A Private Shower, a Georgian Address and No Surprises
There aren't many addresses in Edinburgh's Georgian New Town where a solo traveller gets a private walk-in shower of their own and can still walk everywhere. New Town Rooms is one, in the basement of a sandstone corner block on Dundas Street, with a red front door under the iron railings and a key code instead of a reception desk. Grey headboards, white walls, a red tartan runner across the bed, a navy carpet and a framed print of the city on the wall.
Book it if you want somewhere spotless and genuinely central to sleep while you spend the days out in the city, and you have read the details first. The rooms have no windows, the shower is yours but the toilet is shared, and getting in means five steps down and a narrow basement staircase. Look elsewhere if any of those three would bother you, or if you need a lift, a member of staff at a desk, or a room for children.
What comes through in review after review is that the guests who read the description before arriving rate this place highly and the ones who did not are the only ones disappointed. Cleanliness and the Wi-Fi draw the warmest feedback of anything here, the host answers messages quickly and is named in the reviews, and the small things get noticed: a tower fan, a plug adaptor with USB ports, an extension cable, hangers, and a kitchen that quietly keeps you in tea, coffee, milk and oat milk.
What Does the Room Actually Include?
Both grades are the same idea in two sizes. The Double Room with Shower with no window takes two people on a double bed; the Single Room with Shower with no window takes one. Each has its own walk-in shower and sink built into the room, fresh linen, heating, a socket beside the bed, a clothes rack and a drying rack, cleaning products, hand sanitiser and a carbon monoxide detector. Both are non-smoking and both, as the names say plainly, have no window.
That last part is the thing to understand before you book rather than after. Constant mechanical ventilation runs in place of an opening window, so the air moves but it does not blow, and one guest noted that washing will not dry overnight. Several describe the effect as cosy and remarkably quiet for a city-centre basement. The toilet is the other trade: you get your own shower and sink in the room, and share two toilets, one on each floor, which guests consistently report as clean and rarely busy.
Outside the rooms there is a smart-TV lounge with red banquette seating and long wooden tables, a shared kitchen set up for reheating rather than cooking from scratch, bicycle parking and a board-game shelf. The kitchen quietly keeps you in tea, coffee, milk and oat milk, along with the usual store-cupboard basics. Free luggage storage with a lock is available after check-out, which makes the last day in Edinburgh considerably easier.
Getting In After Midnight, and Getting Around After That
Check-in is self-service by electronic key code from 15:00, with the published window running to midnight, and it is one of the genuine strengths here. The instructions arrive after you book, and guests routinely report letting themselves in long after the last train, finding the key and the room without a hitch and without waking anybody. Check-out is by 11:00, and the luggage lock means the bags can stay while you spend the last day in town.
From the door the city arranges itself downhill. Princes Street and the Scottish National Gallery are a walk of fifteen minutes or so south, the Scott Monument and the gardens sit at the bottom of that walk, and Edinburgh Castle is about a mile away, which the owner sensibly calls twenty to twenty-five minutes because of the climb. North instead and the Royal Botanic Garden is ten minutes on foot, free to walk into, and the reason more than one guest says they booked this street in the first place. Lothian buses 23 and 27 run along Dundas Street towards Princes Street if the hill is not appealing.
Eating is easy and cheap around here. Finnegans Sandwich Bar is a couple of minutes along the same street at number 130, good for a weekday breakfast or lunch, and L'Alba D'Oro on Henderson Row is a few minutes further, a chip shop with a genuine national reputation. A mini Tesco is close enough to make the microwave worth using. Payment for the room is by bank transfer before you arrive, and the property contacts you with the details once the booking is made.
Why Book New Town Rooms?
New Town Rooms works best for solo travellers and couples who want somewhere clean and central to sleep, and who would rather know the trade-offs before they arrive than after.
Your own shower
Every room has a private walk-in shower and sink built in, which is rare at this level anywhere near the centre of Edinburgh.
The last train is fine
Arrival is a key code rather than a desk, and guests routinely let themselves in long after midnight without waking anybody.
Central, and quiet with it
The Royal Botanic Garden is ten minutes north on foot and Princes Street sixteen minutes south, on a Georgian street with no tourist traffic.
Nothing is hidden
The no-window, shared-toilet and basement-stairs facts are stated up front, and the reviews show that guests who read them rate the stay highest.
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Interesting Points About New Town Rooms
- The parking answer nobody else prints in full. Dundas Street sits in one of Edinburgh's inner controlled-parking zones, which charge Monday to Friday 08:30 to 17:30 and are free every evening and all weekend. Aggregator listings quote only the hourly tariff and leave out the free window entirely, which is the half that actually matters if you arrive on a Friday night. Tariffs and zone boundaries do change, so read the sign on the street.
- The operator now also lets separate private holiday apartments in the city centre, advertised as new on its own website and absent from every travel listing. If the shared toilet is the sticking point, that is the conversation to have with the host before you book.
- The single best thing within walking distance is free. The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is about half a mile north, a ten-minute walk, founded in 1670, and the outdoor garden costs nothing to enter. Its restored Victorian glasshouses are due to reopen to the public on Friday 2 October 2026 after a major restoration.
- Dundas Street runs downhill north from the city centre, which means the walk into town is easy and the walk back is uphill. Nobody's listing mentions it and every guest notices it. Budget the extra few minutes coming home.
- L'Alba D'Oro at 7 Henderson Row, a few minutes away on foot, became the first take-away in the world to receive a four-star award from a national tourism body when the Scottish Tourist Board graded it in February 2002, and The Times named it the UK's number one fish and chip shop in August 2014. It has been on Henderson Row since 1975.
- Do not confuse it with the New Town Hotel at 8-12 York Place or the New Town Guest House. Both are different Edinburgh properties sharing the keyword. This one is NEW TOWN ROOMS LTD, Companies House SC765789, registered at 168 Dundas Street and incorporated on 12 April 2023.
Rooms & Accommodation at New Town Rooms
Double Room with Shower with no window
Sleeps 2 · Double bed · Private walk-in shower and sink · No window
Two people, one double bed, and the shower is yours rather than down a corridor. Fresh linen, heating, a socket at the bedside, hangers and a drying rack, and no window, which is stated up front for a reason. It suits couples who want their own washing space at a New Town address and are out in the city all day anyway. The toilet is one of two shared, one per floor.
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Single Room with Shower with no window
Sleeps 1 · Single bed · Private walk-in shower and sink · No window
The smaller of the two, and the reason a lot of solo travellers end up here rather than in a dorm. You get a room to yourself with your own shower and sink built in, in a part of Edinburgh where that combination is hard to find. Same shared toilets, same absence of a window, same key-code arrival that makes a late train a non-event.
Check PricesIs New Town Rooms Right for You?
Best Suited For
- Solo travellers who want a private room with their own shower rather than a dorm bunk
- Couples on a city break who plan to be out all day and only need somewhere clean to sleep
- Late arrivals off the last train, since check-in is a key code and guests routinely let themselves in after midnight
- Anyone whose Edinburgh is the Botanics, Stockbridge and the New Town rather than the Royal Mile
- Travellers who read the details before booking and would rather know the trade-offs up front
Worth Considering Alternatives If
- A window matters to you: the rooms have none and run on constant mechanical ventilation instead
- You want your own toilet, because the shower and sink are private but the two toilets are shared, one per floor
- Steps are a problem: it is five down to the front door then a narrow basement staircase, with no lift and no disabled access
- You are travelling with children or anyone under 21, as the property is adults only with a minimum check-in age of 21
- You would rather pay on arrival, since payment is by bank transfer before you get there
Amenities and Facilities
In Your Room
- Private walk-in shower and sink built into every room
- Fresh linen and towels
- Heating and carpeted floors
- Socket beside the bed, plus an adaptor with USB ports
- Clothes rack, drying rack and hangers
- Tower fan
- Cleaning products, hand sanitiser and a carbon monoxide detector
- Not available: Window
- Not available: Private toilet
Shared Spaces
- Two shared toilets, one on each floor
- Lounge with a smart TV and banquette seating
- Shared kitchen with a microwave, kettle and crockery
- Complimentary tea, coffee, milk and oat milk, plus salt, pepper, sugar and tomato sauce
- Board games
- Bicycle parking
- Not available: Hob or oven
Arrival and Services
- Self check-in and check-out by electronic key code
- Free luggage storage with a lock, available after check-out
- Free WiFi throughout, the highest-rated part of a stay here
- Host reachable by phone and message, and quick to answer
- Not available: Staffed reception
- Not available: Laundry service
- Not available: Lift
- Not available: Disabled access
Policies
- Adults only, with a minimum check-in age of 21
- Payment by bank transfer before arrival, arranged after booking
- Non-smoking throughout
- English and French spoken
- Not available: Children
- Not available: Cots or extra beds
- Not available: Pets
- Not available: On-site parking
- Not available: Breakfast
Location and Getting Around
Dundas Street is the long, straight run of Georgian terraces that drops north out of the city centre towards Canonmills and Stockbridge, and 168 sits on a corner about two thirds of the way down. This is the Old and New Towns of Edinburgh World Heritage Site, inscribed by UNESCO in 1995, and it is a grid of galleries, antique dealers and independent shops rather than a tourist strip. The single most useful thing to understand about the address is the gradient: the walk into town is downhill and easy, the walk back is uphill and takes longer than you expect.
Go north and the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is about half a mile away, roughly ten minutes on foot, founded in 1670 and free to walk into. Go south and the Scottish National Gallery is about 0.7 miles, a fourteen-minute walk, with the Scott Monument and Princes Street Gardens a couple of minutes beyond it. Camera Obscura at the top of the Royal Mile is about eighteen minutes, Edinburgh Castle roughly a mile and twenty to twenty-five minutes because of the climb, Edinburgh Waverley about twenty minutes south-east, and the National Museum of Scotland twenty-four. Arthur's Seat is two and a half miles away, which is a taxi or a bus rather than a walk.
For food, Finnegans Sandwich Bar sits a couple of minutes along the street at 130 Dundas Street, a proper weekday sandwich and soup place. L'Alba D'Oro at 7 Henderson Row is a few minutes further and worth the detour: the Scottish Tourist Board gave it a four-star grading in February 2002, the first take-away anywhere to receive one, and The Times named it the UK's best fish and chip shop in 2014. Lothian buses 23 and 27 run along Dundas Street towards Princes Street, and Edinburgh Airport is about nine miles west, reached by the tram or the Airlink 100 bus to St Andrew Square and a short hop from there.
- Finnegans Sandwich Bar: 2-minute walk. Neighbourhood sandwich and soup counter at 130 Dundas Street, open weekday mornings to mid-afternoon.
- L'Alba D'Oro: 5-minute walk. Henderson Row chip shop, graded four stars by the Scottish Tourist Board in 2002 and named the UK's best by The Times in 2014.
- Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh: 10-minute walk. Founded in 1670, free to enter, with restored Victorian glasshouses reopening on 2 October 2026.
- Scottish National Gallery: 14-minute walk. Scotland's national collection of Old Masters and Impressionists, at the foot of the Mound.
- Scott Monument and Princes Street Gardens: 16-minute walk. The 287-step Gothic spire above the city's central park.
- Camera Obscura and World of Illusions: 18-minute walk. Edinburgh's oldest purpose-built attraction, at the top of the Royal Mile.
- Edinburgh Waverley station: 20-minute walk. The mainline station and the natural arrival point, downhill on the way in.
- Edinburgh Castle: 25-minute walk. On its volcanic crag above the city, allowing the longer end of the range for the climb.
- National Museum of Scotland: 24-minute walk. Free and vast, from Dolly the cloned sheep to Scottish history.
- Arthur's Seat: 15-minute drive. The extinct volcano in Holyrood Park, best reached by bus or taxi to Holyrood then climbed.
- Edinburgh Airport: 35-minute drive. About nine miles west, or take the tram or Airlink 100 to St Andrew Square.
Getting to Key Locations
Within a 15-minute walk: 2 of the 4 places below.
Photo: Ham, CC BY-SA 3.0
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
10 min walk
About 800 metres north of the front door, a 10-minute walk, and the strongest reason to be on this particular street. Seventy acres founded in 1670, free to walk into, with a rock garden, a Chinese hillside and the great Victorian glasshouses that are due to reopen on 2 October 2026 after years of restoration. More than one guest has said outright that the Botanics is why they booked here.
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Photo: 瑞丽江的河水, CC BY-SA 4.0
Scottish National Gallery
14 min walk
About 0.7 miles south, a 14-minute walk downhill, sitting in its colonnaded temple at the foot of the Mound with the castle rock directly above. It holds Scotland's national collection of Old Masters and Impressionists, entry to the permanent collection is free, and it is the natural first stop when the New Town walk delivers you onto Princes Street.
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Photo: (vincent desjardins), CC BY 2.0
Princes Street Gardens
16 min walk
About 0.8 miles south, a 16-minute walk, and the green valley that separates the New Town from the Old. The Scott Monument stands at the eastern end, 287 steps to the top if you fancy it, and the gardens fill the drained bed of the old Nor Loch beneath the castle rock. It is the obvious sit-down at the bottom of the hill before the walk back up.
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Edinburgh Castle
25 min walk
About a mile away, a 25-minute walk allowing for the climb, and visible from half the streets in between. The fortress has held the volcanic plug above the city since the twelfth century and still fires the One O'Clock Gun six days a week. Walk it in the morning, because the last stretch up the Mound and the Royal Mile is the steepest part of any day in Edinburgh.
View on MapHow to Get to New Town Rooms
- Arriving at Waverley: Edinburgh Waverley is the mainline station and sits at the bottom of the New Town. Come out onto Princes Street to get your bearings.
- Head north and downhill: Walk west along Princes Street to Hanover Street, then keep going north and downhill as it becomes Dundas Street. It is about twenty minutes on foot, and the return leg is uphill.
- Or take a bus or a taxi: Lothian buses 23 and 27 run north along Dundas Street from near Princes Street, and a taxi from Waverley takes about five minutes.
- Coming from the airport: Take the tram or the Airlink 100 bus from Edinburgh Airport to St Andrew Square, about half an hour, then walk or take a short taxi from there.
- Letting yourself in: Check-in is from 15:00 by electronic key code, and the instructions arrive after you book. Five steps lead down to the front door and a narrow staircase runs to the basement rooms. Late arrivals are genuinely well handled here, with guests regularly checking in after midnight.
Edinburgh for First-Time Visitors
Edinburgh divides neatly in two, and knowing which half you are in explains most of the city. The Old Town is the medieval spine running down the Royal Mile from the castle to Holyrood, all closes and wynds and vertical drops. The New Town, where Dundas Street sits, is the Georgian grid laid out from the 1760s: wide straight streets, sandstone terraces, galleries and independent shops, and a great deal less foot traffic.
The calendar has two peaks and you should know both before you book. August is the festival month, with the Edinburgh Festival Fringe running 7 to 31 August 2026, the Edinburgh International Festival 7 to 30 August, and the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo 7 to 29 August. Edinburgh's Hogmanay runs 29 December 2026 to 1 January 2027. Both periods fill every bed in the city and push rates to their annual high, so book early or come in spring or autumn instead, when the Botanics are at their best and the queues are gone.
The best walk from this end of town is the one most visitors miss: north from Dundas Street into Stockbridge for the Sunday market and the antique shops, then along the Water of Leith walkway to Dean Village, which is a hidden pocket of eleventh-century milling history five minutes from the Georgian grid. Head south instead and you are on Princes Street inside a quarter of an hour, with the gardens, the galleries and the climb up to the castle laid out in front of you.
Edinburgh's Ten Best Things to Do
A short guide to the castle, the Royal Mile, Arthur's Seat and the Botanic Garden, all within reach of Dundas Street.
Is New Town Rooms worth it?
Yes, if you want a private room with your own shower in the Georgian New Town and you have read what you are getting. It is spotless, the key-code arrival makes a late train painless, and the Botanics are a ten-minute walk. Skip it if a window, a private toilet, a lift or a member of staff at a desk would matter to you.
What Guests Say About New Town Rooms
Scores and review counts are aggregated from verified guest bookings on major travel platforms.
Good
The recurring line in the reviews is essentially I knew what I was getting and it delivered. Cleanliness comes up first almost every time, followed by the location, which guests describe as central and quiet at once, and the value in a city where beds are expensive. The self check-in draws real praise, particularly from people arriving on late trains, and the host is named and thanked often. The complaints are about the product's inherent trade-offs rather than its standards: no windows, the shared toilet, the narrow basement stairs, and the occasional slow shower drain or damp-feeling air. Guests who read the description before booking rate the stay noticeably higher than those who did not.
Had everything he needed and found it clean with good facilities. The lack of a window was a non-issue for a single night.
Scott
Had everything he needed and found it clean with good facilities. The lack of a window was a non-issue for a single night.
Praised the host by name. Arrived after midnight off a late train and found her key and her room easily, and appreciated the small touches: hangers, a fan, a USB adaptor and an extension cable. Felt it was a little dear for what it is, though that is central Edinburgh in June.
Clean, safe, comfortable and good value. The windowless basement room felt slightly enclosed, but she noted that had been made clear at the time of booking.
Described a cute studio-style nook with its own sink and shower and a handy little kitchenette, and rated it very clean. Flagged that it is not accessible, with steps down to the door and narrow stairs, and that the air felt damp so washing did not dry, though the ventilation ran constantly. The owner answered calls promptly.
Enjoyed the stay and said her only wish was for a bathroom in the room, while acknowledging she had known that going in.
Rated the location highly along with the smart self check-in, the luggage storage and a comfortable shared space. Found the room tiny but fine for two, and hit a shower drain that backed up during the stay.
Comfy bed, and sharing the toilet worked out with plenty of privacy. Found the mini Tesco handy. Noted the narrow basement stairs could be tricky for anyone with mobility issues, though there had been fair warning.
Loves Edinburgh and rated the position, central and right by the Royal Botanic Garden. Found the room small but very clean with a comfy bed, and thought it felt a little dated.
Good to Know Before You Book
The rooms have no windows, and the ventilation runs constantly
Mechanical ventilation runs in place of an opening window, so the air moves all the time and guests describe the rooms as cosy and unusually quiet for a city basement. Do not count on drying laundry overnight, and if you like moving air there is a tower fan in the room.
You get a private shower and sink, but the toilet is shared
The walk-in shower and the sink are inside your room. The toilets are shared, two of them, one on each floor, and guests consistently report that they are kept clean and rarely busy. It is the single detail most worth understanding before you book.
Access is five steps down and then a narrow staircase
There is no lift and no disabled access: five steps drop to the front door and a flight of narrow internal stairs runs down to the basement rooms. It works well for light packers and is genuinely unsuitable for anyone with mobility needs or very heavy luggage.
Parking on Dundas Street is free in the evenings and at weekends
The street sits in one of Edinburgh's inner controlled-parking zones, charging by the hour Monday to Friday from 08:30 to 17:30 and free outside those times and all weekend, unlike the central zones which also charge on Saturdays. Tariffs and boundaries change, so read the sign on the street before you leave the car.
Check-in is a key code, and late arrivals are easy
Check-in runs from 15:00 with the published window to midnight, and it is entirely self-service. Instructions arrive after you book, and guests regularly let themselves in well after the last train without any trouble. Check-out is by 11:00, and free luggage storage with a lock is available afterwards.
Payment is by bank transfer before you arrive
The property contacts you after booking with transfer instructions, so the room is paid for before you get there. Cancellation and prepayment conditions vary with the rate you select, so check the terms shown for your dates before confirming.
Photos of New Town Rooms
Frequently Asked Questions
Check-in is entirely self-service using an electronic key code, from 15:00 with the published window running to midnight. There is no staffed reception. The access instructions arrive after you book, and late arrivals are one of the genuine strengths here: guests regularly report letting themselves in after the last train, well past midnight, without any difficulty. Check-out is by 11:00, and free luggage storage with a lock is available afterwards.
No. Both room types are windowless, which the property states plainly in the room names themselves. Constant mechanical ventilation runs in place of an opening window, so the air is always moving, and guests describe the rooms as cosy and unusually quiet for a city-centre basement. Two practical consequences: laundry will not dry overnight, and there is a tower fan in the room if you prefer moving air.
Partly. Every room has its own private walk-in shower and sink built into the room, which is unusual at this level in central Edinburgh. The toilet is not private: there are two shared toilets, one on each floor, and guests consistently describe them as clean and rarely busy. If a fully private bathroom is essential, this is the detail to weigh before booking.
There is no on-site parking, but on-street council parking runs along Dundas Street and the nearby streets. Dundas Street sits in one of Edinburgh's inner controlled-parking zones, which charge by the hour Monday to Friday from 08:30 to 17:30 and are free every evening and all weekend, unlike the central zones which also charge on Saturdays and Sunday afternoons. Tariffs and zone boundaries do change, so always read the sign on the street.
It is not accessible. The property has no disabled access: five steps drop from the pavement to the front door, and a flight of narrow internal stairs runs down to the basement rooms. There is no lift. It works well for anyone travelling light, and it is genuinely unsuitable for guests with mobility needs or very heavy luggage.
Yes, it is adults only, and nobody under 21 can check in. Children are not permitted, and cots and extra beds are not available. It is non-smoking throughout.
No, pets are not accepted. The owner said in 2024 that they hoped to become pet-friendly in future and would advertise it when that changed, but as things stand pets cannot be brought.
Breakfast is not offered, but the shared kitchen covers the basics. It has a microwave, a kettle and crockery, but no hob and no oven, so plan around reheating rather than cooking. The property provides salt, pepper, sugar, tomato sauce and complimentary tea, coffee, milk and oat milk. There is a mini Tesco nearby, and Finnegans Sandwich Bar is a couple of minutes along the same street.
Payment is by bank transfer before arrival. The property contacts you with the transfer details once the booking is made, so the room is settled before you get there. Cancellation and prepayment conditions vary according to the rate and room you select, so read the terms shown for your dates before you confirm.
No. New Town Rooms is at 168 Dundas Street and is a small independent hostel run by NEW TOWN ROOMS LTD, registered in Scotland as SC765789 and incorporated in April 2023. The New Town Hotel at 8-12 York Place and the New Town Guest House are separate Edinburgh properties that share the district name. Some travel listings also mislabel this one as a capsule hotel or a two-star hotel, and neither description fits.
Other Great Stays in Edinburgh
Beaverbank Place, Canonmills
Choose it over New Town Rooms if you want a window and your own bathroom at a similar level. It is campus-style accommodation a little further north, so the rooms are plainer but nothing is shared.
Bellevue Guest House, Edinburgh
The pick if you want a family-run guest house with breakfast included and hosts on hand. Seven en-suite rooms in an 1835 stone terrace on the south side, with free on-site parking, so you trade the Botanics walk for a ten-minute bus into town.
Ivy Braveheart Guest House, Edinburgh
Better when you are travelling as a family or with anyone under 21, since New Town Rooms is adults only. Expect a conventional guest-house room with a window and a private bathroom.
Ready to Book New Town Rooms?
A private shower, a Georgian address and a key code that makes the last train irrelevant. Check your dates before the festival weeks fill.
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