Promoted as a restaurant with rooms, the Witchery is also a legendary place to stay. The theatrical suites are so special they attract a steady stream of celebrity guests from around the world. Dannii Minogue regularly sleeps in the Old Rectory suite – she calls it the 'perfect lust den!'. It features a huge Gothic bed, double-ended bateaux bath and an assortment of quirky memorabilia that must be a nightmare for cleaners to dust.
In the morning, you might bump into Gary Barlow, Brian Ferry, Simon Callow or John Cleese on the spiral turret staircase down to breakfast. The alternative is a wicker hamper of goodies delivered to your room.
The Witchery is right next to the hillside gates for Edinburgh Castle, on a pedestrianised cobbled street. Guests are right in the thick of the tourist-haven old town during the summer, but it's surprisingly peaceful at night.
The Witchery is famous for food, backed up with a wine list that is as heavy as an encyclopedia. The restaurant looks a little tired these days but find the right seat and the views over the city are majestic.
If you want an unusual alterative to a standard-hotel stay, then the Witchery is unrivalled in Edinburgh. Only its sister hotel, Prestonfield House – a favourite with Prince Charles – offers the same tapestry-hung quirkiness.
And the name? The Witchery is so-called for the hundreds of witches burned at the stake on Castlehill in the16th and 17th centuries. Sleep tight…
From £325 a room a night (thewitchery.com).
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