Family Hotels in Edinburgh, and the Pool Rule Nobody Publishes on the Hotel Site
Best for a family of four: The BalmoralFourteen Edinburgh operators checked against their own websites in August 2026. Three of them publish an explicit refusal rather than an absence, which is more useful than either. One publishes three different bed configurations for the same room on three pages of its own site. And the hotel pool families most often book for restricts under-16s to about two hours a day, on a rule published on a different domain from the hotel.
Which Edinburgh hotels actually work for a family?
The Balmoral publishes the best genuine interconnecting family product in the city and backs it with real beds and a numeric occupancy, at the price you would expect. Apex Grassmarket is the best mid-range combination on paper, a family room and a heated indoor pool five minutes below the castle. Ten Hill Place's separate Hill Square suites sleep eight in real beds. Three operators here cannot take a family at all and say so plainly, which saves you the enquiry.
Which rooms actually fit your family
Find your party shape along the top, then read down. A tick means the hotel publishes a room that holds that group in one booking. A dash means the hotel does not publish the fact at all, which is not the same as a no, and is why the column exists.
| Hotel | 2+1 | 2+2 | 2+3 | 2 + baby | Connecting | Cot | Rollaway |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Balmoral | Yes | Yes | Not published | Yes | Yes | Cots and baby bed linen set up in the room, no price published. Baby meals complimentary | Not published |
| Premier Inn Edinburgh City Centre | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Not published | Free, though the cot is a simple frame with a padded base rather than a full crib | Not published |
| Apex Grassmarket Hotel | Yes | Yes | No | Not published | No | Not published as a price anywhere on the Apex site | Not published |
| Ten Hill Place Hotel | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not published | No | Not published | Not published |
| Sheraton Grand Hotel and Spa | Yes | Yes | Not published | Not published | Yes | Not published as a price | Not published |
| Staycity Aparthotels Edinburgh West End | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Free, with a caveat: a fitted sheet is included but you bring the rest of the bedding | Not published |
| Apex City of Edinburgh Hotel | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Cots available on request, subject to availability, no price published | Not published |
| Roomzzz Edinburgh | Yes | Yes | No | Not published | No | A small number of travel cots available, no price published | Not published |
| Apex Waterloo Place Hotel | Yes | Not published | No | Not published | No | Not published | Not published |
| Fraser Suites Edinburgh | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | Baby cot available on request, no price published | Not published |
| The Bruntsfield Hotel | Yes | Not published | No | Not published | Not published | Reported as complimentary, but the claim could not be re-located on the reachable pages | Not published |
| Motel One Edinburgh | Yes | Not published | No | Not published | No | Not published as a price, requested through a form | Not published |
| Point A Hotel Edinburgh | No | No | No | No | No | Refused outright: the rooms are not designed with space for a cot | Not published |
| hub by Premier Inn Edinburgh | No | No | No | No | No | Refused: the rooms are not designed with space for a cot and none is provided | Not published |
Edinburgh is unusual in this research for how many operators publish an explicit no. Point A states its rooms are designed for no more than two guests, refuses interconnecting rooms outright and refuses cots for lack of space. hub by Premier Inn has no family rooms at any of its three central hotels and publishes the same cot refusal. A published refusal is more useful than an absence, because it ends the enquiry. Against that, not one Edinburgh operator publishes a numeric cot charge, five publish a free-or-not statement instead, and the city's single worst documentation problem is Apex publishing three different bed configurations for the same family room on three pages of its own website. The pool column is where the money is: two Apex hotels publish pools with no child age rule at all, and the Sheraton's is governed by rules that live on the spa's separate domain.
These are family facts, and family facts go stale. This table is set for re-verification in March 2027.
Which one fits how your family travels
Find the row that sounds like your trip. Every pick below names the family it is wrong for, so you can book on fit rather than on rank.
| If you are | Book | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Wanting two bedrooms with a real door | The Balmoral | Named interconnecting pairings with real beds and a numeric occupancy, and cots set up as standard. |
| Four people on a budget with breakfast included | Premier Inn Edinburgh City Centre | Up to two children stay and eat breakfast free with a paying adult, and travel cots are free. |
| Eight people in real beds | Ten Hill Place, at the Hill Square suites | Four bedrooms each with a super king that splits into twins. The hotel itself has no family room. |
| Five people wanting a kitchen | Staycity Edinburgh West End | A two-bedroom apartment published as sleeping five, with free cots and high chairs. |
| Set on a hotel pool | Apex Grassmarket Hotel | A heated indoor pool in your own building below the castle. Confirm the beds in writing first. |
- Free cancellation on most rooms
- No booking fee
- Prices on Trip.com
What the bands mean
Not one Edinburgh operator publishes a numeric cot charge. Five publish a free-or-not statement instead, which is at least actionable: Premier Inn and Staycity give cots free with caveats about bedding, while Point A and hub by Premier Inn both publish an outright refusal on the grounds that their rooms have no space for one. Fraser Suites is the only operator in the city publishing a breakfast price with a child rule attached, at 14 pounds a head with under-fives free. Premier Inn deliberately does not publish its city-centre breakfast price at all. Transport is the reliable number: Lothian Buses charges 2.40 for an adult single and 1.20 for a child aged 5 to 15, with up to three under-fives free alongside a fare payer.
- £
- Budget chains and aparthotels
- ££
- Central three and four-star hotels
- £££
- Landmark hotels and spa properties
The 14 hotels, and the room to ask for at each
Walking times are to the operator's own stated landmark, where one exists. Distances are the operator's own claims, quoted as such. Edinburgh's centre is compact enough that most of these sit within fifteen minutes of the Royal Mile, but the Old Town is built on a ridge and almost none of these operators mentions a gradient, which with a pushchair matters more than the minutes do.
Princes Street
The Balmoral
£££Best for fourThe best genuine interconnecting family product in Edinburgh, and the only one backed by real beds and a numeric occupancy: a Family Room of two Executive rooms with two kings that can be twinned, plus named interconnecting pairings.
- Room to book
- Book this room: Family Room, two interconnecting Executive rooms
- Breakfast for children
- Not published
- Walk to the operator's own stated landmark, where one exists
- Princes Street at the North Bridge, above Waverley station to the operator's own stated landmark, where one exists
- Right for
- A family who want two bedrooms with a door, real beds and a baby genuinely catered for, at the top of the market.
- Wrong for
- Wrong for: Anyone booking for the pool without asking about children first.
- The catch
- The catch: It publishes a luxury lap pool with no child age rule at all, so a family cannot tell before booking whether children may use it. Floor area and occupancy are also almost unrelated here: the largest suites hold the fewest people.
Central, four branches
Premier Inn Edinburgh City Centre
£Best valueThe most complete family publisher in Edinburgh across its four central branches, with a family room of one real bed plus two fold-out places, free travel cots, and up to two children staying and eating breakfast free with a paying adult.
- Room to book
- Book this room: Family room, a king plus a sofa bed and pull-out bed
- Children stay free
- Up to two children stay and eat breakfast free with a full-paying adult
- Breakfast for children
- Free for up to two children, though the city-centre adult price is not published
- Walk to the operator's own stated landmark, where one exists
- Four central branches including Princes Street and the Royal Mile to the operator's own stated landmark, where one exists
- Right for
- A family of four who want the family arithmetic settled before booking.
- Wrong for
- Wrong for: Anyone who needs four real beds rather than two fold-out places.
- The catch
- The catch: The family room is one real bed and two fold-out places, the city-centre breakfast price is deliberately unpublished, and two branches carry copy defects in their own room descriptions that mislead a family about what the room contains.
Grassmarket
Apex Grassmarket Hotel
££The best mid-range combination in central Edinburgh on paper: a family room and a heated indoor pool with sauna and gym, five minutes below the castle in the Grassmarket.
- Room to book
- Book this room: Family Room, though check the bed configuration in writing
- Children stay free
- Chain level and inconsistent: children 5 and under eat free from the kids' menu
- Breakfast for children
- Not published
- Walk to the operator's own stated landmark, where one exists
- Grassmarket, directly below the castle to the operator's own stated landmark, where one exists
- Right for
- A family of four who want a pool and the castle above them.
- Wrong for
- Wrong for: Anyone who needs the beds confirmed before paying.
- The catch
- The catch: Apex publishes three different bed configurations for this same family room on its own website: the detail page says two queen beds, the index card says a queen, and the body text on that same card says two double beds. No pool age rule is published either.
Southside
Ten Hill Place Hotel
££The hotel itself has no family room, and its separate Hill Square suites are the strongest large-group answer in Edinburgh: The Gait has four bedrooms, each with a super king that can be split into twins.
- Room to book
- Book this room: The Gait at Hill Square Suites, four bedrooms sleeping eight
- Breakfast for children
- Not published
- Walk to the operator's own stated landmark, where one exists
- Southside, near Surgeons' Hall to the operator's own stated landmark, where one exists
- Right for
- Two families travelling together, or one large family who want real beds for eight.
- Wrong for
- Wrong for: A family of three or four wanting a hotel room, because the hotel does not sell one.
- The catch
- The catch: The hotel publishes adjoining rooms on request rather than connecting rooms, and never describes a door between them. Its own three room categories are all doubles or twins, so the family answer is the separate apartment product rather than the hotel.
West End
Sheraton Grand Hotel and Spa
£££Publishes interconnecting guestrooms and an Edinburgh Grand Suite with one king and two twin beds, attached to One Spa and its 19-metre pool with a rooftop hydropool.
- Room to book
- Book this room: Edinburgh Grand Suite, one king plus two twins
- Breakfast for children
- Not published
- Walk to the operator's own stated landmark, where one exists
- Festival Square, West End to the operator's own stated landmark, where one exists
- Right for
- A family who will swim between 8:30 and 9:30 in the morning.
- Wrong for
- Wrong for: Anyone booking the spa hotel so the children can swim in the afternoon.
- The catch
- The catch: The pool that sells this hotel to families admits under-16s only from 8:30 to 9:30am and 4 to 5pm on weekdays, charges 5 pounds per child over five, and bars under-16s from the rooftop hydropool entirely. All of that is published on the spa's own domain rather than the hotel's, so nobody finds it before booking.
Fountainbridge
Staycity Aparthotels Edinburgh West End
££Nine apartment types each with a published Sleeps number, free cots and high chairs, and a kitchen, at Fountainbridge west of the centre.
- Room to book
- Book this room: Two Bedroom Apartment, published as sleeping five
- Breakfast for children
- Not published
- Walk to the operator's own stated landmark, where one exists
- Fountainbridge, west of the centre to the operator's own stated landmark, where one exists
- Right for
- A family of five who want two bedrooms and a kitchen at a mid-range rate.
- Wrong for
- Wrong for: Anyone who needs to know what beds those five people are in.
- The catch
- The catch: It publishes a Sleeps figure for all nine apartment types and a bed configuration for none of them, so the largest published capacity in the building is a number with nothing behind it.
Grassmarket
Apex City of Edinburgh Hotel
££Next door to Apex Grassmarket, with a family room of a queen plus a sofa bed, and free use of the pool in the building next door.
- Room to book
- Book this room: Family Room, a queen plus a sofa bed
- Breakfast for children
- Not published
- Walk to the operator's own stated landmark, where one exists
- Grassmarket, next door to Apex Grassmarket to the operator's own stated landmark, where one exists
- Right for
- A family who want the Grassmarket at a slightly lower rate and will walk next door to swim.
- Wrong for
- Wrong for: Anyone who assumed the pool was in their own building.
- The catch
- The catch: The family room is a queen plus a sofa bed in 24 square metres, and the pool that makes it attractive is in a different building, so every swim is a walk outside with wet children.
St James Quarter
Roomzzz Edinburgh
££Aparthotel studios at the top of Leith Walk by the St James Quarter, with a Family Grande Studio published as sleeping four.
- Room to book
- Book this room: Family Grande Studio, a double plus a double sofa bed
- Breakfast for children
- Not published
- Walk to the operator's own stated landmark, where one exists
- St James Quarter, top of Leith Walk to the operator's own stated landmark, where one exists
- Right for
- Two adults and two children who want a kitchen by the St James Quarter.
- Wrong for
- Wrong for: Four adults, or three adults and a child.
- The catch
- The catch: Sleeps 4 only works if the extra two people are children: the double sofa bed takes two children free of charge, or one adult at an extra 10 pounds. The occupancy figure is really a bed rule in disguise.
East end of Princes Street
Apex Waterloo Place Hotel
££At the east end of Princes Street with Yu Spa, a heated indoor pool, steam room and sauna, and the worst-documented family room in the city.
- Room to book
- Book this room: Family Room, though three of Apex's own pages disagree about its beds
- Breakfast for children
- Not published
- Walk to the operator's own stated landmark, where one exists
- East end of Princes Street to the operator's own stated landmark, where one exists
- Right for
- A family with a car parked elsewhere who want a pool at the east end.
- Wrong for
- Wrong for: Anyone driving, because there is no parking at this hotel at all.
- The catch
- The catch: Three published bed configurations for the same family room, none of which agree, and no parking at the hotel whatsoever. The pool publishes no child age restriction either.
Old Town
Fraser Suites Edinburgh
££The most trustworthy data in the city: every published occupancy matches its published bed count, and it is the only Edinburgh operator publishing a breakfast price with a child rule attached.
- Room to book
- Book this room: Nothing here sleeps four, so this is a family-of-three answer
- Breakfast for children
- 14 pounds a head with children under 5 free, the only child breakfast rule in the city
- Walk to the operator's own stated landmark, where one exists
- Old Town, just off the Royal Mile to the operator's own stated landmark, where one exists
- Right for
- Two adults and one child who want the Old Town and a bill they can calculate.
- Wrong for
- Wrong for: A family of four. Nothing here holds them.
- The catch
- The catch: Nothing sleeps four, which is the whole limitation. What it publishes it publishes honestly, and there is simply less of it than a family of four needs.
Bruntsfield
The Bruntsfield Hotel
££South of the Meadows in Bruntsfield, publishing a family room described as suitable for three or four and listing exactly one bed.
- Room to book
- Book this room: Family room, though only one bed is published for it
- Breakfast for children
- Not published
- Walk to the operator's own stated landmark, where one exists
- Bruntsfield, south of the Meadows to the operator's own stated landmark, where one exists
- Right for
- A family who want a quieter address with the Meadows to walk in.
- Wrong for
- Wrong for: Anyone relying on the bunk beds third-party sites describe.
- The catch
- The catch: The family room is described as suitable for three or four and publishes exactly one king-size bed. Third-party sites describe bunk beds in it; the hotel does not, and the interconnecting claim could not be re-verified on a named page.
Market Street
Motel One Edinburgh
£A 20 square metre Family One room at Market Street beside Waverley, where the operator publishes a children-stay-free policy and then disclaims it for the United Kingdom.
- Room to book
- Book this room: Family One, 20 square metres
- Breakfast for children
- Not published
- Walk to the operator's own stated landmark, where one exists
- Market Street, beside Waverley station to the operator's own stated landmark, where one exists
- Right for
- A family of three on a budget who want to be beside the station.
- Wrong for
- Wrong for: Anyone relying on the published children-stay-free rule.
- The catch
- The catch: A 20 square metre family room with no published maximum occupancy, where the extra bed is an armchair or sofa, and where the operator publishes a child-free-stay policy and then states it does not apply in the United Kingdom.
Haymarket and St Andrew Square
Point A Hotel Edinburgh
£Here as an exclusion, because it says so itself. Point A publishes a hard two-guest cap chain-wide, refuses interconnecting rooms outright, and states its rooms have no space for a cot.
- Room to book
- Book this room: None. Two rooms, or another hotel.
- Breakfast for children
- Not applicable
- Walk to the operator's own stated landmark, where one exists
- Haymarket and St Andrew Square to the operator's own stated landmark, where one exists
- Right for
- Two adults on a budget at Haymarket or St Andrew Square.
- Wrong for
- Wrong for: Every family, and the chain says so in as many words.
- The catch
- The catch: Rooms are designed for no more than two guests and you will need to book two rooms, interconnecting rooms are explicitly refused, and cots are refused for lack of space. It is on this page precisely because it publishes all three plainly, which saves an enquiry.
Royal Mile, Rose Street and Haymarket
hub by Premier Inn Edinburgh
£Three central hotels on the Royal Mile, Rose Street and at Haymarket, none of which has a family room, and all of which publish an outright refusal on cots.
- Room to book
- Book this room: None. There are no family rooms at any central hub hotel.
- Breakfast for children
- Not applicable
- Walk to the operator's own stated landmark, where one exists
- Royal Mile, Rose Street and Haymarket to the operator's own stated landmark, where one exists
- Right for
- Two adults who want the Royal Mile at the lowest central rate.
- Wrong for
- Wrong for: Every family. The facility lists omit family rooms entirely.
- The catch
- The catch: No family rooms exist at any of the three central hub hotels, and the cot answer is a published no rather than a silence. Booking one on the strength of the Premier Inn name is the mistake this row exists to prevent.
Where not to book in Edinburgh
Three things to settle before booking. The first is the pool, and it is the most expensive mistake here: the Sheraton's One Spa is the pool families most often book Edinburgh for, and it admits under-16s only from 8:30 to 9:30am and 4 to 5pm on weekdays, charges 5 pounds for each child over five, and bars under-16s from the rooftop hydropool completely. None of that appears on the hotel's own pages, because One Spa runs on a separate domain. The second is Apex's family room, where the detail page, the index card and that same card's body text give three different bed configurations, so ask for it in writing rather than choosing between them. The third is the two chains that cannot take you at all: Point A publishes a hard two-guest cap and refuses both interconnecting rooms and cots, and hub by Premier Inn has no family rooms at any of its three central hotels. Both publish it plainly, which is worth more than a vague maybe.
When to book
August is the constraint that governs everything else here. The Fringe fills the city and family rooms are the first category to go, so an August stay wants four to six months rather than four to six weeks, and rates roughly double. Hogmanay is the second peak. Outside those two windows Edinburgh is one of the easier cities in this research to book late. If the pool is the reason you are choosing a hotel, confirm the child hours before you pay rather than after, and if you need a cot, note that two of the cheapest chains here will refuse one outright.
Family hotels in Edinburgh: FAQ
The questions parents ask most when booking a room here.
Plan the rest of the trip
Continue Planning Your Trip
Intelligent tools designed to simplify the complex.
Things to Do
Ranked attractions, tips and how to book tickets
Where to Stay
The best area to stay in each city, by neighborhood
Car Rental
Real prices, driving tips and the best routes by destination
Airport Transfers
Getting from the airport to your hotel, by price and time
All-Inclusive Guides
What all-inclusive really means, by destination
Best Time to Visit
Month-by-month weather, crowds and prices
Cheapest Places to Travel
18 destinations ranked by real daily budgets
Route Finder
Find the cheapest way to get there
Hotel Finder
Book the right hotel for your destination
AI Trip Planner
Build a day-by-day itinerary
Budget Calculator
Estimate total cost