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Edinburgh Festival accommodation guide

Edinburgh is already the second most popular tourist destination in Britain (after London), but during the main festival month of August the population of Edinburgh more than doubles, with hundreds of thousands of performers and visitors descending on the city. As a result, finding accommodation can be difficult, and is often booked up months in advance.

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the World’s largest arts festival, with more than 20,000 performers taking part in up to 3000 different shows. Almost 2 million tickets are sold, which doesn’t include the hundreds of free shows on offer.

Edinburgh Festival

With the city so busy, the best piece of advice is to book your accommodation early!

The vast majority of Fringe Festival venues are located within the centre of Edinburgh, meaning any centrally-located accommodation is ideally-placed for the Festival. There are a concentration of venues on the Royal Mile and around the Grassmarket, as well as along the North Bridge and South Bridge. Leith also plays host to an increasing number of venues.

You can view a list of accommodation in Edinburgh by clicking here.

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  • Festival Tickets 2013

Hotels

For most visitors a hotel is the easiest and most convenient option. There are hundreds of hotels in Edinburgh, covering a range of budgets from the luxury of The Balmoral Hotel and (formerly the Hotel Missoni) to the relative affordability of Motel One Edinburgh-Royal, Haymarket Hub Hotel and Premier Inn Edinburgh City Centre (Princes Street).

Most of the major hotel chains have hotels in Edinburgh, including Barceló Hotels and Resorts, Best Western UK, Hilton, Premier Inn, and .

There are also good local chains such as Apex Hotels, Macdonald Hotels and .

You can view a list of hotels by clicking here.


Recommended hotels

The Balmoral HotelLuxury hotel on the corner of Princes Street and the North Bridge.
Best Western Bruntsfield HotelOverlooking the open green space of Bruntsfield Links.
Premier Inn Edinburgh City Centre (Princes Street)Good “no frills” hotel on Edinburgh’s main street.

Snoozebox Village

A particularly unique place to stay is the Snoozebox Village, a temporary “village” built in the shadow of Calton Hill giving you quick and easy access to many Festival venues.


Snoozebox VillageA unique and contemporary temporary hotel especially for the Edinburgh Festival.

Self-catering apartments

If you’re part of a group, arguably the best accommodation choice for the Festival is to rent a self-catering apartment. This often works out as the best value when sharing with several other people, and offers some flexibility regarding the number of people staying.

Many Edinburgh residents also rent out their own apartments for the duration of the Festival, and one of the best ways to find these is on Gumtree.

In some cases private rents can be quite high, but there are also home exchange sites such as Intervac.

You can view a list of self-catering apartments by clicking here.


Recommended self-catering apartments

Fraser Suites EdinburghA complex of 75 well-equipped apartments just off the Royal Mile.
Princes Street SuitesLuxury open plan apartments at the east end of Princes Street.
The Knight ResidenceIdeally-located between the Grassmarket and the Meadows.
Dreamhouse Apartments (Holyrood)Situated next to the Scottish Parliament

B&Bs and guesthouses

Generally more expensive than hostels but cheaper than hotels, bed and breakfasts and guesthouses are another good option.

There are of course a range of styles and prices, ranging from basic and affordable through to extremely luxurious. One advantage of staying in a bed and breakfast or guesthouse is the access to the local knowledge of your hosts.

You can view a list of B&Bs and guesthouses by clicking here.


Recommended B&Bs and guesthouses

No. 53 Frederick StreetA grand Georgian townhouse just off Princes Street.
B+B EdinburghA boutique bed and breakfast in the West End.
Ramsay’s Bed and BreakfastSituated in the lively area of Broughton.
A Georgian ResidenceTraditional bed and breakfast in the West End.

Budget options

Staying in Edinburgh for the Festival doesn’t necessarily need to be expensive. There are dozens of hostels in Edinburgh offering budget accommodation with a mixture of private single and double rooms, mixed dormitories and same-sex dormitories.

Some of the hostels are independently-run, while others are members of the Scottish Youth Hostel Association (SYHA). While it’s sometimes cheapest to book direct with the hostel, some of the hostel booking sites (such as Hostelworld) have special offers and discounts, so it’s worth signing up to their newsletters to potentially make your stay even cheaper.



Hostels offer good value for money, and also give you the chance to meet like-minded people staying for the Festival, which is particularly beneficial if you are travelling on your own.

You can view a list of hostels by clicking here.

There is one campsite on the south edge of Edinburgh at Mortonhall Caravan and Camping Park, with the option of either pitching your own tent, staying in a wigwam, or renting a caravan. Mortonhall is a 30 minute bus journey from Princes Street in the centre of Edinburgh on Lothian Buses’ number 11 bus.

Other budget options to consider are:

Airbnb

Couchsurfing

SpareRoom

BeWelcome

Tripping

GlobalFreeloaders

Hospitality Club


Recommended budget options

Smart City Hostels EdinburghModern hostel with restaurant and bar in the Old Town.
Royal Mile BackpackersIdeal for travellers in their teens and twenties looking to party.
Allgirlz (Female Only Hostel)Perfect for girls wanting the security of an all-female hostel.
Castle Rock HostelA romantic view of Edinburgh Castle and private rooms makes this a good choice for couples on a budget.

Last minute availability

Although booking in advance is obviously the best way to ensure you have somewhere to stay, it is still possible to find somewhere at short notice. Hotels, apartments and hostels may have late cancellations, so not all is lost if you’re looking to book late.

The major hotel booking sites, such as Booking.com and Hotels.com make it easy to find out what is still available if you’ve left it late.



Staying outside Edinburgh

While the majority of people will want to stay within Edinburgh itself, good transport links means it’s possible to stay somewhere else and travel to Edinburgh for the Festival. Parking in Edinburgh can be an issue during the Festival, so choosing somewhere with good bus or train services to Edinburgh is probably the best idea.

There are a few hotels around Edinburgh Airport – connected to the centre of Edinburgh by bus – although these are likely to be booked up in advance.

Glasgow and Stirling are both around one hour from Edinburgh by train, while Perth is around one hour and twenty minutes away. Much of the county of Fife is a short train journey from Edinburgh.

For those looking to hire a car the options increase significantly. Edinburgh is in the middle of the county of Midlothian, bordering which are the counties of East Lothian, Berwickshire, Roxburghshire, Selkirkshire, Peeblesshire, Lanarkshire and West Lothian.


Recommended options outside Edinburgh
Macdonald Houstoun HouseA luxury castle hotel located to the west of Edinburgh.
Carberry TowerA luxury castle hotel just to the east of Edinburgh.
Cringletie HouseA luxury castle hotel in the Scottish Borders.
Blythswood Square HotelA luxury hotel in the West End of Glasgow.

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Edinburgh blog posts

Cherry blossom in Edinburgh
23rd of April 2019 •
Old and new Comiston Houses
29th of March 2016 •
Quintinshill rail disaster parade
23rd of May 2015 •
Cycling along Silverknowes Esplanade in Edinburgh
5th of April 2015 •
Solar eclipse in Edinburgh
21st of March 2015 •
The (old) Royal High School in Edinburgh
7th of February 2015 •
Excavating the old Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh
19th of July 2014 •
Hot Rum Cow launch at Jeremiah’s Taproom
8th of May 2014 •
Walter Scott’s Abbotsford (and some castles)
26th of April 2014 •
Walking along the Union Canal in Edinburgh
19th of April 2014 •
Russell Crowe at the Noah premiere in Edinburgh
29th of March 2014 •
Spectacular views of Edinburgh from Arthur’s Seat
16th of March 2014 •
Edinburgh’s Christmas 2013
12th of December 2013 •
Edinburgh’s Christmas lights switch-on
24th of November 2013 •
Sunrise from Calton Hill in Edinburgh
19th of November 2013 •
more Edinburgh blog posts….
Edinburgh Festival accommodation guide
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Published on the 19th of November 2013 at 10:03 pm. Updated on the 29th of February 2020 at 8:58 am.

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Andy Sweet above Fast Castle

Stravaiging around Scotland is written, photographed and researched by Andy Sweet.
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