After spending four nights in downtown London, I thought a Bed and Breakfast would be a nice choice for lodgings in Scotland.  B&Bs are all over the area surrounding Edinburgh.  Tourism appears to be a big industry for these close suburbs.  Most of these B&Bs are within a couple miles of the city center and directly connected to the city through the terrific bus lines.

The Ardgarth Guest House turned out to be a great choice.  It easily earns 3 out of 5 stars, and the service, food, and accomodations were all a great step up from the hotel I chose in London.

One of the most important things, considering that the B&B is about 3 miles from city center, is public transportation.  I’ll describe the transportation in more detail at a later point, but there was a bus stop a block from the B&B.  We were able to pick up a bus every morning without waiting more than five minutes and go directly to the city center at Princes Street.  It was as convenient as the tube in London, but cheaper.  The B&B was also about two or three blocks from the beach, if you wanted to take a relaxing walk along the water.

The actual B&B was very nice and well maintained.  The front door was locked with a security code, and each room had an individual key.  Our room was very spacious and had an ensuite bathroom.  There were only five channels available on the television, but each came in clearly.  The bathroom was still small, but it was a bit larger than the one in London.  The rooms were well cleaned every day and restocked with tea, instant coffee, and a small package of cookies.

Breakfast was definitely a high point of the stay.  Breakfast was served every morning from 7:45-8:45.  We generally woke up and stumbled down around 8:00, which left plenty of time to order breakfast and enjoy some coffee and hot chocolate.  You got a glass of juice, toast, a hot beverage (tea, hot chocolate, or coffee), and a choice of three breakfasts.  I chose the Scottish breakfast every morning (Sausage, Egg, Bacon, Mushrooms, Beans, Potato Scone), but you could also choose the Cafe Complait (an assortment of pastries) or a Scandinavian Breakfast (hardboiled egg, cheese, and ham/herring, if I remember correctly).  It was delicious and freshly cooked each morning.

There were two other convenient niceties.  Near the door, there was a large selection of brochures for local attractions, the bus line, and tours.  If you didn’t come prepared with a guidebook, this would give you an idea of what to do during your stay.  There was also a computer with an internet connection available for general use.  This was a great help for researching what to do, and I also used it to check my e-mail a few times during the trip.  I just couldn’t help myself.

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