10 Edinburgh Hotels on the Flat Side of the Castle Rock

Edinburgh is two cities stacked at different heights. The Old Town runs along a volcanic ridge from the castle down to Holyrood, and it is medieval, vertical and built in layers, with closes and stairs dropping away on both sides. The New Town, laid out from 1767 on the flat ground to the north, is a Georgian grid of wide straight streets and squares.

Between them is a valley that used to be a loch and is now Princes Street Gardens and the railway. Crossing from one to the other means going down and then up, and the climb up into the Old Town is the steep direction.

Which side, and why it is not obvious

The Old Town has the castle, the Royal Mile, the closes, the atmosphere and, in August, most of the Fringe. It also has cobbles, stairs, noise, and rooms in buildings that were tenements four hundred years ago.

The New Town has the Georgian architecture, the shops, the restaurants, the galleries and flat pavements. It is quieter, the rooms are larger, and everything in the Old Town is a ten-minute walk that ends uphill.

For most visitors the New Town is the better base and the Old Town is the better day. The exception is August, when the Fringe turns the Old Town into a single continuous event and being inside it is the point.

The ten below are grouped by which side of the valley they sit on.

The New Town and the West End

The Georgian grid, flat, and where the good restaurants are.

The Balmoral Hotel occupies the clock tower building at the east end of Princes Street, above Waverley station, and its clock has run three minutes fast since 1902 so that nobody misses a train. It has the best position in the city and the deepest service in Scotland.

The Caledonian Edinburgh, Curio Collection by Hilton sits at the west end in the enormous former railway hotel of the Caledonian line, with a spa, high ceilings and rooms looking straight up at the castle rock.

Gleneagles Townhouse occupies a set of Georgian townhouses on Charlotte Square with a garden, a spa and the most restrained luxury in the city. It is the best-run hotel in Edinburgh.

Kimpton Charlotte Square by IHG sits on the same square in a converted townhouse with a courtyard garden, a good restaurant and a members' club feel.

100 Princes Street occupies a building on Princes Street with rooms facing the castle across the gardens, which is the single best view any hotel in the city has. Book a castle-facing room specifically.

The Glasshouse, Autograph Collection sits at the top of Leith Walk in a converted church with a rooftop lawn, and it is the most unusual building on this list.

Nira Caledonia occupies two linked Georgian houses in the northern New Town with a small operation and the quietest nights of the group.

The Old Town

On the ridge. Atmospheric, uneven, and the right choice in August.

The Scotsman Hotel occupies a former newspaper building on North Bridge with a marble staircase, a good bar and rooms looking down over the valley. It is the most comfortable stay on the Old Town side.

W Edinburgh sits on the ridge in a contemporary building with a rooftop bar over the rooftops and the most current design in the city. It is minutes from the Royal Mile.

Outside the centre

Prestonfield House occupies a seventeenth-century house in twenty acres of parkland with peacocks, Highland cattle and interiors of considerable extravagance, fifteen minutes from the centre by taxi. It is the most memorable stay in Edinburgh and it is not walkable to anything.

What we have left off

The Fringe-season serviced apartments and the university halls are excluded. In August they are the only way many people find a bed at all, and they are not hotels, which is the standard this list applies year round.

What to do

The castle first thing or in the last entry slot, with a pre-booked ticket. Then walk down the Royal Mile and, more importantly, down the closes on either side of it, which is where the actual medieval city survives.

Climb Arthur's Seat. It is an extinct volcano in the middle of a capital city, it takes about forty-five minutes from the bottom, and the view is the best free thing in Scotland.

The National Museum of Scotland is free and excellent. The Scottish National Gallery sits in the valley between the two towns.

Eat and drink in Leith and Stockbridge rather than on the Royal Mile. Walk the Water of Leith path between them.

For a day out, take the train to North Berwick or drive to the Forth bridges.

Practical notes

The airport connects by tram to the centre in about 35 minutes. Edinburgh Waverley is in the middle of the city and the London train takes about four and a half hours.

May, June and September are the good months. August is the Festival and the Fringe: the city is extraordinary, the population roughly doubles, and hotel rates triple with booking needed close to a year ahead. Winter is dark, cold and atmospheric, with Hogmanay a substantial event in itself.

Bring shoes with grip. The cobbles and the closes are steep and wet more often than not.

Questions people actually ask

Old Town or New Town?

New Town for comfort, quiet and food, with the Old Town ten minutes away. Old Town for atmosphere and for August.

Is August worth it?

If you want the Fringe, yes and book a year out. If you want Edinburgh, come in May or September instead.

How many nights?

Three. Four with a day trip to the coast or the Highlands edge.

Is it very hilly?

The Old Town is. The New Town is flat. The crossing between them is the climb.

If you only book one

Search 4 and 5 star hotels in Edinburgh, Scotland