Princes Street / Waverley

The Balmoral

★★★★★

The Balmoral is the hotel Edinburgh points to when it wants to show off. It opened in 1902 as the North British Hotel, the grand railway hotel built over Waverley station, and its clock tower at the east end of Princes Street has been a city landmark ever since — famously kept three minutes fast so that travellers do not miss their trains (except at Hogmanay, when it is set right for the midnight bells). It took the Balmoral name after a major refurbishment in the late twentieth century and is run today by Rocco Forte Hotels. The address is unbeatable: Waverley station is literally beneath you, the Old Town rises across the valley, the New Town grid spreads behind, and Calton Hill, the Royal Mile and Princes Street Gardens are all a short walk away. There are 151 bedrooms plus 16 junior suites and 20 suites, and the rooms that face the castle or Calton Hill are the ones to request. Interiors mix tartan and tweed accents with a calm, contemporary palette. The hotel's place in literary history is secure: J.K. Rowling finished the final Harry Potter book in one of its suites in 2007, and the suite now bears her name. Dining and drinking are attractions in themselves. Number One, the hotel's fine-dining restaurant, serves modern Scottish cooking at dinner and has long been one of the city's most acclaimed tables; Brasserie Prince serves classic French dishes in a livelier room; the Palm Court, under a glass dome with a harpist, is one of Edinburgh's favourite afternoon teas; and SCOTCH, the whisky bar, lists over five hundred Scottish whiskies with knowledgeable ambassadors to guide you. The Irene Forte Spa adds an indoor lap pool, sauna, steam room, gym and treatment rooms — a gift on a grey day.

Living in it: service is polished in the grand-hotel manner, with doormen in kilts greeting arrivals and a concierge desk that can secure tables and tours in a city where both sell out in August and December. Rooms are generous by city-centre standards; the higher categories and suites give sweeping views of the castle, the Old Town or Calton Hill, and some of the best in the house look straight along Princes Street. Quieter interior-facing rooms exist, so ask for a view if it matters to you.

The base math: you can walk to almost everything a first-timer wants. The Royal Mile is up the North Bridge or the Waverley steps; Calton Hill is a few minutes east; the National Museum, the Scott Monument, the Scottish National Gallery and the Christmas market in East Princes Street Gardens are close at hand; and trains to Glasgow, Stirling, North Berwick and London leave from the station below. The airport tram stops on Princes Street nearby. The trade-off is that this is the busiest corner of the city, especially during the festivals and the Christmas season, so step out of the front door and you are in the crowd.

Price and timing: the Balmoral sits at the top of the Edinburgh market, and rates climb sharply in August, around Hogmanay and on major rugby weekends. Remember that the city's 5% visitor levy applies to the first five nights of a stay. It is the hotel for milestone birthdays, anniversaries, a proposal or a first trip to Scotland you want to feel like an event — and even if you stay elsewhere, afternoon tea in the Palm Court or a dram in SCOTCH is worth booking.