InterContinental Edinburgh the George, an IHG Hotel

Welcoming guests since 1881, at its heart are five listed Georgian townhouses built in 1775 as homes for Edinburgh’s most prosperous citizens. The sensitive, multi-million-pound restoration and refurbishment combined luxurious natural materials such as oak, marble and leather with a palette of colours inspired by the great 19th-century Scottish landscape painters. A nod to Edinburgh’s rich literary heritage, The Printing Press Bar & Kitchen was once home to acclaimed novelist Susan Ferrier (an equal of Jane Austen, according to Sir Walter Scott), whilst Burr & Co. is a lovely coffee shop with a devoted local following.