The Balmoral, a Rocco Forte Hotel
Rocco Forte · New Town & Princes Street · Edinburgh & Scotland
A sense of the place
Why it's in the collection
Because a railway grand dame of 1902 presides over the east end of Princes Street under a clock kept three minutes fast so that no one misses a train – and Rocco Forte holds it to five-star standing.
- Opened in 1902 as the station hotel at the east end of Princes Street, beside Waverley; a Rocco Forte hotel since 1997.
- The clock tower, famously kept three minutes fast so that no one misses their train, is the landmark of the city center.
- Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star 2026 for the hotel – the first in Scotland to carry the rating and the only one inside Edinburgh on the 2026 list; holds five-star standing.
The neighborhood
New Town & Princes Street
The Georgian city north of the gardens, with the Castle across the valley and two of the four hotels. Princes Street looks across at the Castle; George Street and Charlotte Square are for the shops and the clubs, the Scottish National Gallery stands at the foot of the Mound, and Waverley station is at the east end, with Calton Hill above it.
- Waverley station, next door.
- Princes Street and its gardens, at the door, with the Castle across the valley.
- The Royal Mile, across North Bridge.
“Rocco Forte's railway grand dame of 1902 at the east end of Princes Street, under the clock tower kept three minutes fast.”
Plan your stay
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Nearby in the collection
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