A Family stay in the Heart of Edinburgh

The organisation of family holidays has consistently been tasked to me, and it can be quite tricky when organising a trip that spans across two generations. However we thankfully always find a way to make it work. When we decided that a wee jaunt over to our capital city, Edinburgh would be a good shout, the Old Town Chambers for our accommodation was a no brainer. 

I arrived at the Old Town Chambers with two generations in tow - my mother, father and my sister - each with our own preferences, rhythms, and non-negotiables. It is the ultimate litmus test for any city hotel that dares to call itself a home from home: can it flex elegantly enough to make everyone feel both indulged and at ease? Old Town Chambers, tucked discreetly just off the historic spine of the Royal Mile, does more than that. It choreographs family life into something that feels like a very polished, exclusive secret.

Let's start with the apartments, because that's what sets Old Town Chambers apart from a traditional hotel.

For our stay, we had two separate apartments, which worked perfectly. Rather than booking multiple hotel rooms and spending most of the trip meeting in corridors or the breakfast room, we each had our own space while still feeling as though we were travelling together.

Our apartments came with fully equipped kitchen, generous living areas and enough room to properly settle in. After a day exploring Edinburgh, it was refreshing to return somewhere that felt more like a city apartment than a hotel room.

The design manages to acknowledge the building's history without feeling overly themed. Original stonework and period features sit comfortably alongside contemporary furnishings, and while we were situated on the Royal Mile, inside it felt surprisingly calm.

What I appreciated most was the practicality of it all. Travelling as a family means everyone operates on slightly different schedules. My parents could enjoy a quiet morning coffee in their apartment, while my sister and I could catch up over a cuppa in ours after dinner. Nobody felt confined to a bedroom waiting for the next day's plans.

The kitchens proved particularly useful. Not because we spent our weekend cooking elaborate meals — Edinburgh has far too many good restaurants for that — but because having the option makes a difference. Breakfast could be as relaxed as we wanted, drinks and snacks were always on hand, and Mum's evening herbal tea didn't require a call to room service.

It's the sort of flexibility you don't realise you're missing until you have it.

For families, longer stays or anyone who likes a little more independence when they travel, Old Town Chambers gets the balance exactly right. We still had the service and facilities of a luxury hotel, but with the space and freedom of having our own Edinburgh apartment.

What won us over at Old Town Chambers was not just the physical space, but the sheer, enviable discretion of it. A property this central - steps from the soaring crown spire of St Giles’ Cathedral and a heartbeat from EdinburghCastle’s dramatic volcanic silhouette -could easily be forgiven for a bit of city noise or tourist bustle. Despite being right in the middle of the OldTown, the apartments were surprisingly quiet. Edinburgh was still there outside our windows, but at a comfortable distance. We could look out across the rooftops and chimneys towards the city's historic skyline, while below, the narrow closes and cobbled streets carried on as they have for centuries.

It's one of the things I liked most about staying there. We were immersed in the heart of Edinburgh, yet when we closed the door behind us, it felt removed from the crowds and constant footfall of the Royal Mile. For a city-centre stay, that's a rare combination.

When travelling as a multigenerational convoy, proximity is the greatest luxury we could have. It was the luxury of closeness to history, to world-class coffee, and to a well-timed bench. From our front door, we stepped onto the Royal Mile with the Castle anchoring the skyline upwards, the Palace of Holyrood House downwards. We made frequent diversions into hidden closes that delivered us directly to boutique whisky shops, artisan cashmere weavers, and the sort of independent bookstores that I could have lost an entire afternoon in. For first-timers, it is an absolute revelation; for returners, it is the city edited to its absolute best.

The appeal is not purely geographical, the service is beautifully kept in the background: never performative. Questions are answered with an ease that suggests both rigorous training and a genuine affection for the building. We asked about accessible walking routes for my mum on a day when the steep Old Town cobbles felt a little too operatic; we were given not only tailored maps but intelligent alternatives featuring smart pit stops and quiet, level corners. This is what elevates a stay from good to unforgettable: intelligent empathy.

Breakfast at Luckenbooths, the property's sophisticated restaurant, operates in that same way of considered attention. The dining room is a sanctuary of warm timber, brass accents, and a comfortable, unhurried pace - a place to assemble a morning rather than rush blindly into it. The menu is an assortment of comforting classics and gently adventurous twists. My sister, a loyalist to ritual, ordered the full Scottish breakfast, which arrived with eggs boasting a perfect golden-laced wobble, crisp-edged bacon and peppery sausages. My mother went for the traditional Scottish porridge, which was creamy, measured, and warming - drizzled with local honey and a scatter of toasted seeds. I veered toward the avocado on sourdough topped with a poached egg and a sharp lick of chilli-lime dressing. The coffee arrived in precisely the right ceramic cups - the weight and grip of a mug being just as important as the crema - and the flat white was served perfectly piping hot, just as requested. There is an art to breakfast that many hotels treat as a purely operational necessity; Luckenbooths treats it as it should be the most important meal of the day.

Back upstairs, the apartment smoothly transitioned into the day’s command centre. Successful multigenerational travel requires distinct zones: a place to read, a place to nap, and a place to plot the afternoon over shortbread. The living space worked exactly as it should. It’s a space that prioritises function over flourish. Everything works quietly in the background — good water pressure, effective heating, solid construction, and enough storage that you can properly unpack and stop thinking about your suitcase for a while.

If you’re looking for the theatrics of a grand hotel lobby, this isn’t it. There are no bellboys choreographed at the entrance or bars designed to be a destination in themselves.

Old Town Chambers feels more private than performative. It’s a place that strips things back to what actually matters when you’re staying in the middle of a city: space, quiet, and the ability to come and go on your own terms.

By the time we checked out, it simply felt easy. Nothing over-styled, nothing demanding attention — just a base that worked for a few days of family life in Edinburgh. For travelling with multiple generations, that balance of independence and togetherness is really what counts.