Where to stay in Edinburgh?

[Firetacoma]

My honeymoon starts in 2 weeks! We'll be flying into London on the 4th of May and immediately getting on a plane to Edinburgh. We plan to stay 1 night there, rent a car and then play the rest of the trip by ear.

That being said, what would be a good hotel to stay at for that one night? Something near the train station perhaps? Something nearer to the airport (and probably closer proximity to rental cars)?

Cheaper is better! What do you suggest?

[Jock Scot]

If Phil does not chip in here ,why not give him a PM. He is the local expert.

[Clockwork John]

My wife and I spent a couple of days in Edinburgh on our honeymoon a couple of years back, and we stayed at the Ellersly House Hotel. It's a charming Edwardian manor house with landscaped grounds. It's only one street down from the nearest bus stop, and it's only a couple of blocks down from Princes Street. The staff was amazingly helpful, and their off season rates are very reasonable. It wasn't the cheapest place in town, but the location is incredibly convenient, and we were willing to pay a little bit more for the history and charm of the place. We booked our rooms through Expedia.

Here's theie website: Ellersly House

I can try to find some pictures we took while we were there, if you like.

[Firetacoma]

The plan is to stay there the one night, and then rent a car and leave... when we come back to Edinburgh near the end of the trip we'll stay closer to the action and see the sites.

[skauwt]

i`d avoid princess st with all those tram works happening http://www.camvista.com/scotland/edi.../histedin.php3

a wee webcam to see what there doing

perhaps somewhere just on the outskirts of the city might be best

[ForresterModern]

There is a nice Marriott at the airport that is literally a chip shot (okay, maybe a 6 iron) away from the airport car rental places. The Edinburgh airport is 8 or 10 miles west of downtown, so you would have to either bus or taxi to downtown to run around down there, but it sounds like from your agenda that Edinburgh is not where you are going to be spending much time. If it is you would be better off staying near downtown somewhere and walking or taxiing most places rather than worrying about trying to drive and park a car in Edinburgh. Then when you are ready to leave Edinburgh go rent your car for the rest of your trip.

My wife, infant son and I stayed at an apartment hotel called EQ2 which was less than a mile SE of the castle, well within walking distance of most of what you would want to see, and on a quiet waterway (right at the dad end of Edinburgh Quay) where we could see canal boats, ducks, ans swans out our window. It was definitely cheaper than staying at one of the bigger downtonw hotels, and had plenty of room with a separate bedroom, living room, and kitchenette with mini laundry. Several decent restaurants nearby. A bit off the beaten path, but not so far that you felt isolated. We had a rental car for the week we were in Edinburgh and 5 additional days we were travelling the central highlands, but we really did not use the car at all in Edinburgh---it sat in the hotel garage. Too complicated to drive and too hard to park in town, especially when you have to drive on the lefthand side of the road with a righthand drive car (the reverse of the US).

[Nervous Jock]

The Ellersley House is really close to the airport bus route but to be fair is more than a couple of block from the city centre (unless you are doing American measurement) it a decent 25 min walk from the west end of town let alone old town.

A lot of this will depend on your budget, There are lots of chain hotels which should be cheap and available but cab get busy at weekends. I might suggest the IBIS which is just off the mid point of high street, or Jurys in Jeffrey street. There also Premier inn Travel Lodge and apex hotels. If your only here one night I imagine you want to be out more than in the hotel. although hotels in the grassmarket are noisy at weekends. Even the royal scot in abercrombie terrace is a possibility very nice location in georgian terrace in the new town not sure about the price for that tho. You could also try hotels in royal terrace at the east end of the city centre but so you know its on the edge of the pink triangle

Quite a lot of rental companies here will drop cars, just be aware parking at many of these hotels is limited.

[starbkjrus]

We like The Parliament House. It's just off Princes Street at the base of Calton Hill. Just a short walk to Waverly Station.

[Clockwork John]

The Ellersley House is really close to the airport bus route but to be fair is more than a couple of block from the city centre (unless you are doing American measurement) it a decent 25 min walk from the west end of town let alone old town.

Perhaps I should change that to a short bus ride from Princes Street. It's been a couple of years, and I've got a lot on my mind right now, so I'm not surprised I didn't remember some of the details correctly.

[Firetacoma]

Thanks to all for the suggestions... sounds like the Marriott might fit the bill for this leg of the trip!