4-Star Hotels in Edinburgh

During the Edinburgh Festival, hotel prices across the city skyrocket, so I was really pleased to snag a capsule bed here. It's in a prime location, right behind St Giles' Cathedral, and stepping outside puts you right in the middle of the Fringe street performances. The facilities, environment, management, and service inside are excellent, and safety is well-managed. Even though I booked an 8-day stay in a mixed dorm, everyone was respectful, and travelers were very considerate of each other's space. The downstairs bar and restaurant offer great value for money, with guests receiving a 15% discount. The food and drinks are high quality. The only downside was the mattress, which was too soft and made sleeping and getting up a bit uncomfortable.

On arrival at the Hotel most of the car park was taken up by a pre show party. After asking at the door was told by a very unhelpful man to park further up the bank. Not very helpful when you're not from Edinburgh. After check in , which was very efficient. The room was very small and could do with some TLC for example paint coming off window frame and tears in the curtains, it was clean. When we ventured out to the bar we were told all the tables had been booked and basically had to stand at the bar in the hope that a table became available. After a discussion with the manager who said they weren't able to inform us of the party because of the company used to book the room. We were told however that the chef would leave something cold for us as the kitchen closed at 9. When we did get a table we waited half an hour before anyone asked us if we wanted to order food. When the food did arrive we had to send one of the meals back as the jambalaya didn't have any sausage in it. Very small even when it was replaced. The lads and lasses on the bar were excellent and the breakfast and the service for breakfast were also very good. Overall perfect location for Murrayfield but like most of Edinburgh it's very overpriced for what you actually get . Based on our visit and our room I would not consider this a 4star hotel and the lack of communication was very poor across the board.

Location. Location. Location. The hotel is a 10 minute walk from the Edinburgh Airport. No need to worry about trams, taxis or Ubers.  If you want to go into Edinburgh, there is a tram that goes from the airport to the train station.  My room was clean and bright. The bathroom had all the amenities and great towels. Check in/out was quick and easy.

After arriving at Edinburgh Airport, I took the Tram to the West End stop, and then used navigation to walk to the hotel. The fare was £7.9 for adults, which I purchased at the self-service machine by the tram entrance. It's about a 15-minute walk to the Scott Monument, close to the city center. I arrived at 9 AM, and since a room was available, they allowed me to check in immediately. I stayed in a first-floor room, and the size was unbelievably large for the UK. Other floors are not like this. There's a hairdryer, iron, and ironing board. Shampoo is provided, but the body wash and hand soap are combined. No toothbrush or toothpaste. However, there's no kettle, coffee, tea, or mineral water in the room. You can get free tea and coffee at the bar near the check-in area on the first floor. There were some cleanliness issues; the underside of the toilet seat wasn't properly cleaned. The disabled facilities are very comprehensive.

Booked a twin room for a trip with the kids. The room was clean, no issues there, and the size is pretty standard for the UK. The bathroom was actually quite spacious, but the sink and basin design was terrible – especially the basin. It's a countertop basin with the faucet on the side (I don't usually take photos in hotels, so I forgot to snap one), and no matter how you use it, water splashes everywhere, all over the counter and the floor. The hotel doesn't provide complimentary bottled water; there's a message on the mirror encouraging you to drink tap water, which is fair enough. The tram station for the airport is very close to the hotel, but unfortunately, it was out of service on the day we were heading to the airport. We ended up dragging our luggage for about fifteen minutes to catch the Airlink 100 next to the train station.

Without doubt, this was one of our finest hotel stays in recent memory. From the moment we arrived, Novotel Edinburgh set the tone with a level of warmth and professionalism that genuinely stood out. The staff were incredibly helpful throughout and what really demonstrated this was a small but telling moment: we lost our key card during the stay, and it was replaced immediately, without any fuss or inconvenience whatsoever. It's the kind of effortless service that puts you completely at ease, and it's something you remember long after checkout. The breakfast deserves a special mention — it was simply top notch. The spread was so good that holding back was near impossible, and it's the kind of breakfast that makes you actually look forward to the morning. Freshly prepared, well-stocked, and served with care — it's one of the best hotel breakfasts we've had. The location is outstanding. Sitting just a mile from Edinburgh Castle, you're right in the heart of one of the most iconic cities in the UK. Public transport couldn't be more convenient either  buses are accessible right behind the hotel, making it incredibly easy to get around the city without needing a car at all. The one area that needs addressing is parking. The hotel's own car park is frequently full, which meant we had to use the nearby NCP instead. To the hotel's credit, they did provide a discount for the NCP - a thoughtful gesture that softened the inconvenience. However, it's worth noting for electric vehicle drivers: the EV charging at the NCP is painfully slow, so factor that into your plans if you're arriving in an electric car. A heads-up from the hotel at check-in would go a long way. Parking frustrations aside, Novotel Edinburgh is a brilliant base for exploring the city - exceptional staff, an unmissable breakfast, and a location that's hard to beat. We'd return without hesitation.

We booked this hotel not knowing that it is literally next to the zoo. So it was a pleasant surprise and we decided to include the Edinburgh Zoo as part of our itinerary when we were there. There’re bus stops infront of the hotel that conveniently transport us to the city centre in 15min; as well as to the airport. The bus systems there are superb and most of the times the buses arrived on schedule. There are no bottled mineral water, toothbrushes, toothpaste, comb or other sanitary products (except for shower gel, shampoo and handwash) provided in the room. However, there is a note pasted in the toilet that one has to ask for these items at the reception counter if one requires any of these. We didnt notice the pasted note in the toilet; thus we did not ask for these during our stay.. We were also surprised that there was no mini fridge or safe which are normally provided in a hotel room. Nonetheless we were happy when there’s an iron and ironing board in our room. We noticed that the housekeeping service usually starts around 9am. We were in the room at around 9.30am when someone from the housekeeping dept tried to open the door. So if you intend to wake up late, we suggest to keep your door locked and latched. Their housekeeping is efficient as we think they need to be on schedule but many times our used cups were not cleaned thoroughly (or replaced) as there were still stains in the cups. 1 day 1 of our half-drink bottled drinks was removed from the table which we presumed the housekeeper could have thrown it away. On the whole, it’s a pleasant stay for our family.

The breakfast at this hotel is absolutely delicious, don't miss it – it was probably the best breakfast we had on our entire UK trip. The location is also pretty good. The only issue we had was that we didn't know where the elevator was when we left the train station, which made us walk a long way around. It would be great if the hotel could inform guests about the elevator's location when they're coming from the train station.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Stayed at Stewart by Heeton Concept for 2 days and I would absolutely love to come back in the future! The apartment was spotless — no dust, no bed bugs, fresh clean bedsheets, and a tidy washroom. Everything was well-maintained and made for a really comfortable stay. It truly felt like a great place to relax and unwind. The only two things I’d mention as areas for improvement: the check-out time of 10:30 AM felt a little early, and a few basic toiletry amenities like toothpaste, a toothbrush, and slippers were missing. Everything else was provided and well-stocked. Overall a fantastic stay and highly recommended. Will definitely be returning! 😊

I was assigned a room on the lower ground floor, which was long and narrow. The heating was very poor; even with the air conditioning on full blast, it was still freezing cold. Everything else was okay. The towel rack didn't heat up, and it was inconvenient not to have power outlets near the bed.