The Best B&Bs and Guest Houses in Edinburgh (2026)

Central-ish: the honest answer to "B&B in Edinburgh city centre". True city-centre B&Bs barely exist. The Old Town's small places are hotels, aparthotels and rooms above bars, and the handful of New Town townhouses that still sell rooms with breakfast sit on the edges, between St Andrew Square and Calton Hill or out towards Bellevue. These five are the closest genuine owner-run B&Bs to the Royal Mile, from 12 to 28 minutes' walk, and they're the ones I'd book if being able to walk everywhere matters more than parking or price. If it has to be the Old Town itself, go to the Old Town hotels page instead.

Elder York Guest House is the most central B&B in Edinburgh that I'd send anyone to: a family-run guest house of 12 rooms on the upper floors of a listed building on Elder Street, a few steps from St Andrew Square and the bus station. It's 12 minutes on foot to the Royal Mile at the Tron and 9 to Princes Street, so you won't need a bus at all. The price includes a full Scottish breakfast, or continental if you'd rather, and reviewers keep coming back to the same three things: the location, the family who run it and the size of the breakfast. More on the area: hotels in the New Town.

Breakfast full Scottish or continental, included · Minimum stay none stated · Parking none mentioned, so plan on a city car park · Stairs second and third floors, no lift · Princes Street 9 minutes' walk · Royal Mile 12 minutes' walk. The catch is booking it. There's no online booking of its own, it isn't selling November nights on Booking.com, and its prices page is years old, so phone 0131 556 1926 and ask. Not every room is en-suite, so say you want one when you call.

Crescent House is the B&B I'd book for a treat within walking distance of everything: three suites in a townhouse on Claremont Crescent, opened in 2018 by Michael, an artist and interior designer who runs the breakfast, and Paul, who looks after guests. It holds a perfect 5.0 on Google from 84 reviews. Breakfast is a spread rather than a fry-up: pastries baked that morning, fruit salad, yogurt, Scottish and European cheeses and cold meats, jams and their own Scottish crumpets, with dietary needs covered. The Royal Mile is 28 minutes' walk, Princes Street 25, and the bus isn't faster. It sits at the Bellevue end of the patch covered on the Stockbridge and Canonmills page.

Breakfast continental spread, included · Minimum stay none on the November calendar (10% off for four nights or more) · Parking free outside from 5:30pm to 8:30am and all weekend; midweek daytime £15 a day through a neighbour, booked ahead · Stairs suites upstairs, no lift mentioned · Princes Street 25 minutes' walk · Royal Mile 28 minutes' walk. The Calton and Pentland Suites were £200 a night with breakfast for Tuesday 10 November and the Heriot £215. With three suites it sells out fast. Ask for the Calton, the south-facing one with the deep bath and the view of Calton Hill and Arthur's Seat.

Six Brunton Place is the small, handsome one on the far side of Calton Hill: a Georgian townhouse with four en-suite rooms and a cantilevered stone staircase inside, hosted by Hilary, on a quiet residential street. It rates 4.7 on Google from 83 reviews. The bus from the end of the street is about 9 minutes to Princes Street, and the Royal Mile is 25 minutes on foot, so it's close without being in the crowds. It suits a couple who want character and a garden room, not a family: children aren't taken. Nearby hotels are on the New Town page.

Breakfast a full breakfast, which the rates page says is included; the booking page marks it only on the Garden Room, so confirm · Minimum stay one night was bookable in November · Parking no private spaces; street parking is free at weekends and pay-and-display on weekdays, with covered parking at St James Quarter about 10 minutes away · Stairs stone staircase, no lift mentioned · Princes Street about 9 minutes by bus · Royal Mile 25 minutes' walk. The Playfair Room was £210 for Tuesday 10 November on the booking page, well above the £159 winter price on the rates page, so ask which applies before you pay. The deposit is the first night and you need 14 days' notice to get it back. Ask for the Garden Room if you want French windows onto the garden.

East Claremont Guest House is where I'd go north of the New Town for a proper cooked breakfast: every rate at this 19th-century corner townhouse includes one, made to order, with scones, pancakes and cheese on the side, and every room is en-suite. It holds 4.2 on Google from 144 reviews, and the breakfast is what the good ones talk about. Princes Street is 19 minutes on foot or about 15 by bus, and the Royal Mile is 23 minutes' walk, which makes it one of the more central B&Bs in the city. Full area write-up: Stockbridge, Canonmills and Bellevue.

Breakfast full cooked, included in every rate · Minimum stay none stated · Parking none mentioned, so ask · Stairs three floors, no lift; the Deluxe Double and one Standard Double are on the ground floor · Princes Street about 15 minutes by bus · Royal Mile 23 minutes' walk. A Standard Double was £170 with breakfast and free cancellation for Tuesday 17 November. The en-suites are small, and a winter Google reviewer couldn't adjust the heating from the room. For a quiet night, the Superior Double faces the garden at the back; for a four-poster, take the ground-floor Deluxe Double.

The Stevenson House is the most unusual B&B in Edinburgh: two bedrooms in a private family home at 17 Heriot Row, the New Town house that was Robert Louis Stevenson's family home, now lived in by the Macfie family, who take B&B guests all year. The master bedroom on the first floor has a four-poster, William Morris wallpaper and the original Victorian bath the Stevensons put in; the twin on the second floor looks north towards Fife. Breakfast comes with home-baked bread and Mrs Macfie's own jams. The Royal Mile is 21 minutes' walk and Princes Street 15, so there's no bus to think about.

Breakfast included, with home baking · Minimum stay none stated (five nights or more gets a free dinner with wine) · Parking none mentioned, so ask · Stairs first and second floors, stone staircase, no lift mentioned · Princes Street 15 minutes' walk, no bus needed · Royal Mile 21 minutes' walk. The trade-off is how you book: there's no online booking, only an enquiry form and a phone number, and the published prices (£200 for the double, £160 for the twin) are from an old page, so treat them as a guide. You're a guest in a house that also hosts dinners and events, which is the charm and, for some, the drawback. Ask for the master bedroom for the bath. The New Town's hotels are on the New Town page.

Southside and Newington: the guesthouse strip. Most of Edinburgh's B&Bs are here, in the stone villas along Minto Street, Mayfield Gardens and the roads off Dalkeith Road, a mile or so south of the Old Town. It's the best part of the city for a cooked breakfast and free parking, and the bus is easy: the 3, 7, 8, 29, 31, 37 and 49 run up the main road into town. The price is distance, 24 to 32 minutes on foot to the Royal Mile, and stairs, since hardly any of these houses has a lift. The area is covered house by house on the Bruntsfield, Morningside and Southside page.

23 Mayfield is the breakfast to beat in Edinburgh's B&B belt, and my pick for a couple's special trip. Ross, a former ship's chef, cooks to order in a candlelit dining room (two-hour porridge, Stornoway black pudding, bread from a local bakery) while Kathleen runs the house, a detached Victorian villa of mahogany panelling and four-posters. It holds 5.0 on Google from 217 reviews. The Royal Mile is 31 minutes' walk and the bus to Princes Street about 22 minutes, with half a dozen routes passing the door.

Breakfast full Scottish cooked to order, included · Minimum stay two nights, even midweek in November · Parking free and secure for direct bookings · Stairs three storeys, no lift · Princes Street about 22 minutes by bus · Royal Mile 31 minutes' walk. A Deluxe Tudor room was £219 a night with breakfast and the 5% levy included, on a two-night minimum, and a Grand room £235. The terms are firm: cancel within 40 days of arrival and you pay the whole stay, there are no under-8s, and you're out by 10am. For Arthur's Seat out of the window, book the Grand Tudor, alone on the top landing.

Glenalmond House, next door to 23 Mayfield, is the classic family-run B&B done properly: nine en-suite rooms run by Jimmy and Fiona, and a breakfast you order the night before from a real menu (McSween's haggis, Loch Fyne smoked salmon with scrambled egg, a vegetarian haggis, waffles, Scottish pancakes from a local bakery and free-range eggs, with vegan and gluten-free options). It rates 4.8 on Google from 117 reviews. It's also the easiest of these houses for anyone who struggles with stairs: four bedrooms are on the ground floor behind a very small front step.

Breakfast full, from a menu, included · Minimum stay none stated · Parking free on site, one space per room, no need to book · Stairs four ground-floor rooms with level access · Princes Street about 22 minutes by bus · Royal Mile 31 minutes' walk. The tariff page lists winter rooms from £165 a night with breakfast, the rooms page shows lower prices, and no November nights are on sale online, so phone to book and get the price in writing. There's no air conditioning and the Classic rooms are on the small side. Ask for a Terrace room: ground floor, a private terrace and a bigger shower.

Sherwood Guest House is the value pick of the strip and the nearest to town: Vivienne's six-room Georgian house at 42 Minto Street, 24 minutes' walk from the Royal Mile and about 17 minutes by bus to Princes Street, with seven routes at the door. Google reviewers give it 4.8 from 97 reviews. The rooms are small but unusually practical for a guesthouse, with a fridge, a microwave, a safe and a welcome tray.

Breakfast continental only, included · Minimum stay two nights every night through December; the third night free from 1 November to 18 December · Parking a few free spaces, not enough for every room; street parking about £12 a day · Stairs Georgian townhouse, no lift · Princes Street about 17 minutes by bus · Royal Mile 24 minutes' walk. En-suite doubles are from £150 a night on the house's published rate, with the levy included. The doubles are about 10 square metres, there's no cooked option, and check-out is 10am. Skip Room 2, the twin with its bathroom next door, unless you don't mind.

Barony House isn't taking online bookings this autumn and winter, so phone 0131 662 9938 for dates before you plan around it. When it's open, it's a favourite: 5.0 on Google from 225 reviews for a family-run Victorian house on the same stretch of Mayfield Gardens as Glenalmond, with rooms designed by Susan, the resident artist, who also cooks the breakfast from locally sourced ingredients (and takes coeliac diets seriously). The room to ask for is the Royal, on the first floor at the front with a view of Arthur's Seat. The two Servants' Quarters rooms, down their own stone steps with a shared Club Room, are quirkier and more private.

Breakfast cooked, included · Minimum stay none stated · Parking three free private spaces out front (reserve one) plus free side-street parking · Stairs first-floor walk-up; Servants' Quarters via outside steps · Princes Street about 21 minutes by bus · Royal Mile 32 minutes' walk. There's no published price and nothing on sale online from October to April, so phone or message the house to find out whether it's taking bookings for your dates. No children, no pets, and the Servants' Quarters mean a walk outside to breakfast.

Bruntsfield and Gilmore Place: the west side of the Meadows. The second B&B cluster is on the other side of the Meadows, along Gilmore Place and the quiet streets off Bruntsfield Links, with Bruntsfield's cafes and delis on the doorstep. It's the same walk as Newington (26 to 35 minutes to the Royal Mile), slightly nearer the Castle end of town. More options: Bruntsfield, Morningside and the Southside.

Castle Park Guest House is the B&B I'd book on Gilmore Place, and the welcome is why. Ian and David, hoteliers in Sitges before they came here, cook breakfast to order with their own bread for the seven rooms at number 75, and reviewers rate the house 4.8 on Google from 233 reviews. The Royal Mile is 27 minutes' walk and the bus about 22 minutes to Princes Street, with the 10 and 27 stopping at the corner.

Breakfast cooked to order; the booking page adds it as a separate line once you pick a room, and the amount isn't shown up front · Minimum stay two nights on every November date · Parking none; a reduced daily rate at an underground car park 8 minutes away · Stairs one or two flights, no lift, no ground-floor room · Princes Street about 22 minutes by bus · Royal Mile 27 minutes' walk. A Standard Double was £150 a night room rate for Tuesday 17 November on a two-night minimum (the house was closed 2 to 16 November), VAT and the 5% levy included, paid on arrival with free cancellation until seven days before. Check-in is 3pm to 7pm, so tell them when you'll arrive, and ask for the Mackenzie Room, the biggest.

Averon Guest House is the B&B for drivers, and the one with a party trick: a guest house on Gilmore Place with a free car park of 14 spaces and a bookable EV charger, a rarity this close to the Castle. The owner, Alan Cran, sings Scottish songs for guests five evenings a week, free, at 9:30pm. It holds 4.3 on Google from 576 reviews, and the host is what the five-star ones talk about. The Royal Mile is 26 minutes on foot and Princes Street about 21 minutes by bus.

Breakfast included, but basic (a two-star Google reviewer lists toast, jam and cheese) · Minimum stay three nights, even midweek in November · Parking free, 14 spaces, plus an EV charger · Stairs yes, no lift mentioned · Princes Street about 21 minutes by bus · Royal Mile 26 minutes' walk. A double en-suite was £463.68 for three nights from Tuesday 10 November, about £155 a night with breakfast, paid up front with a cancellation fee (£510.06 on the free-cancellation rate). The house and some beds are dated, and not every room is en-suite, so check the room type. Come for the parking and the singing, not for a boutique room.

Leith and the north: breakfast by the Links. Leith has one short row of guesthouses worth knowing, on Hermitage Place and East Hermitage Place facing Leith Links, 13 to 14 minutes' walk from the Shore's restaurants. It's a long walk to the Royal Mile (45 to 49 minutes) but a short bus: the 1 gets you to the east end of Princes Street in about 15 minutes door to door. On Pilrig Street, halfway up Leith Walk, Fraoch House is effectively room-only now and the Balmoral Guest House has closed. Leith's hotels are on the Leith page.

Crioch Guest House is my Leith pick, booked by phone only, and old-school in the best sense: six rooms run by Dora and James Marshall, who live in the house, with James taking your breakfast order at the table and Dora cooking it. It holds 4.9 on Google from 86 reviews, and the breakfast and the hosts are in almost every one of them. It faces the Links, with free parking outside.

Breakfast cooked to order from a menu; ask whether it's in your rate · Minimum stay none stated · Parking free, ample · Stairs all bedrooms upstairs, no lift · Princes Street about 16 minutes by bus · Royal Mile 49 minutes' walk. The catch is that you can't book it online any more: the booking link is dead and Booking.com isn't selling it, so phone 0131 554 5494 or email. Five rooms are en-suite and one has private facilities outside the room, and a summer Google reviewer found the second floor warm at night.

Culane House Hotel is a guest house despite the name, and the Leith B&B I'd pick if you want breakfast in the price without phoning around: ten rooms at 8-9 Hermitage Place by the Links, and for a family or group, two two-bedroom apartments round the back with a door of their own. A self-service continental or cooked breakfast is included. It holds 4.2 on Google from 117 reviews. The Shore is 13 minutes' walk, Princes Street about 15 minutes on the 1 bus, and the Royal Mile 45 minutes on foot.

Breakfast self-service continental or cooked, included · Minimum stay none stated · Parking free on the street outside · Stairs yes, no lift; the two apartments at the rear are at ground level · Princes Street about 15 minutes by bus · Royal Mile 45 minutes' walk. There's no from-price online, so book through the site or on 0131 554 7331 and compare it with Sandaig round the corner on East Hermitage Place. Expect a warm, slightly old-fashioned guest house rather than a design hotel; Google reviewers find the breakfast plain unless you take the cooked option.

Sandaig Guest House is the budget choice in Leith if you're happy to pay for breakfast separately: a family-run house in two Victorian villas on East Hermitage Place, facing the Links, where every room is en-suite except one ground-floor king with its own bathroom across the hall. The house publishes no from-rate; Kayak's January average is about £71 a night, and breakfast, cooked or continental, is £10 a head. It holds 4.2 on Google from 146 reviews. The 1 bus is about 16 minutes door to Princes Street, and the Royal Mile is 47 minutes on foot.

Breakfast cooked or continental, £10 a head extra · Minimum stay none stated · Parking none mentioned, so ask · Stairs Victorian stairs, no lift; one ground-floor king · Princes Street about 16 minutes by bus · Royal Mile 47 minutes' walk. Treat the £71 as a guide, not a rate: August averages £210. The desk isn't always staffed and check-in closes at 9pm, so ring with your arrival time. For more room, it's the superior double on the first floor.

By the sea: Portobello and Joppa. If you'd rather wake up by a beach than a castle, the two small B&Bs at the Joppa end of Portobello are about as close to the sand as you can book. They're a long way from the Royal Mile on foot (about an hour and a half), but the 26 bus runs along Joppa Road into town in about 35 minutes. Both are owner-run, tiny and strict about their calendars. The rest of Portobello's beds are on the Portobello page.

Seabreeze Guest House is the cheaper of the two and the one that opens in winter: Salma's two-room house on Seaview Terrace, where the king room's bay window looks over the Forth and the 26 stops a minute away. It holds 4.8 on Google from 23 reviews, and the host and that bus stop are what people write about.

Breakfast self-service continental, included · Minimum stay three nights · Parking free on the street outside · Stairs not stated; ask · Princes Street about 36 minutes by bus · Royal Mile about 1 hour 35 minutes' walk. The King Size Room with Sea View was £99 a night for two with breakfast, three nights from Tuesday 17 November (£297), and the Small Double £95. It's closed 6 to 14 November and through most of December, check-in is 4pm to 6pm unless arranged, and cancelling inside a week costs the whole stay. Take the king room: it's the only en-suite.

Straven Guesthouse is the Portobello B&B I'd choose for a spring or summer week: a Victorian villa on Brunstane Road North, a minute from the promenade, with a breakfast menu that goes well past the full Scottish (Bircher muesli, shakshuka, menemen and upma sit alongside it). It holds 4.9 on Google from 80 reviews. There are three or four en-suite rooms (the site and its booking page disagree), two of them on the ground floor, and a guest lounge with a coffee machine.

Breakfast full cooked menu, included · Minimum stay three or four nights · Parking reviewers found it easy on the street out front · Stairs a step, a sloped path and four steps to the door; two ground-floor rooms · Princes Street about 34 minutes by bus · Royal Mile about 1 hour 28 minutes' walk. It's seasonal: the calendar is closed from 5 October to 27 December 2026 and from 6 January to 23 March 2027, and the first dates for two in 2027 are from £145 to £161 a night with breakfast. Payment is in full at booking, no under-12s and no pets. Ask for the Superking Sea View room upstairs if stairs are fine.