Stanleyps

I'll be in Edinburgh for a few days (LOVE Edningurgh) and if there's a great castle hotel nearby I'd love to take a detour. Any suggestions?

sheila

Dalhousie or Traquhair, depending on your taste

Stanleyps

Thanks, Sheila, for the recommendation. You said "depending on my taste". Can you give me an idea of the attributes of each?
Thanks.

sheila

well, I've never satyed at either, so you'd be well to look at their web sites; but, as I understand it, Dalhousie is a luxury hotel ,built on the original 13th century foundations, with a core of the 15th century castle and a 19th century gothic exterior.

Traquair bills itself as the oldest inhabited house in Scotland, and is still basically a tower house, modernised. It does classy B&B. It would be my preference, but I suspect taht would not be true of most Fodorites

caroline_edinburgh

I got married at Dalhousie & liked it very much, although I think they've spoilt it a bit since with the addition of the "orangerie" (i.e. conservatory). They have themed rooms - Queen Victoria, etc, & one even has a well in it ! The main restaurant is in the dungeon They do do a lot of weddings, though, so you may find it noisy especially if you are there at a weekend.

As Sheila says, Traquair is very historic but more like a house than a castle.

There's also Borthwick Castle which I've heard is even nicer than Dalhousie but I've not been there.

And Airth Castle - the main building is quite atmospheric but most accommodation is in a modern annexe.

Question, though - are you planning to spend your days in Edinburgh, and if so how will you travel backwards & forwards ? None of these would be great for public transport. A car is a bit of a liability in Edinburgh & parking would cost quite a lot, but I think you'd need one.

Another idea, if you won't have a car, might be to stay at the Witchery - it's not a castle but is very historic, the rooms are amazing & probably cost about the same. It's very close to Edinburhh Castle, right on the Royal Mile. All their rooms are quite different - I've stayed in the Old Rectory & the Library & preferred the Old Rectory.

Underhill

Traquair House is a wonderful place to stay. The principal bedroom for guests is very large and beautifully furnished, and the equally large bathroom has anything you might need.

The owners are extremely nice people and will make your stay enjoyable. Breakfast includes a whole lot of good food, and sometimes dinners are possible. Peter Maxwell-Stuart operates a small brewery on the premises; the beer is excellent.

Stanleyps

Thanks for the recommendations and information. I've been to the restaurant at the Witchery and was aware they also had a few rooms. The restaurant was a wonderful experience. I looked at their rooms online and they looked very "atmospheric".

meks

Have a look at Borthwick Castle www.celticcastles.com/castles/borthwic/ as it is only 12 miles south of Edinburgh city centre. It was turned into a hotel in the 1970's and gets good reports see tripadvisor.com .
I think it is far better than the decorated theme rooms at the Witchery, whereas Borthwick Castle is an authentic historic Scottish castle previously used by Mary Queen of Scots.