United Kingdom
Hotels in Edinburgh
A small city with a famously extreme festival month, when hotel prices behave like nowhere else in Britain.
Edinburgh has one booking rule that matters more than all the others: August. The festivals fill essentially every room in the city, and rates rise to multiples of the normal price. If your dates fall in August, book far ahead and expect to pay it; if they do not, the same hotels are among the more reasonable in Britain.
The city is small and the two historic centres — the medieval old town on the ridge and the Georgian new town below it — are a ten-minute walk apart. That compactness means you rarely need to stay outside the middle, and the walk between them is the steep bit.
The building stock is old and protected, so expect period rooms, uneven floors and stairs in the old town, and larger, more formal rooms in the Georgian terraces. Winter is dark and cheap; the shoulder seasons are the sweet spot.
Where to stay in Edinburgh
The area you book in changes the price and the trip more than the star rating does.
The old town
The medieval ridge running down from the castle. Atmospheric, walkable to everything, and steep in every direction. Older buildings mean smaller rooms and more stairs, and the busiest streets are loud into the night during the festival.
The new town
The Georgian grid below the old town, with wide streets and larger, more formal hotels in converted townhouses. Quieter, flatter and generally better rooms for the money, five minutes from the centre.
Around the port and the outskirts
Modern hotels away from the historic core, near the waterfront or the main roads. Best value by a wide margin, especially in August, at the cost of a tram or bus ride in.
Stay near
Most people pick a hotel by what they want to be next to. Each of these searches Edinburgh for stays around that spot.
Properties in Edinburgh
A sample of what is bookable. Open one for photos, rooms and live rates for your dates.
Point A Hotel Edinburgh Haymarket
152 Morrison Street
Exceptional
7,369 reviews
Virgin Hotels Edinburgh
1 India Buildings
Exceptional
7,489 reviews
Apex Waterloo Place Hotel
23-27 Waterloo Place
Excellent
6,900 reviews
Sheraton Grand Hotel & Spa
1 Festival Square
Exceptional
4,620 reviews
Market Street hotel
6 Market Street
Exceptional
3,928 reviews
Mercure Edinburgh Haymarket
38 Gardner's Crescent
Excellent
7,527 reviews
Leonardo Royal Hotel Edinburgh
43 Jeffrey Street
Excellent
13,509 reviews
Ten Hill Place, WorldHotels Distinctive
10 Hill Place
Exceptional
3,236 reviews
The Caledonian Edinburgh, Curio Collection by Hilton
Princes Street
Exceptional
2,264 reviews
Aparthotel Adagio Edinburgh Royal Mile
231 Canongate
Excellent
7,807 reviews
ibis Edinburgh Centre South Bridge – Royal Mile
77 South Bridge
Excellent
11,053 reviews
Novotel Edinburgh Park
15 Lochside Avenue
Excellent
6,716 reviews
Browse all 12 hotels in Edinburgh — every property we can book, listed A–Z.
Edinburgh: common questions
Why are Edinburgh hotels so expensive in August?
The festivals bring far more visitors than the city has rooms, so prices rise to whatever the market will bear. It is the single largest seasonal price swing of any city on this site, and booking months ahead is the only real defence.
Should I stay in the old town or the new town?
The old town for atmosphere and the shortest walk to the castle, accepting smaller rooms, stairs and hills. The new town for larger rooms, flatter streets and quieter nights, five minutes away.
When are hotels in Edinburgh cheapest?
January and February, when it is cold and dark and the festivals are a long way off. The shoulder months in spring and autumn are the best balance of price and daylight.