The best hotels in Edinburgh, according to a local
Edinburgh is a city of contrasts – grand yet familiar, ancient yet constantly evolving – and some of the city's best hotels captures that balance beautifully. Whether you’re after the stately elegance of a landmark address, the low-key charm of a boutique bolthole or the freedom of a design-savvy apartment, Edinburgh delivers with style. In recent years, the Scottish capital has welcomed a wave of new openings that sit comfortably alongside its heritage favourites, offering visitors even more choice than ever. Some lean into the city’s dramatic history with richly layered interiors and period architecture, while others embrace a sleeker, more contemporary edge. Many come with rooftop bars, whisky-stocked lounges, and front-row views of the castle or the Firth of Forth. The only challenge? Whether you're in town for festivals, food, or a weekend of cultural wandering, consider a booking at one of the best hotels in Edinburgh right now, as picked by our editors.
For more inspiration on where to stay in Edinburgh and Scotland, visit:
The best family-friendly hotels in Edinburgh
The cheapest nicest hotels in Edinburgh
The best Airbnbs in Edinburgh
The best castles in Scotland
How we choose the best hotels in Edinburgh
Every hotel on this list has been selected independently by our editors and written by a Condé Nast Traveller journalist who knows the destination and has stayed at that property. When choosing properties, our editors consider both luxury hotels and boutique and lesser-known boltholes that offer an authentic and insider experience of a destination. We’re always looking for beautiful design, a great location and warm service – as well as serious sustainability credentials. We update this list regularly as new hotels open and existing ones evolve.
hotelThe Hoxton
A stylish bolthole that combines contemporary design with classic Edinburgh charm
The Hoxton’s first Scottish opening has landed in Haymarket, quickly becoming the area’s hospitality crown jewel. Inside, it’s a considered blend of heritage and irreverence: curved cornicing meets raspberry headboards, brass accents and flamingo two-coat hooks. The two hundred or so rooms span everything from snug bunk rooms to sprawling family-sized quarters with original sash windows, all with a layered, lived-in feel that nods to the city’s own contrasts. Downstairs, Patatino restaurant channels a sun-drenched trattoria via striped awnings, a working fountain and a menu of fresh pasta and wood-fired pizza that makes use of local produce. There’s also a cosy five-seater cinema, light-filled event spaces, and the lobby bar that shifts from coffee spot to cocktail hour with ease. As ever with Hoxton hotels, the vibe is relaxed but well-executed, and the location, steps from Haymarket Station and a short stroll to the city centre, makes it as practical as it is polished.
Gleneagles TownhousehotelGleneagles Townhouse
The member's club-meets-hotel
Everyone knows all about the original Gleneagles in rural Perthshire, which has long been the stuff of legend. Acquired by Ennismore in 2015, it was given mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and an invigorating defibrillator blast – and it worked. The place has surely never looked better or felt more lively than it does today. You can perceive a family resemblance in the Townhouse, though in terms of temperament, as well as scale, tone, and emphasis, she is very much her own person. This is ostensibly – though not entirely – a members’ club, though it most respects it also functions as a normal hotel. Non-members can dine in the restaurant (spectacular), stay in the rooms (delightful), and get squiffy in the rooftop bar (terrific). Senior staff members are notable for their presence. You see them all the time, they remember your name, they are actively solicitous of your well-being, and they will actually take time to chat – all of which is more impressive and less common than it might sound.
Address: 39 St Andrew Square, Edinburgh EH2 2AD
Price: From around £495 per night
hotelMarket Street Hotel
A contemporary Design Hotel right by the station
Step off the train at Waverley and you’ve practically already arrived at this new-build Scandi-meets-Scottish bolthole. Its rooftop reception and Champagne bar, and its best rooms have an enviable panorama over the Balmoral’s clock tower and the New Town beyond. It’s the Carlton Hotel group’s first opening in Edinburgh and the first member of the Design Hotels club anywhere in Scotland, which means aesthetic standards are high: rooms inspired by baronial Highland castles have wooden floors, granite walls and sliding oak shutters to block out sound and light, along with mid-mod furniture with a tartan twist, and impressive carved marble basins in the bathrooms. The free minibar full of Scottish drinks and snacks is a bonus. Friendly staff and a hearty Scottish breakfast (with tattie scone and haggis-and-beef sausage) provide the perfect start to a day exploring the Old Town, which rises up directly behind the hotel. There are Champagne cocktails and canapé-style small plates to welcome you home, too. Sonya Barber
Address: 6 Market St, Edinburgh EH1 1DE
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100 Princes streethotel100 Princes Street
A discreet address with castle views
The city's latest newcomer combines the plush seclusion of a members’ club with the personal service that Red Carnation hotels are known for. It’s a place of low-lit and low-key velveteen elegance, with 30 discreet rooms over five floors. At The Wallace, a leather-walled lounge and bar area on the 2nd floor, there are vintage globes and oil paintings of tiger fights and steamers on storm-lashed seas. Over a Penicillin whisky cocktail on a tartan-upholstered chair, there are unobstructed golden views of the lowering sun hitting Edinburgh Castle to take in — a rare treat, even for locals.
Each of the 30 rooms shares a certain cocooning tactility, many taking reddish or greenish colour schemes from walls covered in one of the hotel’s bespoke tartans. All have marble bathrooms and a similar thematic fusion of the intellectual and the exotic. Beyond the building, the hotel offers an impressive list of experiences – from fishing on the River Tweed with a bothy lunch to private visits to the atelier of designer Araminta Campbell, with the chance to commission bespoke fabrics. There’s room for golf bags downstairs, so for many, this may well be the city stop before heading for Muirfield or St Andrews or perhaps the fly fishing beats to the north. Toby Skinner
Address: 100 Princes St, Edinburgh EH2 3AB
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hotelThe Balmoral Hotel
Edinburgh's original grande dame hotel
While there are other hotels synonymous with a city, few can claim to be such an integral part of its home town’s landscape as the Balmoral in Edinburgh – or to be as well-loved by locals. Thanks to its imposing 190ft clock tower it is an unmistakable part of the Scottish capital’s skyline, perhaps the most unmistakable in the UK – with the possible exception of London.
The neo-Renaissance building is Edinburgh's most famous hotel, opening as the North British Railway Hotel in 1902. Not too long ago it had a multi-million-pound makeover: Rocco Forte Hotels' Olga Polizzi aims to whisk guests off on a virtual grand tour of the country with a colour palette taking in the golden lichens and fern greens of the lowlands, the moorland's heathery purples, and the stony greys and sultry blues of the Highlands and islands. The food at Brasserie Prince has also had an update, where French techniques are used to cook Scottish ingredients, with rich Normandy onion soup and steak tartare on the menu. The interiors, meanwhile, have been spruced up by Martin Brudnidzki, whose designs at member’s club Annabel’s are among the most photographed in London. As everyone here will tell you, the great clock of the Balmoral has always been set three minutes fast to help the good people of Edinburgh catch their trains on time. (Except on Hogmanay – unsurprising when you think what a big deal New Year is to the city.) Now, it will help you get to lunch on time, too.
Address: 1 Princes St, Edinburgh EH2 2EQ
W Edinburgh
A city-centre bolthole with polished style
The W Edinburgh finds its home right in the centre of town, adjacent to the St James’ Quarter and within easy reach of a whole host of the best things to do in town. Having only opened a couple of years back, you can expect smartly designed rooms and suites with all the thoughtful touches global travellers have now come to view as standard. In the suites this translates to complimentary bottled cocktails in the mini bar and yoga mats stashed in the wardrobe, as well as playful amenities peppered throughout plus indulgent toiletries and generous square footage. Beds are vast and luxuriously dressed, with most rooms profiting from gorgeous views, too. In the main building there’s a rooftop bar with a 360 terrace that serves sundowners with views of the castle in one direction and the sea in the other. Elsewhere, there’s Joao’s Place, a speakeasy serving some of Edinburgh’s best cocktails plus the option of an interesting Asian-influenced tasting menu. Add to that a SUSHISAMBA on site, a spa offering out-of-this-world treatments and a remarkably friendly team and you have a pretty attractive homebase option.
Melody Joy Co.The Pavilion at Lamb's House
Leith’s sensitively restored 17th-century merchant’s house
A great part of Edinburgh’s charm lies in its multi-faceted architectural tapestry. Staying in one of the city’s older buildings can really bring this unique appeal to life for visitors, who can live and breathe its past instead of just passing through it. The Pavilion at Lamb’s House is the most beautifully restored home in the heart of Leith, down towards the sea and just a short tram ride away from the city centre. With strolling distance of Michelin-starred restaurants, this bijou bolthole offers three bedrooms, a fully stocked kitchen and a living room with an open fire, plus a little walled garden, all to enjoy privately with your party. This is the work of architects Nicholas Groves-Raines Kristin Hannesdottir, who have meticulously drawn on the building’s past to create a heavenly space adorned with antiques, panelled walls and muted colours for a relaxing, harmonious space that immediately invites you to unwind within its walls.
Fingal
Floating Hotel and sister ship to Queen Elizabeth’s Royal Yacht
When you’ve grown tired of all that hotels in Edinburgh have to offer, head out towards Leith and board Fingal, the city’s only floating hotel which has managed to carve out its very own niche. This impressive boat sits side-by-side with the Royal Yacht Britannia and is considered a sister ship to the former royal residence, so standards are naturally high here. The five-star service begins the minute you board, with a discreet and detail-oriented team who will show you to your quarters. Below deck you’ll find a whole host of cabins that expertly draw on the ship’s history while simultaneously embracing contemporary design. Think bowed, polished wooden walls, subtle statement lighting and carefully curated Scottish touches shown in glimpses of tartan or the clever use of colour. There’s a fine-dining restaurant and bar on board, or if you prefer to stick to dry land at dinnertime, Leith is home to a host of Edinburgh’s best restaurants.
Address: Alexandra Dock, Edinburgh EH6 7DX
Old Town Chambers, Autograph Collection
Luxurious apartment suites with hotel amenities
From mezzanines to basements, the seventy or so apartments at Old Town Chambers are wonderfully unique with individual styles and sizes that lean into their various proportions or positions. Some are carved into basement niches, all exposed stone arches and low lighting, while others incorporate structural loft elements in chunky rafters or riveted metal beams. Studios are perfect for couples while three-bedroom quarters make family travel a cinch, and with front-of-house staff downstairs and an on-site restaurant, Old Town Chambers allows you to indulge in all the comforts of hotel-living while allowing you your own space to get properly comfortable in.
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alexander baxterPenicuik Estate
Commutable rural comfort built around a stately country pile
City-living is all well and good, but the best of all worlds is a countryside escape within minutes of the hustle and bustle of a metropolis. Penicuik is just that, being a 20-minute drive away from central Edinburgh but a world away in atmosphere. After days spent pounding the pavement, retreat to a haven of plush self-catering properties all designed by interior specialists Fantoush, whose signature look includes plush, layered soft furnishings and high-end touches like Green Egg barbecues and scented Verden candles in all the estate’s cottages. For those who enjoy an alfresco moment, there are wooden hot tubs and cold plunges in some, and the team on-site can arrange everything from massages to private chefs.
Address: Carlops Road, Penicuik EH26 9LA
Apex Waterloo Place
A central spa hotel at a remarkably fair price point
It’s not often that you feel as though you’ve got a real bargain these days, but Apek Waterloo Place appears to be the kind of place that could be charging double its rate for the level of hospitality it provides. Having been recently refurbished, rooms are relatively spacious, with bright contemporary decor that is completely unfussy yet pleasingly tasteful with a neutral colour scheme enlivened via subtle pops of colour. There’s an on-site restaurant and bar for post-adventure refuelling and there’s a spa downstairs too, for when the pace outside on the pavement all gets a bit much. Just a short stroll from Waverly station and sitting adjacent to Calton Hill, the location couldn’t be better for when you’re trying to cram everything Edinburgh has to offer into a few short days
Will Scott33 Castle Terrace
Sleek serviced apartments in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle
For those who want the independence of a pied-à-terre but with a little extra polish, 33 Castle Terrace offers some of the most central serviced apartments in town. Just moments from the Grassmarket and tucked beneath the castle’s looming rockface, this handsome Georgian townhouse has been meticulously reimagined as a set of sleek, Scandi-Scot-inspired residences. Each apartment – whether studio or multi-bedroom – is fitted with a deft hand: think wooden flooring, rich textiles, and bespoke cabinetry in calming, contemporary palettes. Kitchens are fully kitted for longer stays, bathrooms come stocked with luxe amenities and thoughtful extras like soundproof walls dial things up a notch. With a discreet concierge and cleaning service included, this is quiet luxury with breathing room.
Address: 33 Castle Terrace, Edinburgh, EH1 2EL
The Rock House
A storied artist’s home turned atmospheric hideaway
Perched halfway up Calton Hill and wrapped in creeping ivy, Rock House feels like one of the city’s best-kept secrets. This atmospheric self-catering retreat is steeped in history (it was once the studio of early photographic pioneer David Octavius Hill) and has been transformed into a dramatically romantic base for those looking to steep themselves in Edinburgh’s creative spirit. The main house and two separate apartments, The Terrace Apartment and The Photographer’s Studio, are all prettily dressed in period details, from deep moody paintwork and antique furnishings to clawfoot tubs and original fireplaces. Outside, tiered private gardens overlook the city skyline, with views sweeping down to Princes Street and out towards the Firth of Forth. Despite the historic pedigree, mod cons are seamlessly woven in, and the house is just a short stroll from the buzz of the New Town.
Address: 19 Calton Hill, Edinburgh EH7 5AA
Virgin Hotels Edinburgh
A new vibe for Edinburgh’s Old Town
A fabulous addition to Edinburgh’s UNESCO-listed Old Town – itself a place of great drama, with its mysterious lanes, moody shadows, looming stony facades and suddenly expanding vistas. The hotel occupies a prime spot on curvy, hilly Victoria Street. Though much of the 19th-century charm of the original India Buildings, as they were known, has been preserved – the three-tiered domed rotunda is especially lovely – the overall feeling inside is one of carefully choreographed postmodern mischief. The 222 rooms are thoughtfully configured, pale and creamy in tone with vivid red accents (in case you forget for a nanosecond that you’re in a Virgin-branded property). Each of the eight Grand Chamber suites has something delightful and/or unexpected about it – a mezzanine decorated in the style of a Bedouin tent, for example. In a city blessed with more than its share of excellent restaurants and bars, the Commons Club Restaurant and Bar more than hold their own. Though the hotel is by no means short on the kind of whimsical, self-referential touches for which Sir Richard Branson is famous, this is offset by an appealing sense of fun mixed with seriousness of purpose. Steve King
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House of Gods
An intimate, velvet-clad hotel where beige is blasphemy
Though any and all are welcome, this is not, perhaps, going to be a house for every god. But if you’re the right kind of god – that’s to say, one with a disdain for natural light, a fondness for velvety opulence, neon signage against Gucci heron wallpaper and an atmosphere of playful debauchery – then you’ll fit right in and have an absolute ball. With the exception of a single suite, the 22 rooms are, shall we say, compact; but what they lack in scale they make up for in attitude. (The design of the smallest rooms was inspired by the compartments on the Orient Express – another kind of minimalist space with maximalist ambitions.) There’s a gadget by the door with three buttons: one for your butler, one for milk and cookies, and one for prosecco. An ace mixologist may also be summoned to prepare cocktails in your room; not only that but, to make the decision-making process simpler, you can order your drinks based on songs you like – which your mixologist will play for you while he or she prepares the relevant concoction. (You might consider ordering pizza to be delivered in the meantime.) Directly opposite the hotel’s Lounge Bar, on the other side of a tiny courtyard (the crossing of which may be the only time you spend outside during your stay), are two additional House of Gods bars, Lilith’s Lounge and the Casablanca Club, where, somehow, the decadence-factor has been dialled up even higher. Lord have mercy. Steve King
Address: 233 Cowgate, Edinburgh EH1 1JQ
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Nicholas WorleyEden Locke
Studio apartments made for hipsters
Eden Locke calls itself an aparthotel for self-sufficient people staying in downtown Edinburgh, but don’t be put off by the description. From the street it looks just like any other classical New Town Georgian townhouse: staid and rather imposing. But inside, the Mint Julep walls, wicker chairs, tropical plants and rag rugs on pale oak floors beat the ubiquitous tartan to the punch. This place is a hipster headspin. Check-in happens at the ground-floor third-wave coffee shop Mayvn Cafe. Apartments are a perfect storm of millennial pink and Elephant’s Breath, brass detailing and anglepoise-style lamps, curated by Manhattan design firm Grzywinski+Pons (other projects include New York’s Nolitan Hotel and Hotel on Rivington, and sister property Bermonds Locke in London). The original sash windows in the old building give views down to the clickety-clack of George Street. Kitchens are equipped with a Smeg cooker, a stash of Rude Health granola and T2 tea bags, plus spot-on listings of the closest grocers and provisions that can be delivered to your door.
Address: 127 George St, Edinburgh EH2 4JN
Emanuele RambaldiThe Roseate
A super-smart boutique hotel
This 16-room William Playfair-inspired Victorian townhouse in Edinburgh's West End has huge fireplaces and ornate cornicing reflecting the building's solid Victorian past. Peacocks strut their stuff across bedroom wallpaper, plus there are Persian rugs, velvet sofas and free-standing copper bathtubs. Previously known as The Dunstane Houses, the owners' Orkney heritage is celebrated in oatmeal tweeds, fringed wool throws, and stone-topped tables, while the bar's whisky cabinet contains a wide-ranging selection of over 80 fine Scottish single malts. All-day dining includes hearty dishes like Highland rump, Aberdeen beef sirloin, and an impressive spread of traditional Scottish cheeses for pudding.
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David CheskinThe Witchery by the Castle
A deeply romantic hotel that takes you back in time
The Witchery by the Castle would be Count Dracula's choice of hotel were he to visit Edinburgh, and you may feel apprehensive of encountering him as you climb the stone turret staircase into the Inner Sanctum on your way to bed. One of the hotel's nine suites, the Sanctum is swathed in crimson, claret and port, and styled like a scene from Vampire staged within a Gothic castle. Feast on classics like Lobster Thermidor in the restaurant, then wallow in a claw-footed, roll-top bath before climbing into a huge four-poster bed made from an old church pulpit. Children are not welcomed at the Witchery, although they would probably enjoy the experience even more than you.
Address: 352 Castlehill, Edinburgh EH1 2NF
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InterContinental Edinburgh The George
An impressive hotel with a superb location
There has been a hotel on The George’s site since 1881. Its prime heritage suites – as well as its popular Burr & Co café – are spread across five adjoining townhouses on George Street, diagonally opposite the Assembly Rooms. But the hotel is bigger than it looks from the outside. Thanks to two modern extensions that are almost invisible from the street, it comprises more than 200 rooms. Some of the loveliest views, in fact, are those from the upper floors of the modern buildings, which overlook a patchwork of Georgian rooftops and gardens, and, beyond them, the Firth of Forth.
A subdued palette has been employed throughout – neutral oatmeals and greys perked up here and there with liturgical greens, blues and purples. Original architectural features have been preserved, and the interior design mixes contemporary and period elements – Victorian-style leather armchairs and velveteen sofas alongside pendant lamps and geometric side tables. The George may not be quite as imposing as the Balmoral or as enchanted as the Waldorf Astoria Caledonian, and nothing like as wildly quirky as The Witchery, or as sweetly intimate as Rock House, but it occupies a superb location in the heart of the New Town and does what it does with becoming modesty and grace. Steve King
Address: 19 - 21 George St, Edinburgh EH2 2PB
Porteous' Studio
An impossibly chic secret hideaway in the heart of the Old Town
A former 18th-century blacksmith’s workshop, this quiet gem is now a beautifully honed example of stealth architecture – a minimal bubble of texture and woodgrain and light amid the doughty medieval brickwork and cobbles. It’s the work of Izat Arundell, a local design practice run by a couple who wanted to do something a little different. There’s certainly nothing like Porteous' Studio anywhere else in Edinburgh. It’s like having your own hideaway just off the Mall in London, or a speakeasy boudoir next to the MoMA in New York. A single oak was used by a cabinet-maker friend to craft the table, sofa and worktops, as well as the slatted doors and screens that cast a pleasing interplay of shadows as the light streams in – bringing to mind komorebi, the word the Japanese have for when sunlight filters through the trees. Walls were cast from clay-based plaster, which seem to catch the light and make you want to run your hands over them; the limestone tiled floor is heated in the winter and spring. Simple shelves hold vintage ceramics, copies of Cereal and Kinfolk, and foodie books to stick your snout in. The bed is set below a set of stairs from the flat above, like an inverted sculpture by Rachel Whiteread. Considering the limited space, the bathroom is surprisingly large. This isn’t just another holiday home – the couple use the space for supper clubs and craft-makers showcases. At night, draw the floor-to-ceiling drapes across and cosy up, then walk out in the morning to see the castle high above. There are plenty of bars and restaurants nearby – Timberyard for Noma-inspired plates, and Edinburgh pub Sandy Bell’s around the other side of Greyfriars Kirkyard for live fiddles.
Address: 25 Grassmarket, Edinburgh EH1 2HP
hotelThe Edinburgh Grand, A Luxury Collection Hotel
Family-friendly apartments on St Andrew Square
The huge oak doors to The Edinburgh Grand reopened a few years back with a no-expense-spared reinvention: a mass of chequered marble floor, wood panelling and the soaring ceilings so familiar to Edinburgh. But this isn't your average grand hotel, because inside are 50 family-friendly apartments in all shapes and sizes – the huge penthouse suite with wrap-around views of Edinburgh sleeps six, and all apartments come with sofa beds for extras. In the bathrooms, there are roll-top baths and framed RBS cheques from the 1950s hanging above the loos. And in the vaults, is a Hawksmoor steak restaurant – the city's first; and in the west wing, is a Champagne bar that dishes up lobster rolls. With a great spot on St Andrew Square, The Grand is a self-catering option with all the best bits that a hotel has to offer too.
hotelKimpton Charlotte Square Hotel
Colourful townhouse hotel with feel good weekend flavour
This is a Penguin Classic of a hotel – part Arthur Conan Doyle, part Muriel Spark, and set-designed with real attention to detail: with prints, maps and memorabilia in the petrol-blue drawing rooms riffing on the golden age of travel – the kind of salon that explorers such as David Livingstone or Mungo Park would be at ease in, peering out onto the square from behind velvet drapes.
Polished bannisters lead upstairs to the bedrooms – go for one in the original townhouses for the fireplaces and high ceilings. All are designed in a well-upholstered Edwardian style, embellished with succulents, letterpress-style illustrations and record players – and if you’re lucky a copy of Ziggy Stardust.
The subterranean spa continues the foliage theme seen in the hotel’s central sky-lit ‘garden’ restaurant, with a living wall that's home to lavender, fern and eucalyptus. With a strong focus on results, facial treatments begin with a full assessment of your skincare hopes and hang-ups and culminate with a very deep cheek (and arm and leg) massage. Post-treatment, make a beeline for a session in the UK's first sound wellness room.
