How Edinburgh became the UK's ‘most expensive' city break

Telegraph

11 hours ago

First-time visitors to the Scottish capital, keen to experience the highlights of the world-famous city, are in for a shock this summer. Upwards of £800 for a double room on Princes Street? More than £200 for a prestige tasting menu from a Michelin-starred chef? How about £75 for an afternoon tea with fizz and pheasants? It's enough to turn you as green as the Hibernian's football strip.
But are prices in Edinburgh really so out of sync with Europe's other must-see capitals? According to the Post Office, they certainly are. Its annual city costs barometer, which analyses the best value city breaks across 38 popular destinations, found that Edinburgh is more expensive than ever, ranking only behind Oslo and Copenhagen.
Punishing accommodation costs
So, where do the most punishing costs lie? While a return transfer from the airport (£8), a coffee (£3.50) and museum or art gallery entrance (£0) amount to far less than in many other cities on the chart (Oslo will set you back £36.39 for return travel to its airport, for instance), the real expense comes when finding affordable accommodation. On average, the Post Office says, two nights in a three-star hotel for two over a weekend in Edinburgh costs £399 – almost £100 more than in Norway's capital.
'Like many European cities, Edinburgh has been affected by inflation, rising operational costs, staffing pressures, and increased demand, especially during peak periods,' says Parvez Unmar, regional general manager for The Roseate Hotels and Resorts in Edinburgh and London. 'The city's global appeal has also led to more premium travel, which naturally drives up average rates across the sector. But while certain headline prices may be higher, the overall experience and access to world-class culture at little or no cost make it competitive with other European destinations.'
Town planning and topography play their part, too. Edinburgh's Old Town — a medieval fantasy of what a capital should look like – has very limited real estate, and the arrival of a succession of new five-star hotels here, and in the equally handsome New Town, is pushing up rack rates. This is particularly apparent in the already tightly packed areas where tourists cluster (the latest opening is The Hoxton near Haymarket next month).
Add the introduction of short-term let controls and Edinburgh's status as a world-class festival city to the picture, and, during periods of influx, accommodation becomes more competitive and, by default, more expensive.
'We have the world's best and largest collection of arts festivals, of which we're hugely proud,' says Jane Meagher, the City of Edinburgh's council leader . 'This year, the Fringe has 3,350 shows across 265 venues, while tickets for the International Festival are selling fast. It's due to their growing popularity over the last 10 years that we've seen increasing demand for accommodation in August.'
'We're not charging more for the sake of it'
The other noticeable cost is eating out well. Part of that is the result of the city's dining scene exploding with creativity and transformative restaurants in neighbourhoods like Leith and Stockbridge. For comparison, a three-course evening meal for two including house wine costs £116 in Edinburgh, nearly £40 less than in Copenhagen, according to the Post Office. But, substantially more than in Paris (£90.65), Rome (£68.72) and even London (£80).
Again, is this a true reflection of costs? 'They [costs] have gone up in Edinburgh, there's no hiding from that,' says Joseph Radford of Michelin-starred Timberyard and sister restaurant Montrose near Calton Hill. 'But in many cases, they were much too low to begin with. For years, margins were so tight that businesses absorbed costs to avoid scaring people off. Now we're at a point where, if you want to stay open and treat your staff properly, you have to be honest in your pricing. We're not charging more for the sake of it. We're charging what it actually costs to do things with integrity.'
Another local hero, Stuart Ralston, who has opened four rave-worthy restaurants — Aizle, Noto, Tipo, and, most recently, the one Michelin-star Lyla — agrees, factoring in increases in living costs, energy and supplies. 'Economically, the cost of running hospitality businesses has increased exponentially over the past four years,' he said. 'High rents, limited housing supply and the general increasing costs of running a business all contribute to forcing prices up for travellers, but also for residents.'
Finding the value
How best to save like a canny Scot then? Ask anyone who lives here what the best bit about the city is, and the answer is invariably along the lines of what's free. The list includes best-in-class museums like the National Museum of Scotland and the four National Galleries of Scotland. There's the Highland-lite parkland too, including the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Holyrood Park and Princes Street Gardens.
It's also accurate to say price comparisons can overlook a city's value proposition. Even though Edinburgh is effortlessly easy to get around on foot, for instance, the Post Office adds a £22 travel card to your budget. Eliminate that, and it immediately drops down the cost scale. Even so, for longer journeys, public transport (£2.20 for a Lothian Buses trip) trumps Uber every time.
Another prerequisite: accommodation needs to be booked as far in advance as possible, particularly if you plan to come during the Fringe (Aug 1 to 25) or Edinburgh's Hogmanay (late December to Jan 1). The downside is that an additional five per cent visitor levy will be added to your accommodation cost from this July – the promise is that this will be reinvested to improve services for everyone.
What flexibility will buy you is a seat at many top tables, especially over approachable lunchtime specials at independents like The Palmerston, where you can land three courses for £25, or Moss, where a lobster menu is £20.
It may be increasingly expensive, but we'd all be worse off without Edinburgh. It has all you want: a gothic knot of steeples and spires at dawn, a river, a glittering sea and scalloped beaches in shifting light, and, sat atop a volcanic crag, a famous stone castle lit by fireworks. And who wouldn't pay a premium for that?