Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Cheval Old Town Chambers

Price per night from$245.97

Price information

If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (inclusive of taxes and fees) available in the next 60 days.

Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (GBP195.00), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.

Style

Elevated local living

Setting

Regal Royal Mile

Cheval Old Town Chambers is home to an elegant stack of luxury apartments on Edinburgh’s world-famous Royal Mile. Inside each one, the look is fresh and clean, with clusters of framed prints, comfy couches in muted colours, simple and stylish bathrooms with rainfall showers, plus contemporary kitchens with high-spec appliances. Some offer loft-style living, with open-plan spaces made up of zingy white walls bordered with dark painted girders, large windows and steps leading up to smart mezzanines. Some have their own terraces or balconies emphasising your locational luck and serving up astounding views over Edinburgh’s centre. You’ve arrived, and you’re ready to live like a (rather lucky) local.

Smith Extra

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A history book on Edinburgh's Royal Mile

Facilities

Photos Cheval Old Town Chambers facilities

Need to know

Rooms

74 apartments, including one, two and three-bed spaces, some fabulous penthouses and an opulent two-bedroom townhouse.

Check–Out

11am, but flexible, subject to availability. Earliest check-in, 3pm.

More details

Rates don’t include breakfast, but you can pre-book your full Scottish and other filling breakfast treats for £18 (adults) or £9 (children).

Also

Two of the Deluxe Open Plan apartments overlooking the Royal Mile are accessible, with bathrooms fitted with emergency assistance cords and with space for wheelchair users.

At the hotel

24-hour free access to gym with treadmills, cross trainer, rowing machines and bikes, plus a rogue rig for strength building and two benches for weightlifting. You can also book personal training sessions, classes and a nutrition consultation for an additional fee. Dry cleaning and laundry services are available from Monday to Friday, with a same-day service if delivered before 9am to reception. 24-hour concierge and onsite boutique. In rooms: free WiFi, Smart TV, heating and lighting controls, Bose sound-system, in-room safe, kitchen with oven, dishwasher and fridge, washer/dryer, hairdryer, ironing board and iron, Nespresso coffee machine and pods, tea-making facilities, free bottled water, robe and slippers, Arran Aromatics toiletries.

Our favourite rooms

The one-bedroom penthouses would be our pick for a stay à deux, and there’s a swish three-bed version with a large kitchen area for hosting bigger groups. But for something extra special, seek out the two-bedroom townhouse – a sort of thespy, romantic older sibling to the Cheval apartments, with its exposed stonework and dramatic drapery. The decor explores more of a traditional, medieval vibe, with its huge stone fireplace and showstopping candlelit bathroom, but modern touches make sure your stay is nothing but comfortable.

Packing tips

Comfortable treads for city sightseeing, particularly for the picturesque, yet steep, trudge back up from New Town to Old.

Also

Be sure to stop by the foyer boutique, with its globe lights and curving marble-topped counter, to browse locally produced chocolates, pre-mixed cocktails, toiletries and more.

Pet‐friendly

Pets are welcome to holiday with you in your Edinburgh home from home. There’s a one-time cleaning fee on check-out: £50 for stays of one to six nights and £120 for stays of seven nights or more. You can borrow animal extras, such as dog beds and treats. See more pet-friendly hotels in Edinburgh.

Children

Luckenbooths has a children’s menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Best for

Children of any age are welcome to stay.

Activities

Edinburgh Castle is pretty exciting for children from toddler age up to early teens – hear the daily gun fire, tour the atmospheric rooms and take the Castle Explorer Quiz. The Real Mary Kings Close, a set of underground spaces and streets that you can tour with an actor guide, is fascinating but probably best for children of seven and over, as is the Edinburgh Dungeon.

Meals

Children’s menus are available at every meal, with favourites like fish and chips, mac and cheese, and fruit salad for lunch and dinner, and a separate cooked breakfast menu with toasted muffins, sourdough and jam, pancakes, fruit bowls and more.

Sustainability efforts

Bathrooms are stocked with large, refillable containers for toiletries, instead of single-use plastics. A smart heating and lighting system helps reduce energy waste across the building in areas that are not in use. This includes the apartments, meaning that if you’re not in, light and heat are automatically conserved. There’s a recycling programme for all paper, cardboard, cans and plastics on site.

Food and Drink

Photos Cheval Old Town Chambers food and drink

Top Table

On a fine day, a casual terrace table is where you’ll want to be, with its street views and people-watching opportunities. It’s first come, first served here though, so you’ll need to get in early to nab a space.

Dress Code

The stylish middleground between comfy and classy.

Hotel restaurant

As a Cheval dweller, you’ll have your own private kitchen in your apartment, but you’ll also have Luckenbooths downstairs as backup for days when you don’t feel like reaching for the chopping board. The restaurant is open seven days a week from 7am to 11pm. Breakfast is served from 7 to 11.30 am, with everything from the full Scottish to avo toast, and you can also stop in for brunch, lunch, dinner and cocktails. There’s room for 140 people inside, and there’s also a buzzing streetside terrace where you can enjoy tasty seasonal Scottish produce with that never-boring Olde Edinburgh view. At lunchtime, look forward to small plates such as whisky-glazed smoked salmon, or sandwiches such as haggis sub and lobster roll. For dinner, choose from filling dishes, such as haggis and swede pie, the Luckenbooths plant burger or Scottish ribeye. On Sundays, pre-book for the traditional roast beef lunch between midday and 5pm.

Hotel bar

The inviting lounge with fireplace, cosy yellow armchairs and lofty ceilings strikes just the right note for a post-dinner whisky or pre-dinner flute of fizz. Alternatively, take a seat at one of the mid-century-style chairs in the bar/restaurant area.

Last orders

11pm

Room service

Room service is not available, so you’ll have to slink down to Luckenbooths if you’ve hung up your chef’s hat for the night.

Location

Photos Cheval Old Town Chambers location
Address
Cheval Old Town Chambers
329 High St
Edinburgh
EH1 1PN
United Kingdom

Cheval Old Town Chambers sits on the historic Royal Mile in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Planes

Edinburgh Airport is around half an hour’s drive away. Hotel transfers are available to book: £92 for up to two passengers, £103 for up to three passengers, and £111 for up to seven passengers (£12 parking fee included for each).

Trains

Edinburgh Waverley train station is just 300 metres away, about six minutes on foot.

Automobiles

There’s no car park on site, but you can unload luggage outside and get a 20 per cent discount on parking at the train station (£17.60 for 24 hours).

Worth getting out of bed for

Staying on the Royal Mile, you can’t help but be drawn first to Edinburgh Castle, a defining city landmark offering exhibitions about the building’s history plus audio guide tours to complete at your own pace. Hit the Grassmarket for quirky boutiques, Princes Street for high-street shopping and George Street for fancier finds. If preloved shopping’s your thing, head to West Port: you’ll find vintage clothing and accessories from the 1940s to the 1980s at Herman Brown and second-hand reading material at Armchair Books. A perfect day might be a morning admiring the outdoor sculptures and 20th-century surrealist works at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, and an afternoon in the peace and beauty of the Royal Botanic Garden. In good weather, you can take a 25-minute bus trip to Leith for some waterfront food and drink or a nose around the Pitt Street food market (open Friday evenings, and Saturday and Sunday from midday). Scotland’s good to golfers, and the Edinburgh area doesn’t disappoint. Gullane, Muirfield, Archerfield and Dunbar golf courses are all within around 45 minutes’ drive.

Local restaurants

Set in an old Victorian pump house and just a short walk from your swanky Cheval apartment, you’ll find The Devil’s Advocate, where you can start with crispy black haggis and mango and chilli chutney, followed by a smoked fish platter or haunch of venison. For a taste of Mexico without leaving the Old Town, check out El Cartel Roxburgh for its punchy cocktails and tacos, such as the Duck Carnitas with confit duck, jalapeños, pecan and cashew salsa, and roasted pineapple. For sweets, look no further than Mary’s Milk Bar for bafflingly delicious flavour combinations in gelato and chocolate form (think saffron and nutmeg or rosemary and orange).

Local bars

It’s around a 15-minute trot from Cheval Old Town Chambers to Queen Street’s Panda & Sons, hidden behind a vintage barber shop facade and serving creative cocktails, such as the tantalising Red Panda (a mix of Tanqueray, tomato, sriracha, Guinness foam and more). On the same street you’ll find the Scotch Malt Whisky Society’s Kaleidoscope Bar, open to non-members and a great place to sample a few single malts as the evening draws in.

Reviews

Photos Cheval Old Town Chambers reviews
Ella Alexander

Anonymous review

By Ella Alexander, Harper's hedonist

Mr Smith and I are no strangers to Edinburgh. Over the years, we have been drawn to the city for Hogmanay, for the annual Fringe festival and for its long summer nights, where the light dwindles for mere hours before re-emerging in the early hours of the morning. It’s a destination that works well both in the warm and cold months, but it truly excels at winter. For all the natural beauty that surrounds it, the storm-gnarled crags and grey, wild sea, Edinburgh is built for indoor activity. It’s a place for sitting beside fires in dimly lit basement pubs, for hearty food around dinner tables and for strolling around its various galleries and museums. Bagpipes — the city’s soundtrack — somehow sound better in the winter, more anthemic. The biscuity smell of the breweries and distilleries, which can be overpowering in the summer, feels like a warm hug in cold weather. As much as Mr Smith and I love the Fringe and those long summer nights, for us Edinburgh is at its best on atmospheric, chilly days, when it’s mediaeval alleyways, half-timbered houses and turreted castle look even more like the backdrop to a Hans Christian Andersen story. 

On our many trips north, Mr Smith and I have stayed in differing accommodation around the city — from luxury apartments and Airbnbs to modern boutique hotels, but our most recent trip took us to Cheval Old Town Chambers — 74 self-contained apartments with the benefits of a hotel. The sizes vary from studios to two-bedrooms to spectacular penthouses, but all benefit from a concierge service, daily housekeeping and an on-site restaurant and bar for when you can’t be bothered to cook. There’s a sophisticated drinks lounge and also a small shop selling whisky, scented candles and artisan chocolate, ideal for souvenir sourcing. Old Town Chambers delivers the luxurious trappings of a hotel — the service and warm welcome — with the space and freedom of an apartment. The location is excellent, in 17th- and 18th-century buildings, in the heart of the Royal Mile, opposite the famed St Giles' Cathedral. Edinburgh Castle is a five-minute walk away and it's a 10-minute walk from the city’s biggest galleries and museums. 

We had added reason to try Old Town Chambers. As our first visit to Edinburgh as new parents, the concept of a well-designed apartment with hotel-like perks felt even more appealing. We booked a Luxury One Bedroom apartment rather than an open-plan option, so we wouldn’t have to spend our evenings watching Netflix in the bathroom while our baby slept. However, we arrived to find we’d been upgraded to a Deluxe One Bedroom apartment, all of which have views of either the Royal Mile or the city skyline. Our living room faced St Giles' Cathedral — every morning, we looked out to see the breathtaking stained-glass windows and ornate stonework of one of most beautiful sanctuaries in Scotland.

The apartment itself was contemporary and slick, with nods to Scandinavian design — tasteful, high-quality furniture with timeless appeal. The devil is in the detail when it comes to furnishings and these were pieces that didn’t just please visually; they were also made with care and precision. Mr Smith and I particularly liked the leather and hardwood armchair, perfect for sinking into after a long day exploring. Thoughtful touches made a big difference — the milk and chilled water in the fridge, the Arran toiletries in the calming blue and stone-coloured bathroom and the cosy blankets left on top of the bed. The apartment also came with a washing machine, a spare duvet in case of extra guests, and a well-equipped kitchen with a coffee machine. The sofa was so comfortable that staying in felt doubly enticing. 

The location of Old Town Chambers is so central that you don’t need to travel far to see a lot. On our first day, we visited the National Museum of Scotland — even if the building was empty of curiosities, the spectacular cast-iron central hall would be worth visiting. And, there aren’t many places where you can see both an atom smasher and a giant sloth skeleton.

Afterwards, we grabbed coffees and a slab of Guinness cake at Thomas J Walls, a sophisticated space and former optician's, with many of the original features and fittings. Armed with sustenance, we then walked to Valvona & Crolla, a family-run Italian deli and café that opened in 1934 and is considered a city institution. The store’s produce is second to none and the staff utterly charming. We made one final detour before heading back to the apartment: a drink at the Dome, an award-winning bar and restaurant, which is named after its beautiful rounded ceiling.

Day two began at Luckenbooths, the restaurant attached to Old Town Chambers, which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. There can be few better starts to a day than its superlatively good Scottish fry. Even the baby approved of the haggis and tatties. Keen to make the most of the winter sun and blue skies, we took the bairn to the Meadows — Edinburgh’s best-known public park, an open grassy common lined with tree-flanked paths and the odd coffee kiosk. As we meandered back, we stumbled across Tron Kirk Market — where creatives sold their wares, from locally made honey and chocolate to art and jewellery, in a 17th-century church on the Royal Mile. We ate at a beautiful, atmospheric pub in the rising district of Leith called Nobles, characterised by impressive stained-glass windows, a deep mahogany bar and friendly staff.

Every evening, when we returned to our apartment, the staff greeted us as if we were old neighbours and cooed over our son. We found ourselves calling it ‘home’ by day two, a dream home that you come back to and find clean sheets, topped-up tea bags and emptied bins. Cheval Old Town Chambers is the best of both worlds — a centrally located apartment that spoils its guests with exemplary service. We’ll be back soon. 

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Price per night from $245.97