We independently evaluate all of our recommendations. If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation. Hotels + Resorts Hotel Reviews Edinburgh’s Newest Hotel Has Just 30 Rooms Set in a Victorian Townhouse — Here’s What It’s Like to Stay Laced with history and draped in tartan, 100 Princes Street feels like the private townhouse of a Victorian-era Scottish explorer. By Nicole Trilivas Nicole Trilivas Nicole Trilivas is a British-American writer based in London, covering luxury travel and food and drink. She is the author of the novel "Girls Who Travel" and recently appeared on the U.K.'s Channel 5 television series "Inside the World’s Most Expensive Hotels" as an expert on five-star hotels. Travel + Leisure Editorial Guidelines Published on July 16, 2024 In This Article View All In This Article How to Book The Rooms Food and Drink Activities and Amenities Family-friendly Offerings Accessibility and Sustainability Location How to Get the Most Value Out of Your Stay Photo: Courtesy of 100 Princes Street With just 30 rooms tucked away in a discreet and historic townhouse crammed between shops on the always-busy Princes Street in the heart of Edinburgh’s New Town, 100 Princes Street is a romantic refuge from the bores of modern life. Its sumptuously Scottish design draws from centuries past. On a wet afternoon, I step off the busy street and all but topple — Alice-like — into the Victorian age of exploration where curios abound, tartans drape, and whimsy beckons. Part of the family-owned Red Carnation Hotel Collection (which also has Ireland’s Ashford Castle and Botswana’s Xigera in its coterie), this new hideout takes up residence in the one-time Scottish headquarters of the Royal Over-Seas League, a member’s club and non-profit founded in 1910, now under the royal patronage of King Charles. While the ornamented ceiling of the tall foyer is original (as is the staircase railing to the first floor), the rest of the property has been gut-renovated to fanciful perfection. Courtesy of 100 Princes Street Storybook-like murals by London-based studio Croxford and Saunders dress the walls of each floor, depicting far-off locales from the snowy South Pole to the sunny Azores. At the top of the stairs on the fifth floor hangs a many-orbed chandelier, reminiscent of a hot air balloon from a turn-of-the-century world’s fair. Guest rooms whisk me away again, each individually dressed jewel boxes of mirrored chiffoniers, porthole windows, and silk flowers, though some — like the attic quarters, with slanted ceilings — are more restrained. The residents-only, all-day restaurant has a nautical air that reminds me of a captain’s quarters, with ceiling murals drawing astrological maps and nautical charts to mind. While the property takes design cues from all four corners of the realm, it’s Scottish at heart. Here, haggis is for breakfast, McQueen inspires staff uniforms, fur-tassel kilt sporrans double as do-not-disturb signs, and scotch steals the show — with nearly 160 single malts on offer (soon to be 200), all housed in a private tasting room. Here’s what it’s like to stay. 100 Princes Street Design-wise, this is the bygone Victorian Edinburgh of your dreams with flickering fireplaces, carpets thick as clotted cream, and walls clad in handsome tartan and emerald velvets.With magical, rain-misted views over Edinburgh Castle and Princes Street Gardens, the two theatrical signature suites on the high-ceilinged first floor — named after renowned Scottish adventurers Archibald Menzies and Isobel Wylie Hutchison — are lavish lairs worthy of modern-day lairds.The location is a 10: You’re right in the action, on the city’s central, modern shopping drag of Princes Street, but triple-glazed windows keep out the racket. How to Book Address: 100 Princes Street, Edinburgh EH2 3AB Scotland Phone: +44 131 287 3100 Website: 100princes-street.com Book Now The Rooms Courtesy of 100 Princes Street All 30 rooms are individually styled with unique features, so upon booking, feel free to voice preferences — bath or showers, castle views, more space, etc., can all be accommodated. Want outdoor space for the two days of Scottish sunshine a year? Ask for one of the two terrace suites. However, it’s the two signature suites, Archibald and Isobel, that win on atmosphere alone, with Archibald taking top billing with a model clipper ship, gas fireplace, and sea-blue blown-glass apothecary bottles that were purchased before the location for the hotel was even secured. All rooms come with a hearty helping of heritage with tartan bedspreads (and sometimes wallpaper) in five colorways, dreamed up by renowned Edinburgh-based textiles designer Araminta Campbell, who also recently made a bespoke tartan for Balmoral Castle by request of King Charles. Courtesy of 100 Princes Street Book Now Food and Drink Courtesy of 100 Princes Street With arguably the best views of the castle in town, The Wallace is the hotel’s restaurant, reserved for guests only, though there’s talk of the space doubling as a members club by the end of the year. If you think The Wallace must be named after William Wallace, you’d be correct; however, stylistically, the restaurant is more "Around the World in Eighty Days" protagonist Phileas Fogg with antique globes, oversized armchairs, and embossed walls evoking a leather traveling trunk. Courtesy of 100 Princes Street The food, spiffed-up classics, is delicious, though slightly inconsistent. For breakfast, it has to be the full Scottish, a protein plate piled with haggis, smoked bacon, and black pudding, or the drop scones with tooth-achingly sweet butterscotch maple syrup. Lunch and dinner offer a taste of the empire (baba ghanoush, koftas with tzatziki, etc.), plus a solid selection of domestic tastes, including a starter of crisped-up haggis bonbons with whisky dip, neeps and tatties (a side dish of mashed potatoes and rutabaga); and a selection of hearty butcher cuts from noted East Lothian butcher John Gilmore. A staple at every Red Carnation hotel, Bea’s cheesecake, the family receipt of Beatrice Tollman, the company's president and founder, is the highlight of the dessert menu (though the carrot cake in the afternoon tea makes for a close second, as do the warm raisin scones). House wine comes from the South African boutique vineyard Bouchard Finlayson, also owned by the Tollman family. The vineyard's dessert Aurum Straw Reisling is worth the splurge, offered in minimal quantities of only around 100 bottles per year. Courtesy of 100 Princes Street Named after the old-fashioned Gaelic name for the assisting attendant on highland hunting or fishing expeditions, Ghillie's Pantry is stocked with whisky for private tastings with in-house expert Dario, who will fling your taste buds all around Scotland, dram by dram. The $200-plus pour of Laphroaig 20-Year-Old Director’s Special is the most expensive. “It’s one of one, and when it’s gone, it’s gone,” says Dario. The intimate, dimly lit setting can also be used as a private dining room seating 12. Activities and Amenities About a month before your stay, the team at 100 Princes Street will get in touch to plan your itinerary, offering a small, curated selection of local experiences. Have a behind-the-scenes look at the Araminta Campbell atelier; go for a gin-making experience at the Kingsbarns Distillery in St Andrews; or commission a personalized scent with Imogen Russon-Taylor, founder and nose of perfumery Kingdom Scotland. The one experience not to miss is the whisky tasting in Ghillie's Pantry. There is no gym on-site; however, guests can use the Cave Fit gym within the Edinburgh Grand at a charge of around $30 per day, and personal training sessions can be arranged in Princes Street Gardens for an additional cost. There is no spa on-site, but the team is happy to recommend local spas and allows spa treatments in-room, space permitting. Family-friendly Offerings The hotel has activity suggestions for families and children (for example, the hotel teamed up with The Potter Trail to create a unique experience exclusively for their guests). The Wallace also has a children’s menu and wee bathrobes for the bairns in the marble guest bathrooms. Accessibility and Sustainability There are two fully adapted bedrooms, and — along with a small lift at the entrance — there is a larger lift at the rear that can accommodate a wheelchair. A ramp can be arranged for the entryway steps to the main door. Regarding sustainability, there are no single-use plastics, recycling bins are provided in guest rooms, and flowers are made of silk to reduce waste. Location Divided into the New Town and Old Town, Edinburgh is a very walkable city. The hotel’s New Town location couldn’t be much better: Princes Street is the main street and a modern shopping hub, and the hotel has views over the imposing Edinburgh Castle and Princes Street Gardens. Within a fifteen-minute walk, you’ll find most of the city’s main attractions, including the historic Old Town, Scott Monument, Scottish National Gallery, Royal Scottish Academy, and the National Portrait Gallery. The airport is about 35 minutes away via tram, which stops on Princes Street, and the city’s central train station, Waverley, is a 10-minute walk away. (The hotel is working on arranging for a bike porter to meet guests at the station and help with luggage.) There’s no shortage of low-ceiling atmospheric pubs and cozy restaurants nearby: The fine dining Witchery is a famed Old Town icon for a reason, with spooky-meets-romantic candle-lit interiors and 16th-century architectural features. Dishes are old-world opulent, including spoils like mallard duck from the Balmoral Estate, just-shucked oysters from Scotland’s west coast (served with zesty Bloody Mary sauce), and an exquisite, pastry-blanketed lamb Wellington for two, a crowd favorite. All meals include tales from your server about the latest ghost sightings — or, if you prefer, celeb sightings, as both haunt this popular restaurant. Many pubs are outfitted with a dizzying selection of scotches, including the nearby Jolly Judge, Ensign Ewart, and (in the New Town) Thistle Street Bar. Venture to Leith on the city’s northern waterfront for the chicest new design shop in town, Bard, which is challenging expectations around Scottish craft and design. How to Get the Most Value Out of Your Stay There is no reward program at present. For the best rates, travel outside of major city events (like the Fringe Festival in August and New Year's Hogmanay).