Shocking hotel prices revealed

It probably won’t come as a surprise to anyone who’s visited the Fringe – but Edinburgh has the highest hotel prices in the world in the summer.

Demand in the Scottish capital in July and August means it costs more to stay there than. billionaires’ playgrounds such as Monaco and the Cayman Islands.

The conclusion comes from the allowances the US State Department allows travelling diplomats to claim for overnight stays.

For Edinburgh in the Summer that figure is $607 (£485) a night, compared to $588 (£467) for the Cayman Islands; $545 (£433)  for Fiji, or $388 (£308) for Monaco.

Cayman Islands by Reinhard Link / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

The figures, reported in The Times,  come as the soaring cost of accommodation in Edinburgh increasingly prices out performers wanting to stage shows there.

For the rest of the year, US diplomats are only allowed to claim $250 (£198) per night on Edinburgh accommodation.

At the landmark Balmoral hotel rooms are normally around £250 a night, but quadruple to just under £1,000 in August. And at the other end of the scale, a room in the Edinburgh Central Travelodge next Monday costs £41 or £249 for the first Monday in August.

State Department data goes back to 1994 when Edinburgh visitors could claim $146 (£116) per day for accommodation, all year round, equivalent to $313 (£249) adjusted for inflation.

Published: 17 Feb 2025