Last minute Cheap Edinburgh Getaway Review

Last minute adventures are always fun, but, the hardest decision is where to go. On the 18th of March at 11 pm, we decided to book Edinburgh for my Birthday- Bare in mind that is on the 19th. We managed to get the last minute off-peak tickets for £50.50 return from Newcastle to Edinburgh (bargain). That’s not a bad, only an hour and a half on the train giving you plenty of time to wake up and adjust. 

Now, where to stay? We had previously stayed in the princess suite apartments in Edinburgh, which are stunning and situated in the perfect location. So, when we had a look we debated a hotel this time but fell in love with an old converted school which was now apartment for both guests and locals. 

Where did we stay

Kingsford Residence is an old converted building which is absolutely gorgeous from the front door. The layout is very modern and welcoming. You are welcomed from entering and made to feel safe, as only people with room keys/ resisdents can enter the building. 

We did arrive a couple of hours early from the expected check-in time of 3 pm ,so, we didn’t mind waiting to get into the room which we still got in an hour earlier than anticipated. 

When you look at places to stay, the photos can either do it too much justice to be let down or not enough. In this case, not enough justice. WOW! This beautiful apartment even had an upstairs. It really did blow us away, even the smell in the building waling to your fresh was like fresh linen. It smelt unbelievable.

Kitchen

Fully equipped with a kitchen, washing machine, oven the kitchenette this aprtment has eveyrthing you need.

Bathroom

A beautifully designed space is utilised well. The toilet, however, is in the shower which was strange, but, I can understand why due to space. You have a hidden washing machine/tumble dryer behind the shower door, which we found by accident but came in useful. 

There is no TV in the rooms but personally, we don’t usually watch TV when we go away. There was no mirror upstairs in the bedroom but, we were able to bring the wall mirror upstairs and use to get ready which was easily taken down and put back on the wall after. I would suggest to have a mirror upstairs for convenience.

Bedroom

The bedroom is a lovely open space. If you are tall, be careful of the beam on the ceiling. I am only 5’2 so, it didn’t bother me but my partner is 6’1 and he had to be very cautious as he nearly hit his head. There is plenty of storage space to the side of the bed. The shaping of the upstairs has been used very well to make the most of the space.

Faults in the room
2 lights in the apartment didn’t work. To be honest, they only needed a new bulb but this didn’t impact our stay nor light. No mirror upstairs. Other than that it was excellent.

Our Favourite features

I loved the old fashioned windows. It was nice to be able to air the apartment out, as the heat holds well in the building.  The rooftop is a gorgeous size to enjoy on a lovely day, better when the kids arent in the school below for noise.

Distance from the Edinburgh Waverly station

We arrived at 11 am and walked down using the google sat nav. However, there is a bus which takes you to McDonald road within 4 minutes from the train station saving you the walk as it was quite long weaving in and out of streets. If you like walking it is a nice walk if it isn’t raining, unless you like the rain ofcourse.

Getting around Edinburgh

You can buy a day saver for £4 which you can jump on multiple buses to travel around the city. Our first day we did walk around in-fact, we did over 32,000 steps. I tracked my steps on my Fitbit but by day 2 our feet were very sore due to the hill nature of Edinburgh.
Such a gorgeous city to explore. We would recommend the old town for food as we stumble upon an amazing restaurant called Howies.

Venture to the main high street for a spot of shopping. Stop by the blue bear for breakfast which was a nice walk from the Kingsford residence. Treat yourself to a delicious traditional Cullen skink from Howies.
Mini golf is just a bus journey away and cocktail stops are within walking distance. Explore princes street gardens for some spectacular views and enjoy breathing in the fresh Scottish air.

Overall, we had a wonderful trip and I’m so happy I spent my birthday in Edinburgh. We would definitely recommend taking a visit and seeing what you get up too.

Thanks for reading,

S🎉🎁