Balmoral Hotel

"Grand" doesn't really go far enough when attempting to paint a verbal picture of the Balmoral. All the little touches - from polished oak rotating doors to chandeliers to the concierge's personal offer to meet your train at Waverley - hark back to (what The Skinny presumes) were the golden days of hotel-living. Yes, we all love cheap overnights, but they can't really compete with a doorman in a kilt, can they?
With two achingly elegant bars (one of which is Scotland's only Bollinger bar: see our listing) and a Michelin-star scooping restaurant - Hadrian's Brasserie - the Balmoral is understandably at the higher end of the price range when it comes to Edinburgh accommodation. But with a spa last year voted by Conde Nast as Scotland's best, it's well worth blowing your budget on a few days of unbridled luxury. And anyway, you'll be too relaxed to care.