A Festive Stay at The Principal Charlotte Square, Edinburgh

Early December every year, I try to book some time off work to get myself organised for Christmas and jump head first into the seasons festivities. I’ve wanted to visit Edinburgh for a while now as it’s been years since my last visit there so, we decided to head up North and start our 2018 Christmas in Edinburgh.

We took an early morning train from Crewe straight into Edinburgh Waverley and spent our two days eating & drinking at Edinburghs HUGE Christmas markets with some Christmas shopping in between. It well and truly threw me into the Christmas spirit and the trip couldn’t have been more perfect – a large proportion of this being attributed to our hotel.

Whenever we go away, I spend SO much time trawling the internet looking for hotel recommendations and reviews because for me it’s such a big part of any overnight stay or city break. Our trip to Edinburgh was booked via booking.com and we initially booked a different hotel before cancelling and re-booking The Principal Charlotte Square and I’m SO happy that we did.

The hotel is in the perfect location in the New Town area of Edinburgh, just off Princes Street. It overlooks a private garden square and is made up of several Georgian Townhouses that have undergone a recent multi-million-pound restoration.

The bedroom was styled perfectly with rich tones, tartan fabric and carefully thought out furniture pieces. Each room features the traditional red telephone at the bedside and a tuck box of goodies, as well as Principal bathroom toiletries. We couldn’t have felt more comfortable or at home during our stay and the room had absolutely everything we would need.

The hotel has two restaurants – The Garden and BABA. The Garden is in the centre of the hotel and is the PERFECT oasis to enjoy breakfast, afternoon coffee or post-dinner drinks. It has a glass roof and is styled around the theme of a pretty courtyard garden, with foliage and outdoor features every way you look. As we visited at Christmas we were also treated to the festive decor, including beautiful Christmas trees and extra large baubles making the space even more special. We enjoyed Breakfast in The Garden, as part of our booking, which included a full cold buffet as well as a choice from the hot menu, made to order.

BABA is the hotels middle eastern inspired restaurant which encapsulates all of the flavour and feel of the Levant. In the centre of the restaurant is a huge charcoal grill and if spicy, mezze style food is your thing, I would definitely recommend paying this place a visit. The dishes are smaller than usual, so our waitress recommended we order a certain number of dishes and so we spent the evening drinking red wine and making our way through the dishes – homemade hummus and breads, chargrilled prawns, grilled monkfish and cauliflower fritters to name a few.

The hotel also boasts a brand new gym and spa, which unfortunately we had no time to check out but it’s on our list for next time we visit.

In addition to the outstanding bedrooms, restaurants and other facilities, the staff at the hotel could not have been more friendly and accommodating. We will definitely be returning to the Principal Charlotte Square and have already recommended it to our family and friends!