Hotel Review: Royal Scots Club, Edinburgh

It's all very grand here, overlooking the city's glorious (and private) Queen Street gardens with the city centre just the other side. Head off in the opposite direction, and you will find yourself in Stockbridge, one of the city's most desirable neighbourhoods. Just round the corner, Dundas Street is lined with smart galleries and ramshackle antique shops.

By car: Glasgow is around 1 hour, Newcastle is around 2 hours 40 minutes and Manchester is just over 4 hours. No on-site parking but Q Park at Greenside Place is half a mile away.

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 15-minute walk from Edinburgh Waverley station. Book trains to Edinburgh.

By plane: Edinburgh Airport (30-minute drive).

Grand but cosy at the same time, with huge carved staircases, marble fireplaces and chairs that virtually demand a post-prandial snooze. It's not difficult to imagine Miss Marple sitting with her knitting while her nephew Raymond orders prawn rose marie sandwiches from the nice woman behind the bar.

The old dress code for the dining room has been relaxed-rumour has it you can even wear jeans (as long as they're tidy), which is almost a disappointment. But the service is still as polished as the cutlery (and I'm sure they'd polish your shoes if you asked). There's room service, too.

• Bar
• Restaurant
• Room service
• Free Wi-Fi

Your expectations may be confounded by finding rainfall showers, rolltop baths and Nespresso machines, rather than a trouser presses and instant coffee. We loved the deep red four-poster room, if only because the fringed swags remind us of epaulettes.

Room types: Standard Double, Family Room, Executive Double/Twin, Classic Double/Twin, Kingsize Double/Twin, Four Poster Double

Key amenities: ensuite bathroom with Molton Brown toiletries, TV, tea and coffee facilities, free Wi-Fi

There's something soothing about the Abercromby dining room, all pelmets and pediments and ranks of starched napkins. The food is soothing too, with haddock and chips or a mixed grill available if you yearn for high tea. Or liven things up with veal saltimbocca, or even nasi goreng.

The Abercromby Dining Room​: elegant, gentlemen's club feel, smart dresscode, traditional Scottish cuisine. Open for breakfast and dinner for non-members. Dinner mains from £14.

The Cocktail Bar & Lounge: relaxed, cosy, comfortable, bar food. Open 11am-midnight. Small plates from £5.50.