About this hotel
General information
Prestonfield is a Baroque mansion built in 1687 for Edinburgh’s Lord Provost, set in its own parkland beside Holyrood Park and Arthur’s Seat, a short distance from the historic centre. The interiors have been restored with great care: ornate plasterwork and tapestries, massive fireplaces, candles in silver candelabra, wood panelling and silk wallcoverings, period paintings and antiques. Past guests include Benjamin Franklin, Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher, Sean Connery and Elton John.
Each of the 23 rooms is decorated individually in velvet, brocade and silk, with heavy drapes, carved and gilded furniture and crystal chandeliers. Four historic rooms host private dinners, from the Salon Privée for two to the Garden Room for 50, while The Stables, a separate circular building, takes balls, gala dinners and conferences for 120–500 guests. Parking is free, and the house arranges weddings.
Location
The hotel lies close to Edinburgh’s historic centre, the shops of Princes Street, the Royal Mile, the Scottish Parliament and Edinburgh Castle. Waverley station is a 5-minute drive away and Edinburgh International Airport about 20 minutes.
Sports & leisure
Guests can wander 20 acres of historic gardens and parkland with ancient woodland, a rose garden and a Gothic tea house, home to Highland cows, a free-roaming peacock and the house’s own beehives. The estate sits at the foot of Arthur’s Seat, beside a golf course and Holyrood Park.
Restaurants & bars
Dining at the house revolves around its historic rooms:
- Rhubarb — crimson dining rooms with gilded mirrors, serving seasonal Scottish cooking from small local suppliers and a tasting menu; it is named after the rhubarb the estate was the first in Scotland to grow, in the 18th century, and still uses in the kitchen
- The Whisky Room — an intimate, clubbable room with a log fire, antler furniture and more than 350 whiskies, guided by the house’s own whisky sommelier
- Afternoon Tea — served with champagne in the drawing rooms by the fire or on the terrace above the gardens
- Private dining in the Salon Privée, Stuart Room, Italian Room and Garden Room — from dinner for two to a banquet for 50
The cellar holds more than a thousand wines.
Rooms
23 rooms and suites, each with its own opulent interior: deep warm colours, velvet, brocade and silk, heavy drapery, antique furniture with gilded carving, crystal chandeliers and paintings. Every window looks over the 20 acres of gardens and parkland towards Arthur’s Seat, Holyrood Park, the neighbouring golf course or the ruins of Craigmillar Castle.
Flat-screen TV, telephone, safe, minibar, hairdryer and bathrobes.
Luxury Bedroom
A top-floor room under a French-style mansard ceiling, with dormer windows over the lawns and a bathroom in Italian tiles and Venetian glass mosaic.
Classic Room
A romantic room on the ground or first floor, wrapped in velvet, with antique furniture and warm lighting.
Estate Room
The house’s largest bedrooms, with windows on two sides over the gardens and parkland to Arthur’s Seat and Holyrood Park or the golf course.
Lord Provost Suite
Decorated in dramatic reds, with an antique mahogany four-poster hung in red and gold velvet, and two bathrooms.
Winston Churchill Suite
A tapestry-hung tester bed, an antique-filled sitting room, red velvet walls, a gothic day bed, a collection of militaria and two bathrooms.
Allan Ramsay Suite
One of the largest suites, overlooking the lawns, with a four-poster bedroom, a separate sitting room, a dressing room, a Venetian-mosaic bathroom and a guest cloakroom.
Benjamin Franklin Suite
Named after Benjamin Franklin, who stayed at Prestonfield: a bedroom with en-suite, a sitting room with an antique chaise longue and trompe-l’oeil drapery walls, and a guest bathroom in Venetian glass mosaic.
Owners Suite
The most opulent suite, reached by a private turret stair, with an entrance lobby, a bedroom with a library-style bathroom and a large separate sitting room looking over the gardens in three directions.
Photos are for illustrative purposes only. Actual room layout, furnishings, décor, views and amenities may differ from those shown and may vary between rooms of the same category. Hotel and room descriptions are based on information provided by the property and are believed to be accurate at the time of publication, but are not guaranteed. The hotel may renovate or change its rooms, facilities, restaurants and services at any time without notice. The final details of your stay are confirmed at the time of booking. See our Terms of Use.