Southside Guest House

About Southside Guest House

Southside Guest House is a Victorian townhouse at 8 Newington Road, built in 1867 and run as a small bed and breakfast for many years. It has eight en-suite bedrooms, which puts it firmly in guest-house territory rather than hotel, and the owners are on site and hands-on. It holds four gold stars from the AA and has picked up a run of excellence awards from the review sites, which for a property this size says more about consistency than marketing budget.

Rooms are individually decorated and include a couple of four-poster options, which get booked well ahead for anniversaries. All are en suite, with flat-screen televisions, tea and coffee, hairdryers and free wi-fi. Ceilings are high and windows large, as you would expect from the period; the rooms at the back are quieter, the front ones brighter. Some are up a flight or two of stairs and there is no lift, which is normal for a building of this type.

Breakfast is the thing people write about. It is cooked to order, uses Scottish suppliers, and runs well beyond the standard fry-up — smoked salmon, porridge with whisky, vegetarian options and good coffee. The dining room is small and sociable. There is no bar or restaurant for the evening, but Newington and the Southside are full of places to eat within a few minutes' walk.

Newington Road is on a main bus route, so the city centre is a fifteen-minute walk or a five-minute bus ride. Arthur's Seat and Holyrood Park are close enough to walk before breakfast, and the University's George Square campus and the Festival Theatre are nearby. It suits couples and independent travellers who prefer a small, personal place with an excellent breakfast to a large hotel, at a considerably lower price than the centre.