Hotel Review: 21212, Edinburgh

Royal Terrace, set above and back from the busy London Road, is an impressive arc of substantial Georgian townhouses on the eastern side of the New Town below Calton Hill. It's hard to believe that Leith Walk and Broughton Street's fun and funky bars and eateries are a short walk away, as are St Andrew Square and the National Portrait Gallery. Not that you'd want to eat anywhere else, but Gardener's Cottage and The Lookout restaurants are virtually on the doorstep.

By car: around 1 hour from Glasgow, 2 hours 40 minutes from Newcastle and around 4 hours from Manchester. A 24-hour multi-storey is a short walk away at Q-Park.

By train: 50 minutes from Glasgow Queens Street, 3 hours from Manchester Picadilly, and 4 hours 45 minutes from London Kings Cross. The hotel is a 13-minute walk from Edinburgh Waverley train station. Book trains to Edinburgh.

By plane: Edinburgh Airport (35-minute drive).

Paul Kitching and his partner Katie O'Brien have created a seriously smart yet light-heartedly laidback haven of quiet self-indulgence in this light-flooded, elegantly proportioned Georgian gem where modernism and classicism mix it up in perfect harmony, both in food and décor.

This isn't a hotel, it's a destination restaurant, which makes the level of helpfulness shown by staff throughout your stay even more remarkable. Don't expect lots of hotel services, but do anticipate warm and hospitable service.

• Restaurant
• Bar
• Breakfast
• Free Wi-Fi

Handsome is as handsome does - these aren't just rooms to sleep in (although those lovely big beds on platforms are tempting). You'll want to collapse onto the sofa to enjoy a delicious nibble, loll in an enormous egg-shaped bath or share one of the huge showers (on the top floor you'll have wet rooms to share).

Room types: Four Bedrooms

Key amenities: dedicated lounge area, ensuite bathroom with luxury toiletries, bathrobes, smart TV, bluetooth speaker, tea and coffee facilities, free Wi-Fi

Not so much food as flights of fancy, or perhaps alchemy, so extraordinary are the depths of flavour conjured up by Paul Kitching and his brigade, visible like actors on a brightly lit stage at one end of the sinuously sensual dining room. It's modern Scottish cooking, but not as you might expect.

21212: four AA Rosettes, Michelin star 2010-2019. Elegant, sumptuous, fine dining, Scottish food with a twist. Open for lunch and dinner Tuesday-Saturday (breakfast everyday for guests). Weekly changing menu - 3 courses from £50, 5 courses from £85.