Located in Edinburgh’s funky West End, this is a contemporary, yet well-priced, city centre hotel. It is housed in an elegant period property and has 46 guest rooms, all of which are impressively bedecked in bold colours and furnished with a mix of carefully chosen antiques and modern furniture. Equally welcoming is the warm hospitality given by the staff at this privately-owned, family-run hotel. The beds are comfy, there’s a scattering of contemporary art and bathrooms are equipped with fluffy towels, high-end showers and toiletries and powerful hairdryers. The hotel also has an attractive courtyard at its heart, which is the perfect place for summer lazing while enjoying a drink from the downstairs honesty bar. There’s also a cosy residents’ lounge where you can enjoy those aforementioned drinks, and a rather handsome dining room in which to enjoy breakfast – which is as good as it is in the other Brooks hotels in Bath and Bristol – and includes award-winning haggis from a local butcher, boiled eggs and soldiers and thick toasted slices of local artisan bread. As for the West End, it’s a great neighbourhood, really the elegant Georgian continuation of the New Town but full of independent shops, cool restaurants, venues and galleries, plus it’s only a five-minute walk to Princes Street and the castle, ten minutes to the Old Town and Royal Mile. The same people also run two other hotels in Bath and Bristol.