House history
The Scotsman lived here.
From 1860 until 1902, our building was the office and printing works of The Scotsman newspaper. Designed by Peddie and Kinnear in the Scots Baronial style, the facade still carries the Scotsman masthead and the heraldic shield reading IN DEFENCE. When the paper moved to North Bridge in 1904, the building kept its character.
The presses ran here until 1902, when The Scotsman moved its operation to North Bridge. For a while the basement and ground floor hosted the Savoy Dance Club, famously raided by police in 1928 for after-hours dancing. The building kept its character and its walls.
We took three of the original buildings on and reopened them as a 41-room hotel in 2014. The Scotsman masthead is still carved above the door. The heraldic shield reading IN DEFENCE is still on the facade.
Listed building
Category B, built 1859-1861. Designed by Peddie and Kinnear in the Scots Baronial / Victorian style.
A Cockburn Street address
Twenty metres from the Royal Mile.
Cockburn Street was cut through the Old Town in 1856 to link Waverley Station to the High Street. It is still one of the city's most characterful streets, curving up past independent shops, record stores, and cafes. We sit at its quiet end, closest to the Mile.
Waverley Station sits at the bottom of the close, five minutes on foot. Princes Street is a bridge away. The Castle is up the hill. Most of what you came to Edinburgh for is within a ten minute walk.
Why book with us
A Victorian building, a small team, and the Old Town at the door.
Twenty metres off the Royal Mile
Cockburn Street curves off the Royal Mile. Waverley Station is five minutes. Princes Street is seven. The Castle is ten.
A 1860 Scotsman newspaper building
Three Category B listed buildings, built 1859 to 1861 by Peddie and Kinnear in the Scots Baronial style. The masthead is still carved above the door.
Forty-one individual rooms
Four floors, forty-one rooms, no two the same. A turret on the corner, bunks for groups, doubles looking out over the cobbles.
Edinburgh Press Club at street level
The ground-floor coffee shop sits in the former newspaper office. Specialty beans, full breakfast menu, open to Cockburn Street.
A lobby bar, open day and night
A small lobby bar, open to residents and guests around the clock. Always someone on the front desk for late arrivals or early starts.
Waverley Station, five minutes away
The main-line station is a five-minute walk. Princes Street tram stop is a few more. You do not need a car in the Old Town.
Part of the Place Hotels family
Two Edinburgh hotels, one family.
The Inn Place is one of two Edinburgh hotels run by the same small team. The Place Hotel sits a ten-minute walk away on York Place in the New Town, inside three restored Georgian townhouses. Same front desk values, different mornings.
Visit The Place Hotel →