I would recommend staying at the Blacket Garden Flat to anybody visiting Edinburgh.
We came during the last weekend of the Fringe Festival, where Edinburgh is indeed full to the rims. We booked one month in advance and were lucky to get a room at the Blacket Garden Flat. Isobel runs the B&B with her husband Jimmy. She was very nice on the phone when we called her and did not even ask for a credit card number. She confirmed our booking through email and was waiting for us when we arrived. Their house is at the back of a big mansion in Blacket Place (hence the name, of course). It is a very large and charming place. Our room was very big and the bed very comfortable. We slept like logs (the area is very quite). Isobel immediately gave us a very useful map of Edinburgh and a guide to the Fringe, and handwritten instructions about how to get to the city center.
Perhaps the thing that we were most wary of was the fact that they are not located in the center, but around twenty minutes walk to the south. We discovered however that there are so many buses taking you to the center that it really does not matter. It is in fact nicer to stay in a place that is a bit more quiet and peaceful. A taxi ride is around £5 (a bargain for taxi rides if you come from London!).
Isobel and Jimmy were very nice to us throughout. The kind of niceness that even leaves you a bit embarrased about not being able to respond with comparable niceness. In the mornings we had a wonderful (included) breakfast in their dining room and off we went to the Fringe. On the last day we had to leave early in the morning to catch a train and Isobel offered to book a taxi for us and Jimmy woke up (at 5 in the morning!) to say goodbye.
A wonderful experience.







