Edinburgh thoroughly deserves its reputation as one of the most beautiful and fascinating cities in the world. Of course, you can’t think of Edinburgh without thinking of the International Festival, Fringe and Hogmanay, but it also has its year-round thriving café culture, vibrant and varied nightlife, great shopping and a strong contemporary arts scene. Charming too, are the independent hotels that invite visitors to enjoy the intimate and more personal side to Scotland’s vibrant heart. From Gothic-revival love nests and Art Deco ships, to Michelin-starred restaurants with rooms, here’s our pick of the best boutique hotels in Edinburgh.
The Rutland Hotel
Edinburgh, Scotland
This sassy West End hotel at the foot of Arthur’s Seat is boutique to the extreme and Baroque gone bonkers, with lots of strong colour, designer wallpaper and retro references to popular culture. It’s all a big dose of glamorous fun that doesn’t neglect the finer points of comfort: like ankle-deep carpeting and good bedlinen, and is perfect for couples looking for a helping of boutique style that’s not too edgy for comfort. There’s a popular all-day restaurant/bar, a steak restaurant and underground bar that is a gin distillery by day, watering hole by night.
From
£
110
per night
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Dunstane House
Edinburgh, Scotland
A classy, small hotel with an intimate, club-like feel. Deep, dramatic colours, bold wallpapers, tasteful tweeds and the warm-coloured accents of Asian rugs provide a decorative link that flatters both the old and the new, enhanced by the choice of good original art and interesting photographs that reflect the owners’ family connections to both Edinburgh and Orkney. The Ba’ Bar (named after a traditional Orkney game), with it’s comfortable chairs, Chesterfield sofas and big bay window is a cosy place to linger.
From
£
152
per night
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Prestonfield House
Edinburgh, Scotland
If owner James Thompson has a motto it must be Oscar Wilde’s ‘nothing succeeds like excess’. The formal park and virginal white 17th-century house might make you think of Jane Austen heroines, but the leopard skin carpet certainly won’t – there’s a Puckish sense of mischief at play in the midst of all the over-the-top the opulence and extravagantly sustained scene-setting, as well as a sincere commitment to both dazzle and delight. Riotously Rococo bedrooms are straight from the pages of bodice-ripping romance.
From
£
266
per night
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21212
Edinburgh, Scotland
The look at this restaurant with rooms is all about relaxed glamour, spread across four floors with two private dining rooms and a sophisticated drawing room. Styled with panache and confidence, the look encompasses a mix of Baroque swirls and classical patterns – including a blown-up Caravaggio on one wall – and eccentric retro touches with the building’s elegant high ceilings and tall windows. Michelin-starred chef Paul Kitching is a maverick who likes the drama of teasing out unlikely flavour combinations.
From
£
95
per night
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The Witchery by the Castle
Edinburgh, Scotland
If Pugin designed Gothic revival love nests they would look like this: an outrageous riposte to modern minimalism realised in nine fantasy suites close by the gates of Edinburgh Castle. Darkly, deeply sumptuous, utterly indulgent and slightly (delightfully) mad, these secret dens of overblown delight are the ultimate expression of an overheated imagination, realised with a meticulous, theatrical attention to detail. The suites are situated either above the famously atmospheric Witchery at the Castle Restaurant or on the opposite site of the Royal Mile, secreted in Jollie’s Close.
From
£
395
per night
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Tigerlily
Edinburgh, Scotland
If the rooms are anything to go by, Tigerlily is a downright sexy enclave of sheer, spoiling indulgence, and not for aesthetes or the faint-hearted. It’s all uber-sparkly and blingy to the point that you may wish to consider wearing sunglasses to breakfast if you’ve overdone it the night before. The design in the bar/restaurant runs from eye-popping pop art to a wall of fake ferns, with plenty of mirrored glass mosaic. You’ll find it’s practically compulsory to have a cocktail or six, before moving into the restaurant where on-trend semi-fast food is the order of the day.
From
£
125
per night
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Fingal
Edinburgh, Scotland
You’ll find Fingal tucked up in her own cosy berth near the huge ships and towering cranes of the working docks of Leith. She is a grand little ship, polished to a high gloss with décor that respects the ship’s working history without going overboard. Imagine a miniature luxury liner with an Art Deco via 1930s Hollywood feel, all luxuriously deep carpets, curvaceous wood panelling, leather and sparkling glass. On the beds you’ll find custom-made throws by local weaver Araminta Campbell. Her studio is just along the road – private tours can be arranged.
Cabins from
£
300
per night
Black Ivy
Edinburgh, Scotland
The hotel is dominated by design, from the dark graphite walls and sable black carpet across reception and the upstairs areas, to the Drafthouse, a series of lounge areas flowing around a central bar. There are chandeliers in abundance, a floor paved in copper pennies, murals of doe-eyed women by Australian street artist Rone (think Banksy on testosterone). It’s all a bit of an eyeful, but the bedrooms feel surprisingly fresh, with plain white walls emphasising the use of colour; each room different from the next.
From
£
95
per night
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Eden Locke
Edinburgh, Scotland
So hip it hurts, in a very design-led manner. New York architect’s Grzywinski+Pons’ design is Georgian Edinburgh outside, Shoreditch inside. Pale oak floors, plenty of pastels with the odd squirt of mustard and self-conscious quirkiness creates a light-hearted but seriously on-trend feel. The heart of it all is the pistachio and vanilla coffee lounge/bar, with seating largely occupied by people tapping at their tablets, spiky plants in terracotta pots and an abundance of light. The 72 studio apartments offer more space (just) than a hotel.
From
£
65
per night
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The Raeburn
Edinburgh, Scotland
No expense was spared in creating this popular bar/restaurant with boutique rooms in a great neighbourhood. Expect rich colours, plenty of tweed and toned-down tartan, faux-Victorian bathrooms, oak floors and colour-coordinated books as décor in the small ‘library’ lounge. Rooms come with luxurious bathrooms, delicious cocktails and upmarket extras, from GHD straighteners to espresso machines. It’s surrounded by independent shops, restaurants and a Sunday market, but is only a 15-minute amble to the city centre.
From
£
111
per night
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This article was originally published by Telegraph.co.uk. Read the original article here.