mikelat

Hi all,
read some posts but still had questions. I'm going to be in Edinburgh for 3 days in late Febrary/early March.

I've been looking for hotels but can't seem to find ones that have good tripadvisor reviews, are located in city center, and are priced under USD $200/night. Any recommendations?

As for things to do, I'm very open there. I love food and wine some something there would be interesting. I'd also like to see any interesting sights nearby. I'm not much of a scotch drinker currently but would be interested in a tour/tasting if one is highly recommended.

Thanks in advance for any advice/suggestions!

alanR

If you are coming when Scotland is playing at home in the 6 Nations then you'll have problems

http://www.viagogo.co.uk/Sports-Tick...ations-Tickets

But I'm otherwise surprised as even the likes of the Missoni & Balmoral come start at around the £150 mark and most Edinburgh hotels are far less - I'd personally try for the Apex on Waterloo Place as it's a few minutes walk to Waverly but in a quiet backwater. Failing that the Jurys Inn or Sheraton or Calaedonian Hilton should fit the bill

Jenbel

There are also the Apex on the Grassmarket although the area can get quite 'boisterous'

oscietra

I wouldn't plump for either Apex property; always bottom of my list when seeking out hotels in EDI.

Before you go, rent a copy of Greyfriars Bobby:




http://www.amazon.co.uk/Greyfriars-B.../dp/B0002B9620

and stay at the delightful



http://www.hotelduvin.com/hotels/edi...edinburgh.aspx

...which is just next door to the Greyfriars Bobby memorial.

Rooms start at £119 incl. brekky and there are offers available such as spend £75 in the bistro on Sundays, pay just £25 for your room.

oscietra

While there, you should visit the Royal Yacht Britannia; a floating palace and remarkably modest. As good a tourist attraction as they come:

http://www.royalyachtbritannia.co.uk/

You could also rent a car and see Concorde nearby:

http://www.nms.ac.uk/our_museums/mus.../concorde.aspx

The Ghost Tour would be a fun thing to do on a winter's night:

http://www.mercattours.com/ghost-tours.asp

The aforementioned Hotel du Vin is a short walk from the centre of town, but not too far and the restaurant is superb; arrange a private winetasting if you're there in a group, they have a superb tasting room, and the restaurant is notably good (though avoid the fried mars bars!).

Jenbel

For the food and drink options, I keep a thread detailing where I've eaten recently and giving short reviews. While obviously I cannot get around every restaurant I, and other contributors to the thread do our best

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/u-k-i...t-reviews.html

There are a number of Michelin places in Edinbugh - Kitchin, Martin Wishart, No. 1 at Balmoral, 21212. Plumed Horse lost its star at the last review - I'm thinking i might be missing one? Oh, Castle Terrace, new on this year.

Other things to do - Dynamic Earth, the newly revamped Portrait Gallery (seriously good now), the newly revamped National Museum of Scotland (vast improvement over old museum, even if the fishponds were removed), the National Gallery on the Mound has a good painting collection given its' small size. I think the Georgian House on Charlotte Square may be closed but do check, as it's a good insight into what life was like when the New Town really was new. The Order of the Thistle Chapel in St Giles Cathedral is lush, but not often recommended. Holyrood and the associated Queens Gallery are well worth a visit, as is the Scottish Parliament. I'm rather less enthusiastic about the Castle, but it has improved a lot from the very dull place it was when I was little.

there are Giant Pandas at Edinburgh zoo - and in fact in Feb/March we'll be back into 'are they going to shag?!' mode again. You need to pre-book tickets to see them generally.

Day trips out - Concorde is certainly one, others are Roslin Chapel and also Stirling Castle has recently enjoyed a revamp and is meant to be superb.

It's not a good time to go to the Botanics, which is a shame as the afternoon tea is good value and really nice.