Cheap Motel One Edinburgh Royal Hotel United Kingdom: Honest Budget Review
Cheap Motel One Edinburgh Royal hotel United Kingdom searches were basically my entire Tuesday evening a while back, sitting cross-legged on my bed in a Barcelona Airbnb, trying to plan a spontaneous Scotland trip around a flight deal I’d snagged through Going (formerly Scott’s Cheap Flights — still the best thing to ever happen to my travel budget). I’d found a positioning flight from London Stansted to Edinburgh for £19, which is the kind of price that makes you immediately rearrange your entire month. Now I just needed somewhere to sleep that wouldn’t cancel out the savings.
I’d heard about Motel One before — European budget design hotel chain, weirdly stylish for the price point — but I’d never actually stayed in one. The Edinburgh Royal location kept coming up in my research, and the rates looked almost suspiciously reasonable for somewhere that close to the Royal Mile. So I booked it, showed up with my battered 40-litre backpack, and here’s everything I found out.
What “Royal” Actually Means for the Location
Let me talk about where this hotel sits, because in Edinburgh, a few hundred metres can mean a completely different experience. Motel One Edinburgh Royal is positioned right in the heart of the Old Town, on the Royal Mile itself — or close enough that you can basically see the castle from the street outside. That’s not marketing fluff. That is genuinely central.
For a budget traveller, this matters enormously. Staying centrally in Edinburgh means you can walk almost everywhere worth seeing without spending a penny on transport. The castle, Holyrood Palace, Greyfriars Kirkyard, the Grassmarket, the whisky experience on the Mile — all of it is within a 10-15 minute walk at most. I spent four days in Edinburgh during that trip and used zero taxis and zero buses. My feet did all the work, and I saved probably £25-£30 in transport costs just by having a well-located base.
Compare that to cheaper accommodation options further out in Leith or Newington — totally fine neighbourhoods, but you’re suddenly paying £3-£5 each way every time you want to get into the centre. That adds up fast, and it often makes a slightly pricier central hotel the genuinely smarter financial choice.
The Real Numbers — What Cheap Actually Costs Here
Right, let’s get into actual prices because “budget-friendly” means nothing without specifics. When I stayed, I paid £82 per night for a standard single room on a mid-week booking in early November. That felt fair — not thrilling, but fair — for an Old Town location with that level of finish. But I’ve seen rates drop to the £65-£72 range during quieter periods, which is where this hotel starts to feel like a legitimately excellent deal.
The pricing pattern at Motel One Edinburgh Royal is pretty predictable once you understand Edinburgh’s tourism calendar. August is basically a financial blackout — the Edinburgh Festival turns the entire city into a premium pricing zone and you’ll pay £150+ per night almost everywhere, including here. Hogmanay (New Year) is similar. If you have any flexibility at all, avoid those windows unless Edinburgh during the Festival is specifically the point of your trip.
The real sweet spots are November through February (minus the Hogmanay week), and then again in April to early May before summer kicks in. I’ve seen rates in January dip to around £59 per night, which for this location is honestly remarkable. Mid-week stays are consistently cheaper than weekends — sometimes by £20-£30 per night — so if you can swing a Tuesday to Friday visit rather than the classic Friday to Sunday, you’ll notice the difference in your wallet pretty quickly.
Inside the Room: Surprisingly Good for the Price
Here’s the thing about Motel One that I didn’t fully expect: the design is actually nice. Like, properly considered, not just “we slapped some grey paint on the walls and called it modern.” The Edinburgh Royal property has this warm, slightly Scottish-inflected aesthetic — think dark wood accents, deep colours, some tartan touches that manage not to feel tacky — and the rooms, while compact, are laid out smartly enough that you don’t feel cramped.
The bed was comfortable. I want to dwell on this for a second because it sounds basic but it matters so much. I’ve stayed in budget hotels where the mattress felt like a punishment, and after a full day of walking Edinburgh’s cobblestones (which, by the way, will absolutely destroy your feet if you’re not wearing proper shoes — learned that the hard way in my first visit years ago), you need a bed that actually lets you recover. This one did.
Storage is a bit limited if you’re travelling with a large suitcase rather than a backpack, so keep that in mind. The rooms are designed for people travelling light, and they work best for that kind of traveller. The bathroom is small but well-designed, with a good shower. WiFi was fast and consistent throughout my stay, which matters to me since I’m usually working remotely from wherever I’m sleeping.
One genuine downside: soundproofing between rooms could be better. I could hear my neighbours having what sounded like a spirited debate at about 11pm on my second night. Not a dealbreaker, but worth knowing if you’re a light sleeper.
The Motel One Bar Situation (Worth Mentioning)
Something a lot of people don’t realise about Motel One properties is that the lobbies and bar areas are genuinely nice spaces to spend time in. The Edinburgh Royal one has a proper bar with reasonable prices — not “hotel bar” prices, which usually make me quietly furious — and a lounge area that’s actually comfortable for working, reading, or just decompressing after a day of sightseeing.
I ended up spending a couple of evenings there with a glass of Scottish ale, catching up on blog writing, and it was a perfectly pleasant way to end the day. Honestly more enjoyable than I expected. The staff were friendly and not hovering, which is exactly the vibe you want when you’re just trying to sit quietly with your laptop and a drink.
Breakfast is available but, like most hotel breakfasts in this price range, I’d gently suggest skipping it. It runs around £12-£14 per person, and Edinburgh’s Old Town is absolutely packed with better options at lower prices. Walk five minutes to Greyfriars Bobby’s local area and you’ll find independent cafes doing full Scottish breakfasts for under £9. Or grab something from the M&S Food on Princes Street if you want to keep it simple. Either way, you’ll eat better and cheaper outside.
How to Lock In the Best Rate at Motel One Edinburgh Royal
Getting a cheap Motel One Edinburgh Royal hotel United Kingdom rate is mostly about timing and a bit of strategic booking behaviour. The brand does offer direct booking discounts on their own website — usually around 5-10% off compared to third-party sites — so it’s worth checking motel-one.com directly rather than just going straight to Booking.com or Expedia out of habit.
That said, third-party sites sometimes run their own promotions that undercut the direct rate, so a quick comparison across two or three platforms before booking is genuinely worth the extra five minutes. I use Google Hotels as a quick aggregator to see the spread of prices, then click through to book wherever is cheapest. No loyalty points strategy required, no complicated hacks — just a basic price comparison.
Flexible dates are your most powerful tool. If you can open up a calendar view and just look at which nights in your travel window are cheapest, you might find that shifting your arrival by one day saves £25-£30. For a three or four night stay, that’s nearly a hundred pounds, which in Edinburgh terms is easily two or three proper sit-down dinners with drinks.
Sign up for Motel One’s newsletter if you’re planning ahead — they run occasional promotional rates and last-minute deals, and while the emails aren’t the most exciting reading material, the periodic discount codes are real.
So Is This the Right Budget Hotel for Your Edinburgh Trip?
If you’re trying to do Edinburgh affordably without living in a dormitory or ending up somewhere inconveniently located, the cheap Motel One Edinburgh Royal hotel United Kingdom rates in the £65-£85 range represent genuinely solid value. You get a well-designed room, a great central location that saves you money on transport, decent amenities, and the kind of reliable, consistent experience that lets you focus on actually enjoying one of the most spectacular cities in the United Kingdom rather than stressing about where you’re sleeping.
It’s not for everyone — if you want a big room, lots of storage space, or total silence at night, you might want to look elsewhere. But for a solo traveller or a couple exploring Edinburgh on a sensible budget, it hits the right notes.
Edinburgh deserves more than one visit, trust me. Book the affordable Motel One Edinburgh Royal stay, skip the hotel breakfast, wear comfortable shoes on those cobblestones, and go find yourself a proper dram of Scotch whisky somewhere on the Mile. You’ve earned it.
