Favorite Hotels in Edinburgh?

Sure, but it would help to know what you are looking for. And especially what your budget is. What is the top amount you are willing to spend for a hotel? Do you want it to include breakfast? Or at least have breakfast available to purchase? Any particular location? And lastly, when do you plan to travel there? We don't need exact dates but it's helpful to know the month (or season) and year.

Most hotels that tourists stay at are located in either Old Town (on/off or near the Royal Mile) or New Town. Old Town has the advantage of being right where the action is, so to speak, but it also means lots of tourist activity around you and can be very crowded. New Town is nice because it has a more residential feel (lots of trees, St. Andrew's Square, and so on) but is still pretty close to the sights. I stayed in New Town and really enjoyed it there. It was a lot quieter and I loved walking around on the tree-lined streets with the gorgeous Georgian neoclassical architecture. There were lots of shops, restaurants and cafes around as well, especially on St. Andrew's Square.

My hotel was the Premier Inn York Place, which I really liked. This is more of a budget hotel chain, but I've stayed at several and they are almost always consistently clean, comfortable and very reasonably priced. Breakfast is available but at a separate cost. Another hotel near there (a bit higher on the food chain) is the Hotel Ibis, located on St. Andrew Square. I did not stay there but know some people who did and they really liked it. I was in the lobby as I was meeting someone there for lunch, and really liked the look of it.

Thanks so much for your detailed reply, Mardee.
We had no idea of where to stay, but I think given your description of New Town (the quiet, the trees, neighborhood feel) - that's probably the area which would suit us best. I took a look at both of the hotels you mentioned - very nice, and price-wise, definitely in the ballpark.
We're planning on an early spring trip. Very excited!

We just returned from a trip to Scotland and England. While in Edinburgh we stayed at a fun and quirky boutique hotel in New Town called the Tigerlily. It has a busy bar and restaurant, but the rooms aren't bothered by noise at all. It's located on George St, less than a block from Charlotte Square. And it's only a few minutes walk to the buses and tram on Princes St. LOTS of pubs, cafes and restaurants in the area.

CJean, thanks very much for your input! I'll check it out.

To throw one more suggestion into the pot: I have stayed at the Apex Waterloo Place on my visits to Edinburgh last June and this past May, and liked it a lot both times. I found it to be well managed, with an efficient and welcoming staff.

It has an excellent location just past the east end of Princes Street, so it’s in the New Town but just across North Bridge from the Royal Mile. Calton Hill is right down the block, and the hop-on, hop-off buses stop across the street, as do Discover Scotland’s buses for day tours and longer ones.

I have yet to take advantage of the hotel’s restaurant, pool, or spa, but those are other nice features.

Nancy G - The Apex Waterloo Place looks great! The rooms seem really spacious and it, like the other hotels mentioned here, seem to be ideally located. Light sleepers here, did you find the hotel to be pretty quiet at night?

We appreciate your hotel suggestion - thanks!

I did find it pretty quiet, especially after I got moved to a room on the next-higher floor when my original room had a leak in the ceiling near the windows after a day of torrential rain. That happened last year. Both rooms faced the street, and the higher-floor one had a bit less street noise. I had no trouble sleeping in either room, or in the room I got this year, which was also on a high floor but facing in a different direction.

Thanks for your quick reply.

We loved our stay at Ibis St. Andrews Square! This hotel is located in a very convenient location in New Town, within walking distance to restaurants and everything we wanted to do. We walked to the Princes Gardens, to the Royal Mile, to Edinburgh Castle, to the National Museum of Scotland, and to the Royal Botanical Gardens, although we did take a bus back from the gardens. Our room was small but clean. The staff were efficient and friendly, and we liked the included breakfast buffet. I wouldn't hesitate to stay here again.