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10 of the best B&Bs in EdinburghEdinburgh's best B&Bs blend Scottish charm, home comforts and distinctive decor,says Rhiannon Batten

As featured in our Edinburgh city guide

Rhiannon Batten

Wednesday 12 October 2011 10.30 BST

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94DR

Don't go on first instincts at this six-room B&B. Yes it's on a busy road in

Edinburgh's Southside, about 10 minutes' bus ride from the city centre, but

94DR is worth going the extra mile for. Cross the threshold into its Victorian-

tiled hall and there's the smell of fresh flowers and a warm welcome from owners

Paul Lightfoot and John MacEwan. The two run this elegant townhouse B&Bwith panache, serving up cooked-to-order breakfasts featuring daily specials (an

oat-coated trout fishcake when I stayed) alongside stylish guest rooms. It's a

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Edinburgh doesn't get much more traditional thanMorningside.There was good

reason, after all, that Muriel Spark had Miss Jean Brodie living there. Some of its

B&Bs can be a little stuffy; not so the Alexanders Rooms, a large, bright flat with

two sleek but homely bedrooms facing on to a lovely garden. This is the kind of

place to book if you want to feel like a local and make the most of Morningside's

great neighbourhood delis, cafes and restaurants (it's less than 10 minutes' walk

toBia Bistrot). It won't suit everyone though, with its shared bathroom and

slightly off-centre location: it's a pleasant 15-minute bus ride to Princes Street.

10a Albert Terrace, 0131-446 0423,alexanders-rooms.co.uk,doubles from59

22 Royal Circus

Book one of Kirsty MacGregor's two basement bedrooms and you'll know you're

in the wheel-rattling heart of Edinburgh's cobbled New Town. Within easy

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walking distance of the city centre, as well as chi-chiStockbridge,Royal Circus is

made up of two elegant semi-circular crescents laid out by William Playfair in

1823. It's one of Edinburgh's most cooed-over addresses, the downside of which

is that you'll pay handsomely to stay here in the busy summer months. In late

autumn and winter, however, this place comes into its own, and the prices dip in

keeping with the temperature, too.

22 Royal Circus, 0131-226 1303,22royalcircus.co.uk,doubles from 74

Millers 64

Run by two attentive sisters, it's the extras that set this three-bedroom bolthole

apart: copies of Elle Deco, organic toiletries, Asian-influenced decor and a

breakfast menu that includes French toast and home-baked muffins. To walk

from Waverley Station takes around 20 minutes down Leith Walk, one of the

city's least salubrious streets (though you do pass the brilliantValvona &

Crolladeli on the way), but the setting is not without its perks, as from here you

can walk on to Leith and enjoy an evening at theRoseleafbar orThe

Kitchinrestaurant.

64 Pilrig Street, 0131-454 3666,millers64.com,doubles from 90

Number Ten London Street

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Photograph: Martin

Scott Powell

Pippa and Hugh Lockhart's guesthouse pushes right up against the top of the

budget bracket but it's a one-off and, for what you get, great value. A graceful

Georgian building, five to 10 minutes' walk from Princes Street, Number Ten's

lofty-ceilinged rooms are lined with antique furniture and original 18th- and

19th-century paintings. Literature buffs can enjoy a connection to one of

Scotland's greatest writers: the Lockharts are descendants of John Gibson

Lockhart, the son-in-law and biographer of Sir Walter Scott. Choose between the

more modern Gibson Room and the Beauregard Room, with its old woodendresser and leafy outlook.

10 London Street, 0131-556 0737,londonstreetaccommodation.co.uk,doubles

from 100

14 Hart Street

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If you were to wake up as a character inAlexander McCall Smith's Scotland

Street novels, the chances are you would feel at home here. Not only is Hart

Street just around the corner from Scotland Street, but this cosy B&B is

decorated as you'd imagine the home of one of the book's characters. Dark pink

walls feature antique prints, breakfast is taken around one huge wooden dining

table, and the three bedrooms have iron bedsteads and antique wooden dressing

tables. This is the best of old-school Edinburgh in a nutshell, right down to the

decanters of whisky left in each guest room.

14 Hart Street, 07795 203414,14hartst.com,doubles around 82

7 Gloucester Place

Location isn't quite everything here, but it's not far off being two minutes' walk

to Stockbridge and a five- to 10-minute stroll uphill to the shops and cafes of

George Street. With a glamorous Georgian setting, 7 Gloucester Place ticks all

the right B&B boxes, with cosy, comfortable rooms and lovely touches of

classical Edinburgh bling. If you're in search of more of the latter, you'll enjoy

heading to bed via a grand walnut and mahogany staircase, lit by a giant oval

cupola. Architectural historians should book room two, which comes with

(private) access to an amazing mustard and black-tiled 1930s bathroom.

7 Gloucester Place, 07803 168106,stayinginscotland.com,doubles from 80

21 Dublin Street

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Photograph:stommy

on Flickr

This New Town B&B has two things going for it, besides its two spick-and-span

doubles. The first is that it's a brilliant way of getting your own space (the second

room can only be booked as an additional room by families or friends booking

the master suite, as it shares a bathroom, and both rooms are accessed via a

private entrance) while getting someone else to make your breakfast and deliver

it to you. The second is that guests can borrow the owner's key to Queen Street

Gardens and enjoy access to one of Edinburgh's prime private green spaces.

21 Dublin Street, 0131-556 7032,21dublinstreet.co.uk,double master suitefrom 80

Botanics B&B

With a cosy charm and three homely but very stylish bedrooms, this well cared

for B&B is a safe bet for anyone looking for a comfortable base in the city

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(although if you care about having an en-suite bathroom, this won't be for you).

It's about 30 minutes' walk to the centre of town (10 by one of the frequent local

buses), but plant-lovers will be especially happy hereas the name suggests, it

is so close to Edinburgh's Royal Botanic Gardens that you can see over the B&B's

own immaculate garden into its nursery from two of the bedrooms.

Inverleith Place, 0131-552 1526,edinburghbotanicsbandb.co.uk,doubles from

69

Rhiannon Battenis a travel writer who was based in Edinburgh until

recently

http://www.edinburghbotanicsbandb.co.uk/http://www.edinburghbotanicsbandb.co.uk/http://www.edinburghbotanicsbandb.co.uk/http://twitter.com/#!/rhiannonbattenhttp://twitter.com/#!/rhiannonbattenhttp://twitter.com/#!/rhiannonbattenhttp://twitter.com/#!/rhiannonbattenhttp://www.edinburghbotanicsbandb.co.uk/