The Best Cheap Hotels to Book in Edinburgh, Scotland

In a fabulously opulent 18th-century building featuring mini-turrets, Salisbury Green is one of the best cheap hotels in Edinburgh. It houses 36 rooms in its Mansion House, with contemporary styling complementing the historic features of the building, while next door in its Masson House, the 72 rooms feature subtle colours, padded headboards and rainfall showers. The Salisbury Green Bistro has locally sourced produce: for breakfast you can feast on Charles Macleod Stornoway black pudding, Stobbs Farm smoked back bacon, and Hornigs haggis.

Another excellent cheap hotel in Edinburgh, this Victorian, warm-stone building has rich interiors in keeping with the architecture, with chandeliers, damask wallpapers, gilt mirrors and some rooms with two- or four-poster beds. The rooms feel contemporary with a nod to old-school notions of elegance, and you can tuck into a glass of sherry along with your complimentary shortbread. It’s handily located, only 1.5mi (2.4km) from the Royal Mile, with a direct bus route to the city centre from the doorstep.

The Point A chain offers modern comforts at astonishingly inexpensive prices. The pared-down, stylish rooms come with neutral design, comfortable Hypnos beds and sparkling bathrooms with power showers. Extra features include a 43-inch smart TV, Chromecast and atmospheric mood lighting. This contemporary boutique hotel is in the Lothian area, close to Edinburgh International Conference Centre and 1mi (1.6km) from the Royal Mile. Breakfast is included, and there’s a bar with stylish leather seating and stripped wooden floors.

One of the most charming cheap hotels in Edinburgh, the New Town Guesthouse might be in Edinburgh’s New Town, but it’s housed in a venerable Georgian townhouse, so it has rooms of all shapes and sizes. Rooms have wood-work painted in rich shades from yolky yellow to raspberry red, adding to their character and style. Flowers bedeck the guesthouse steps, and there are Indian-cotton bedspreads, red velvet curtains, vintage desks and leafy outlooks from the graceful sash windows.

Studio apartments are the order of the day at this chic boutique apartment hotel located right at the entrance to the New Town. The expansive café on the ground floor slings out artisan espressos daily and is filled with lush greenery and soft furnishings. This tranquillity is reflected in the apartments. Expect cool, Scandi-style furniture, a pale pastel colour palette and big, bright windows allowing the light to flood the rooms and providing excellent views of the Old Town.

This three-star Edinburgh hotel emulates the fashionable cool of London’s Shoreditch. Rustic wooden features, cool white walls and custom prints adorn the rooms, giving them a more composed feel than your average hotel. Cowgate is one of Edinburgh’s busiest nightspots, so if you’re up for a party, you couldn’t be better placed. For music, go to Sneaky Pete’s or the Caves. For bars, you’ve got Ox184. For clubbing, head to the Hive. The beauty of Arthur’s Seat is also just a short walk away.

A little further out from the centre, in Edinburgh’s Southside, Hotel Ceilidh-Donia is a really charming spot, with good access to some different parts of the city. The hotel itself has the feel of a converted townhouse, and the rooms echo that ambience. There are feature walls of floral patterns, canvas prints and original sash windows, with views overlooking Arthur’s Seat. Take advantage of the Southside if you stay here; the arts venue Summerhall is a great nearby spot for gigs and exhibitions. You’re also a short walk from Duddingston and one of the oldest pubs in Scotland, the Sheep Heid Inn.

Just outside New Town, Cairn Hotel is a well-located (and well-priced) boutique spot that dates back to the 18th century, designed by Scottish architect William H Playfair as part of a plan to build another New Town in the east of the city. The Neoclassical Grecian exterior is nicely contrasted with a contemporary Scottish interior. The rooms come with countryside prints, contemporary art and a rustic, autumnal colour palette. Cairn is a good choice for those looking to spend their budget on food: the Gardener’s Cottage and the Little Chartroom are both close by, and from Leith Walk you can hop on a bus to the Shore, one of the city’s best foodie locations.

You can’t get more central than this. The Grassmarket Hotel sits underneath Edinburgh Castle, with the Meadows, Cowgate, the National Museum and the gorgeous Victoria Street at each of its corners. Rooms are amusingly decorated with an array of Scottish institutions like The Dandy and The Broons comic strips, Tunnock’s Teacake mugs and detailed maps of the city. Often, hotels will emulate a kind of rural idyll when trying to channel their Scottishness, so it’s good to see Grassmarket playing with a funnier, more kitsch vision of the country. On Saturdays, the Edinburgh Farmer’s Market sets up stalls nearby from 10am to 5pm, with crowds descending upon the square pretty quickly.

Corstorphine village is a quaint, charming suburb towards the west of the city, just past Edinburgh Zoo, and home to this reasonably priced boutique hotel. Befitting its Scottish heritage, stags are a noticeable theme in the rooms here: you’ll find geometric stag heads on the walls, imitation antlers and painted stag silhouettes around every corner, giving the place a certain uniformity. The Torfin also has an on-site bar and restaurant that you’ll definitely want to try out, with modern gastropub food and excellent cocktails that bring visitors from the centre regularly.