A city break to Edinburgh is high on the UK’s bucket list. But here’s the thing: the crowds that attend its world’s best festivals and marquee events can make finding the right hotel an intimidating experience. There are the expensive ones that come in miniature properties; and the expensive bastions of Princes Street that rob Edinburgh Castle for jewel-soaked glamor. But in the twists and turns and alleys in between there are plenty of less noticeable, less zippy loopholes and boutiques worthy of your patronage.
Outside of August, December, and in preparation for Hogmanay (New Years Eve, for those who don’t know), prices come down, making it a super affordable getaway, especially in early spring. Further discounts can result if you call the hotel directly and point out a special occasion.
The best budget hotels in Edinburgh are:
- Best for art: 24 Royal Terrace, Booking.com
- The best for shopaholics: The Rutland, Booking.com
- The best for bibliophiles: B + B Edinburgh, Booking.com
- Best for millennials: Haymarket Hub Hotel, Booking.com
- The best for highland life: The Dunstane Houses Booking.com
- Best for home improvement: Eden Locke, Booking.com
- Best for families: Apex Waterloo Square, Booking.com
- Best for night life: The Grassmarket Hotel, Booking.com
- Best for freebies: Stay central Booking.com
- The best for local life: No. 11, Booking.com
The Independent’s hotel reviews are unbiased, independent advice you can trust. In some cases we generate income from clicking the links and booking, but we never allow it to affect our coverage.
rt’s Bar at 24 Royal Terrace is popular with locals
(24 Royal Terrace)
Neighborhood: Calton Hill
This Georgian townhouse in the shadow of Calton Hill was bought by Scottish entrepreneur Alan Campbell, who could no longer find space in his own home for the contemporary art collection (a first world problem, if there was one). wait. The walls are hung with Campbell’s Aromas of the Month and lead up a spiral staircase to Bijou rooms full of artistic flourishes. Consider a plaid divan, floral print wallpaper, or decorative room divider. Our choice is the two double rooms, both with cast iron roll-top tubs next to the bed.
Price: Double rooms from £ 140, room only
The Rutland is just off Princes Street and George Street, and many rooms have views of Edinburgh Castle
(The Rutland Hotel)
Neighborhood: city center
With this centrally located mixture of baroque and modernity, the joy lies in the detail. Get buttery soft shortbread on arrival; a newspaper hung on the doorknob; Arran Aromatics Beauty Products; even straighteners. The real draw, however, is the location – many of the 12 rooms face Edinburgh Castle while it’s just inches from the chain shops of Princes Street and the posh boutiques of George Street. There is also a lot to discover for gourmets and drinkers: Kyloe is one of the best steakhouses in town, while non-residents flock to the Huxley for its sophisticated all-day cuisine. Below, down a crooked staircase, is the Edinburgh Gin underground distillery, which offers tours.
Price: Double rooms from £ 105, room only
Comfortable beds and furnishings at B + B Edinburgh, plus excellent perks like free bikes and afternoon tea
(B + B Edinburgh)
Neighborhood: West End
The stroll from Princes Street to leafy Rothesay Terrace is a humble start for this 27-room boutique B&B: it’s away from the hustle and bustle of the big city on a purely residential street of Georgian townhouses. But it far exceeds the expectations of a normal B&B with a number of quirks. There are free bikes and afternoon tea, a whiskey-stocked bar for residents, hot chocolate and bocce ball to cook your own, and a Victorian-era library with an antique fireplace and floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. The rooms aren’t bad either: up the statement stairs you will find comfortable beds and cozy furnishings.
Price: Double rooms from £ 62 including breakfast
Free WiFi and smartphones are the bait at the Haymarket Hub, Scotland’s first “smartphone hotel”
(Haymarket Hub Hotel)
Neighborhood: Haymarket
A pioneer in Edinburgh’s savvy hotel scene, the Haymarket Hub puts an emphasis on connectivity, with free Wi-Fi and Sky TV and in-room sports channels and charging stations galore. Most of the rooms come in a modern binary red and white color scheme (tip: ask for one with a window).
When not flipping or scrolling their news feeds, diners can discover the best pubs and gin bars on nearby William and Morrison Streets, and Haymarket train station is just an iPhone throw away. Adjacent pub Platform 5, where breakfast is served, ensures a lively mix of locals and visitors before the last train journeys.
Price: Double rooms from £ 89, room only
The Classic Wee Double Rooms at Hampton House rival accommodation in Edinburgh’s five-star hotels
(The Dunstane Houses)
Neighborhood: Murrayfield
Dunstane Houses are two award-winning historic boutique buildings with more than a touch of gentrified Orkney charm. It’s Hampton House, the lesser known of the two that offers better value for money, with 19 beautifully designed rooms and the luxury of all the facilities of posh big sister Dunstane next door. The top pick are the Classic Wee Doubles, which come with extravagant comfy beds, heather and juniper colors, and Noble Isle toiletries – all good enough to make Edinburgh’s bigger five-star offerings blush. For international rugby players, nowhere is Murrayfield Stadium better positioned.
Price: Double rooms from £ 147, room only
(Eden Locke)
Neighborhood: city center
This design-oriented apartment hotel, which has deliberately not kept pace with many of the city’s hotels, is tucked away with little fanfare in a newly designed six-story townhouse on George Street. It was bought by a group called Locke Living who started with Leman Locke in East London in October 2016 before migrating north.
Inside, the double-height rooms are almost twice the size of most boutique hotel pads (up to 33 square feet), with breezy Scandinavian design features and everything that revolves around an L-shaped couch for an idealized home away from home create. Using the full kitchen is another question as there is plenty of great food and drink outside, especially in the competing Cambridge Bar and Oxford Bar on Young Street.
Price: Studio apartments from £ 122 room only
Apex Waterloo Place has a pool, spa and gym and is conveniently located near the Royal Mile
(Apex Hotels)
Neighborhood: Princes Street
Old fidelities still thrive amid the new hotels changing the landscape. Apex Hotels are part of that Edinburgh tradition, with properties at Haymarket Railway Station, the Royal Mile and Grassmarket. The most attractive place for a quiet night – and for families – is the fourth building on Waterloo Place, which opened in 1819 as the city’s first functional hotel and once hosted Charles Dickens.
The guests are divided into two camps. Those who use the swimming pool, spa, gym, restaurant and bar; and those who enjoy it as a base for the nearby Royal Mile, Holyrood Palace and Scott Monument. Like all other hotels in the Apex family, this one too has its own duck mascot, named after Sir Earl Gray, that can be found in every bathroom and taken home with you.
Price: Double rooms from £ 139, room only
Dandy comic wallpapers create a fun atmosphere in the rooms of the Grassmarket Hotel
(The Grassmarket Hotel)
Neighborhood: Grassmarket
The ideal choice for party animals. It’s fun and funky, if compact and cozy, and in the middle of the noisy pubs of the Grassmarket with a bachelorette party. Some rooms have little air to breathe, but the atmosphere is sociable and there is direct access to Irish drunkard Biddy Mulligan’s and the neighboring Wee Pub (also known as Scotland’s smallest pub). The decor of the rooms is trendy and focuses on wall-sized magnetic city maps and Scotland’s iconic dandy comic strips with added novelties like Tunnock’s tea cake.
Price: Double rooms from £ 76, room only
Private rooms and dorms range from tiny to huge at Stay Central, but all have tech extras like flat-screen TVs and Bluetooth south-facing systems
(Stay central)
Neighborhood: Royal Mile
Well tailored for those looking to get started, this is more of a megawatt hostel than a boutique hotel. There are S, M, L, XL and XXL rooms (everything from 10 square meters and up), but all have technical extras (flat screen TV, iPod dock, charging connections, Bluetooth sound systems, some have a mini smeg -Fridge) . The industrial-style furniture differs from the usual hotel decor, and the place is superbly situated amidst the subterranean bustle of Cowgate. There are many tempting extras to match the young at heart, including free PlayStation and Xbox rentals, yoga classes on big screens, games and poetry nights.
Price: Double rooms from £ 71, room only
(No. 11 boutique hotel)
Neighborhood: Bruntsfield
On the south side of town, behind the extensive green of Meadows Park, is this restaurant with rooms in a fine four-story Georgian townhouse with a large stone portico entrance. Even considering the distractions outside – the great restaurants, bars, and independent shops of Bruntsfield and Morningside – there are plenty of reasons to stay. The rooms are decorated with 19th century pomp with four-poster beds, free-standing bathtubs and tartan seats, plus a private garden at the back and a dazzling brasserie with delicious fresh Scottish produce on a five-course menu.
Price: Double rooms from £ 64, room only
