The New Town was built as the antidote to the crowded medieval Old Town — wide Georgian streets, planned squares, and an architecture of rational elegance rather than organic accumulation. The original plan covered six principal streets running east-west (Princes Street to Queen Street) with the famous grid squares (Charlotte, St Andrew, and Moray) connecting them. The result is a district that has been continuously inhabited by Edinburgh's professional and cultural classes for over 250 years.
For hotel guests, the New Town offers the best combination of quality dining, independent shopping, and elegant surroundings in Edinburgh. George Street — the backbone of the New Town — has the city's best restaurants (Baba, The Honours, Contini) and the best cocktail bars (Bramble, Voodoo Rooms). The parallel Rose Street is Edinburgh's traditional pub strip. Stockbridge, one street north, is the city's most characterful neighbourhood.
The major luxury hotels — The Balmoral and Waldorf Astoria (Caledonian) — sit at the east and west ends of Princes Street, framing the New Town. Between them, the New Town has a cluster of boutique and independent hotels — Nira Caledonia, Eden Locke, Kimpton Charlotte Square, The Principal Edinburgh — that represent the best mid-to-upper range accommodation in the city.
The New Town's most important hotel advantage over the Old Town is noise levels — the Georgian residential streets north of Princes Street are significantly quieter than the Royal Mile, and the street plan means hotel rooms face Georgian facades rather than cobbled tourist streets. Sleep quality in the New Town is measurably better than in the equivalent Old Town properties.
Prices in the New Town are broadly comparable to the Old Town — the premium location commands its own premium. Look for special rates on weekdays outside Festival season.
