Best Edinburgh Hotels with Indoor Pools for Families
8 family-friendly hotels with indoor pool in Edinburgh . Handpicked for families who want the best.
Edinburgh has the weather you'd guess: rain on 175 days a year, average July high of 19°C, and a famous joke about getting four seasons in one afternoon. None of that matters if your hotel has an indoor pool. The catch is that fewer than 10 hotels in central Edinburgh have a real indoor pool kids can actually use — the rest are spa plunge pools or adults-only. This page lists the five we'd book with a 5 and 8-year-old, with real pool sizes, family rules, and prices from 504 GBP per night. One is a 5-star with the city's biggest hotel pool, three are 4-star spa hotels in the centre, and one is a budget-friendly 4-star out by Edinburgh Zoo with the most reliable family swim times. We've checked which actually let kids in the pool, when, and how big the queue gets at 4pm in November.
Edinburgh with kids is more compact than people expect. Princes Street to Holyrood is a 25-minute walk, the castle is in the middle, and you can see most of it without ever taking the bus. Old Town and the West End are the two areas we'd pick first — both walkable, stroller-friendly enough on flat sections, and full of free things. Edinburgh Castle, the National Museum of Scotland, and the Camera Obscura sit within 10 minutes of each other, and the Museum is free entry. The Royal Mile is buggy-friendly downhill but brutal pushing back up — take the bus from Holyrood. Princes Street Gardens has a small playground, free entry, and views of the Castle. Edinburgh Zoo (with pandas until late 2026) and the Royal Botanic Garden are both 15 minutes by bus. Food is straightforward: every pub does a kids' menu, Mary's Milk Bar in Grassmarket is the gelato stop, and Italian/Indian on the Royal Mile is reliable. If you're extending the trip, our London hotels with indoor pools are a 4h30 LNER train south. Different vibe? See our Edinburgh hotels with spa for parents who need the steam room more than the kids' pool.
🏊Why Edinburgh hotels with indoor pools are worth it for families
Here's the truth about indoor pools in Edinburgh: they exist, but they're concentrated in 4 and 5-star hotels because central Edinburgh hotels live inside Georgian and Victorian townhouses where pools were a basement add-on, not original. Most 3-star properties in the Old Town simply don't have the floor space. That makes indoor-pool hunting in Edinburgh a price-tier hunt, and the cheapest proper option starts around 500 GBP per night for the Holiday Inn Edinburgh Zoo. If you find something cheaper claiming a pool, look at the photos hard — it's often a sauna with a cold plunge, not a pool a kid can swim in.
Pool sizes are modest. A 19-metre pool counts as huge here. The Sheraton Grand's One Spa pool is the largest at 19m and the only one with a heated rooftop hydropool on top. Marriott Holyrood and Holiday Inn Zoo both have proper 15-metre indoor pools that families can use without booking. The Apex Yu Spa pool is shared across two of the central Apex hotels (City of Edinburgh and Grassmarket) and is only around 13m, but it's the only spa pool in the Old Town zone. Expect every pool to feel busy from 4pm-6pm in winter when other parents have the same idea. Mornings 8-10am are the calmest slot in our experience.
One thing to know: Edinburgh's hotel pools are most useful from October to April, when the weather days come in waves and you genuinely need the indoor backup. July and August are the worst months to pay for an indoor pool — the kids will be at Portobello Beach or Princes Street Gardens and you'll be wasting the amenity. The Festival in August also pushes prices to summer peaks. The sweet spot is November-March, when rain days are common, prices are 30-40% off summer, and the pools are open every afternoon. If you're here in summer, you might be better with an outdoor pool in Barcelona or a pool in Lisbon instead.
Parent's take
We booked Holiday Inn Edinburgh Zoo in February with the kids, expecting at least three rained-out afternoons. Got four. The pool wasn't fancy — 15 metres, basic tiles, no slides — but it was open 7am to 9pm with no booking and never had more than three other families in it. The kids swam every afternoon for an hour after museum trips. By day four they were asking when the next swim was, not when the next snack was. In Edinburgh, a hotel indoor pool isn't a spa luxury — it's the thing that lets you book a city break in February without the whole trip collapsing into Netflix in the room.
Our Top 8 Picks
Hotels in Edinburgh with indoor pool, sorted by guest rating.
Prestonfield House
Priestfield (Arthur's Seat)
Wonderful
1,480 reviews
A 17th-century country house on 20 acres of parkland three miles from the city centre, with a small treatment-room spa and a 12m heated indoor swimming pool. Family rooms in the main house have separate child sofa-beds. Highland cattle and peacocks roam the grounds.
From
£420/night
Why families love Prestonfield House
We expected fancy and got both fancy and totally relaxed about kids. Reception found a Highland cow tour for our two kids while we did a couples' massage. The pool is small but warm and we had it to ourselves on a Tuesday morning. Dinner in the velvet rococo dining room had highchairs ready and a kids' menu the eight-year-old actually ate.
Gleneagles Townhouse
St Andrew Square (New Town)
Wonderful
690 reviews
The city outpost of the famous Perthshire estate, in a converted Edwardian bank on St Andrew Square. The fifth-floor spa has a small heated indoor pool, sauna and steam, plus a teen treatment menu from age 14. Family junior suites have a fold-out sofa-bed in a separate alcove.
From
£510/night
Why families love Gleneagles Townhouse
The pool is up on the fifth floor with a view of the city rooftops and we had a family swim slot at 09:00 that worked well. The 14-year-old loved being treated like an adult at the spa reception and got a 30-minute back massage. Breakfast is in the converted banking hall — kid-friendly because it's huge and loud, not despite it.
The Balmoral Hotel
Old Town / New Town border (Princes Street)
Wonderful
3,140 reviews
The clock-tower landmark above Waverley station, with a 15m heated indoor pool, sauna, steam, jacuzzi and seven treatment rooms. Family rooms have a fold-out bed in a separate dressing alcove. The pool runs a family swim 08:00-11:00 daily and switches to adults from 11:30.
From
£580/night
Why families love The Balmoral Hotel
The pool is the best in central Edinburgh — 15 metres, properly heated, with poolside loungers and underwater lights for a swim before breakfast. Family swim slot was clearly posted at reception which made our life easy. Treatment rooms gave our 12-year-old her first proper facial (30 minutes, age-appropriate, no products with retinol) which she still talks about. Worth the price if you stay two nights and use the spa twice.
Apex Waterloo Place Hotel
New Town / Calton Hill
Excellent
4,830 reviews
An Apex flagship at the east end of Princes Street with its own indoor pool inside the Yu Spa, plus the only honest steam room and sauna combination in this strip. Family rooms are sized for two adults plus two kids, breakfast is generous, and the Old Town is 5 minutes on foot.
From
€334/night
Why families love Apex Waterloo Place Hotel
Stayed two nights mid-November with a 7-year-old. The Yu Spa indoor pool is small (around 13m) but we had it nearly to ourselves at 9am. Reception books your 90-minute family slot the night before — easy enough but plan ahead in winter. Family room had a sofa bed in a separate alcove that meant we actually slept. Walking distance to Edinburgh Castle and the Royal Mile is the real value here.
Sheraton Grand Hotel & Spa
Festival Square / West End
Excellent
3,397 reviews
Edinburgh's biggest hotel pool sits in the basement One Spa here, a 19-metre indoor lap pool plus a heated rooftop hydropool with views toward the Castle. The 5-star Sheraton Grand has an enormous lobby, an honest family room option, and a 7-minute walk to Princes Street.
From
£1046/night
Why families love Sheraton Grand Hotel & Spa
We stayed three nights with a 6 and 9-year-old in February — the rooftop hydropool in steaming rain was the trip highlight. Family swim windows (9am-12pm, 3pm-7pm) were strictly enforced but never crowded outside school holidays. The kids' breakfast in the One Square restaurant has cereal, pancakes, and a juice bar. Our family room slept four with proper beds and we got two bathrobes for the kids' size.
Apex City of Edinburgh Hotel
Old Town / Grassmarket
Excellent
3,442 reviews
The Apex City sits on Grassmarket with the Castle filling the windows, and guests can use the Yu Spa indoor pool at the sister Grassmarket Apex two minutes away. Honest 4-star with family rooms above standard size and a price 30% below Waterloo Place across the street from the National Library.
From
£855/night
Why families love Apex City of Edinburgh Hotel
Two nights with a 5 and 8-year-old in late October. The pool isn't on-site — it's at the Apex Grassmarket two minutes' walk along the cobbles — and that surprised us at check-in. Once we knew, the daily pool slot worked fine and the kids loved walking to and from in the rain. Family room was 28m² with a single in a separate cubicle. Castle view was free entertainment for the 5-year-old.
Edinburgh Marriott Hotel Holyrood
Old Town / Holyrood
Excellent
2,908 reviews
The Marriott Holyrood sits at the bottom of the Royal Mile next to Holyrood Palace and the Scottish Parliament, with its own 15-metre indoor pool open 6:30am to 9:30pm and the most relaxed kids' policy of the central pool hotels. Honest family rooms, kid-friendly buffet at breakfast, and Arthur's Seat 5 minutes' walk away.
From
£793/night
Why families love Edinburgh Marriott Hotel Holyrood
Three nights in early March with a 4 and 8-year-old. The pool was the best surprise — open from 6:30am, never crowded before 4pm, and lifeguard on weekends. Our 4-year-old went in twice a day. Kid-friendly buffet at breakfast had pancakes, fruit, and small cereals. Family room was a proper 32m² with a sofa bed and the kids loved seeing Holyrood Palace from the window. Arthur's Seat hike was 5 minutes from the door.
Holiday Inn Edinburgh Zoo by IHG
Corstorphine / next to Edinburgh Zoo
Very Good
5,949 reviews
Cheapest indoor-pool option in Edinburgh and the most family-friendly: a 15-metre indoor pool open 7am to 9pm with no booking, free on-site parking, and Edinburgh Zoo (with pandas) literally next door. The bus into central Edinburgh is 10 minutes, runs every 10 minutes, and the kids get free river-mile views from upper floors.
From
£504/night
Why families love Holiday Inn Edinburgh Zoo by IHG
Four nights in February half-term with a 5 and 8-year-old. The pool was the best-value swim in the city — open all day, three other families maximum, and lifeguard at weekends. Free parking saved us 30 GBP/night versus the Old Town hotels and the bus into town was painless. Edinburgh Zoo entrance is across the road and we got hotel rate tickets at reception. Honest family room with two doubles, slept four properly.
💡Tips for picking an Edinburgh hotel with an indoor pool
- 1Book a hotel that publishes kids' pool hours on the website, not vague 'family-friendly' wording. The Holiday Inn Edinburgh Zoo and the Marriott Holyrood publish exact open hours (7am-9pm and 6:30am-9:30pm respectively, kids welcome anytime). Apex hotels restrict children to certain hours at Yu Spa — check at booking, not at check-in.
- 2Avoid August for indoor-pool trips. Festival prices add 40-60% to every hotel rate, the city is mobbed, and the weather is usually decent enough that you'll regret paying premium for a pool you barely use. Book November to March instead — rain days actually earn the room and rates are at their lowest.
- 3The Old Town hotels (Apex Grassmarket, Apex City, Marriott Holyrood) are 5-10 minutes from the Castle, the Royal Mile, and the National Museum. If this is your first Edinburgh trip with kids, this area makes everything walkable. The Sheraton at Festival Square is a 7-minute walk to Princes Street.
- 4Don't book the cheapest pool room — family rooms in Edinburgh hotels are usually only a 40-80 GBP premium and they include a sofa bed or twin setup, which you will need by night two. The Marriott Holyrood and Holiday Inn Zoo both have honest family rooms; the Sheraton's family suite is a separate kids' bedroom for the price of two adjoining standards.
- 5If you're driving, only the Holiday Inn Edinburgh Zoo and the Sheraton Grand have proper on-site parking. Old Town hotels (the two Apex properties, Marriott Holyrood) need NCP garages at 25-35 GBP per night. Factor that into the room rate when comparing — it's a real cost over four nights.
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