Edinburgh Hotels

Edinburgh Hotels

Edinburgh hotels and accommodation match all types of budgets, from budget hostels to five star hotels. Edinburgh has it all. So the usual items to consider are issues such as the Price, the Quality of hotel, the Location and Tripadvisor scores. So all need to be focused on. Even the month of August can present challenges to finding accommodation when the Edinburgh festival is on. So in this topic we will look at the ideal Edinburgh hotels to stay at.

Location

Ideally most visitors to Edinburgh are here to see the tourist attractions and as such want to be based in the city centre. This can be broken down into three key areas. The Old Town, The New Town and the area near the Playhouse.

Playhouse Area

At the foot of Calton hill many new hotels have opened near the Playhouse. This area is just to the East of Princess street conveniently located next to the last tram Stop at York Place, the bus station and close to Waverley train station. Meaning an easy commute from the airport on the Tram as well as easy access to the nightlife in Rose street and  George street. This area is also close to the shopping on Princess street, Wultree walk and when completed the St James Quarter. Edinburgh’s gay district is also centred around the Playhouse area with several bars and clubs.

As at July 2019 there are a few construction projects in the area. Firstly the St James shopping centre is being rebuilt after being demolished several years ago and secondly there are plans to extend the Edinburgh Tram to Ocean Terminal, because of these projects there are the usual construction site cranes and diversions.

The Old Town

The Old Town in Edinburgh is a warren of cobbled streets incorporating the Royal Mile ( the road between Edinburgh Castle & Holyrood Palace) and all of the surrounding areas. The Royal Mile is the central point that is easy to navigate as it is a sloping straight road. There are many lanes, steps and closes that are to the side of this that you can easily step back in time, wander around and get confused with your bearings. As the Old Town is on a hill with cobbled streets there is limited parking at any of the hotels however as it is so central to most of the key attractions you would not need a car unless you were planning to go further a field and our advice would be to pick up your rental car after your visit to Edinburgh.

Also located in the Old Town are the nightlife areas of the Cowgate and the Grassmarket. In August when the festival is on this area is also very central with many pop up venues such as Bristo Square, Teviot Row, the Pleasance courtyard. There are also many street performers on the Royal Mile. For restaurants there are many places to eat around the Royal Mile.