ww.edbookfest.co.uk) &amp; the film festival programme on 14 July(www.edfilmfest.org.uk). Too much stuff or what !!

Caroline,

No kidding - there's so much - almost too much to pick from !

Thanks again.