Native Places

Native Aparthotels & Apartments In London

aparthotel

Where to Find the Best Views of Edinburgh

Exploring Edinburgh’s Overlooked Neighbourhoods & Hidden Gems

Edinburgh overflows with famous attractions luring swarms of tourists every year. But to truly explore Scotland’s enchanting capital, wander away from the crowded main attractions like the Royal Mile and instead get lost wandering the city’s local favourites.

This insider’s guide reveals how to escape the crowds and explore Edinburgh beyond the major hotspots. It unveils hidden gems even some locals overlook, from the hilltop viewpoints with sweeping vistas rivalling Castle Rock to Leith’s vibrant street art trails offering brilliant photo backdrops you won’t find on any postcard.

Navigating Edinburgh’s Lesser-Known Areas

Venturing beyond the main city centre sites opens doors to explore Edinburgh’s spots that many visitors rarely experience.

Explore Leith: Edinburgh’s waterfront has transformed into a foodie hotspot, with local markets, restaurants, and street murals.

Explore Bruntsfield & Morningside: These quaint areas offer boutique shops and cafes without city centre prices. Walk from one end of Bruntsfield Place to another for a window shopping adventure.

Explore Calton Hill: Edinburgh’s iconic hill rivals Arthur’s Seat for sweeping city panoramas but with fewer crowds. Stroll past monuments and historic sites for Instagram gold.

Chasing Stunning Hidden Views

While Edinburgh overflows with popular lookouts, few tourists know to visit these local favourite vantage points offering postcard-worthy backdrops you won’t get framing the Castle or Palace.

The Vennel’s Perfect Frame: This steep walkway perfectly frames Arthur’s Seat for the iconic summit photo no tourist can capture.

Blackford Hill’s 180 Degree Panorama: Hike up Edinburgh’s hidden gem hill for stunning unobstructed views spanning the city’s spires to the Pentland Hills.

Leith Docks Street Art Haven: The brilliantly coloured murals splashed across buildings here have become Edinburgh’s hottest photo op destination.

When it comes to stunning vistas overlooking Edinburgh, Arthur’s Seat undoubtedly takes the top spot. This iconic hill towers over the city, with hiking trails winding up to the summit where breathtaking 360-degree views unfold below. From rocky cliffs and grassy slopes, you can take in Edinburgh Castle perched prominently on Castle Rock along with the Old Town and New Town tenements and monuments sprawling into the distance. For nearly as sweeping panoramas minus the climb, head to Calton Hill – the Atmospheric Observatory here offers a camera-ready outlook over Princes Street Gardens to the castle and sea beyond. Or for a local favourite vista, as mentioned make your way up Blackford Hill in the south; its peak delivers an uninterrupted panorama spanning the city’s spires to the Pentland Hills in one glorious frame. From these elevated Edinburgh viewpoints, be prepared to capture a capital city at its most visually spellbinding.

So trade the tourist traps for local finds as you escape the crowds and explore Edinburgh from exciting new angles! Whatever overlooked corner of Scotland’s capital you uncover, an enchanting surprise surely awaits. And whilst you’re there, why not stay in the heart of Edinburgh with history outside and sleek design inside – Native Edinburgh offers a true home from home aparthotel that doesn’t disappoint – you’ll feel like a local living in the best spot in the city!

Looking to discover Scotland? Our newly refurbished rooms at Native Glasgow brings fresh design to our building in the heart of the city.
Native Places will return to Edinburgh soon. This city still has stories to unlock.

 

The historic Glasgow building we transformed into 64 luxe apartments

New Luxury Apartments

Our beautifully furnished and fully equipped apartments offer a hotel-style service including a 24-hour reception and concierge, on-site breakfast options and weekly cleaning service if you plan to stay with us for a while.

Perfectly placed to explore the city, we’ve got Queen Street Station on our doorstep and the all-important Style Mile. Before you leave for the day make sure to stop for some breakfast on the ground and basement floors at the infamous and much loved Anchor Line restaurant.

We hope to see you soon at our stunning boutique hotel in Glasgow.

What are Aparthotels and Serviced Apartments?

Along with aparthotels, you may also have heard of residential hotels, where people usually stay for months.

As for Native, we’re prefer to call ourselves aparthotels. When you stay with Native, you don’t just get award winning design, central locations or stunning architecture, you get comfort, convenience, and everything you need to live.

What is a serviced apartment?

A serviced apartment is a self-contained furnished apartment within a residential building that is professionally managed and available for short or long stays. It comes with a fully equipped kitchen, laundry facilities and other services that enable guests to live, not just stay.

We set up home in eclectic buildings of all styles, shapes and sizes, from grand Victorian mews houses to vast Mancunian warehouse conversions. Every Native building is unique so you may or may not have an on-site reception team to welcome you and get you checked-in. To offer privacy we offer a weekly clean, rather than a daily clean that’s provided by hotels.

For a kitchen whiz or food lover, it’s ideal. After all, room service has got nothing on shopping at local markets and independent shops, and cooking up a storm in your very own kitchen, which we’ve furnished with everything from coffee cups to corkscrews.

What else can you expect in your serviced apartment? As dishwasher, washer dryer, lounge area, private bathroom, TV, weekly housekeeping and all utilities included in your stay e.g. water and electricity.

If you’re travelling on business, it couldn’t be better. No waiting around for executive lounges to open, paying for Wi-Fi or being interrupted by officious hotel staff when you’re trying to meet a deadline. Instead, you’ve got peace and quiet, free Wi-Fi and space to live, as well as work.

Book your Native stay in London, Glasgow or Manchester.

Native Manchester: The Sunday Times Award Winning Hotel

The rooms

rooms

When you’re ready to head up to your room, “the lift whisks you up to what might be the swankiest hotel corridors on the planet”, according to Matthew Davis at the Sunday Times.

All our apartments are airy and spacious, boasting rich, gorgeous quality furnishings and décor, a pantry stocked with a few locally sourced goodies, and fully equipped kitchens with everything you need to whip up a proper meal. The plush Gainsborough beds mean a lie-in is inevitable and the rainfall showers are too luxurious not to linger in.

As for the penthouses, they have “a deco/maritime feel, with huge mirrors, velvet chairs you can’t stop stroking and a sprawling private terrace with Peak District views. These rooms start at £315 a night, a steal if there are four of you.”

 

The city

city

We’re proud to have breathed new life into a building that’s Manchester through and through.

“This has been an extraordinary opportunity to take one of the great icons of Manchester’s industrial past and turn it into a major cultural and social destination for the city,” said Native Founder and CEO Guy Nixon. “Manchester is a thriving, culturally rich and fast expanding city so it seems apt that we are unveiling the new breed of Native’s aparthotels here at Ducie Street Warehouse.”

Intrigued? You can read the full article here or the coverage in the Manchester Evening News.

Or just come and stay. We think you’ll love it too.

See it for yourself at Native Manchester and find out more with us.

Manchester’s top 10 restaurants

I’m in the mood for…the avant-garde.

Named in honour of Manchester’s cotton-trading heritage, Cottonopolis serves up Asian-inspired small plates like dim sum and sushi in a Grade II listed building, all alongside a delectable selection of sakes.

I’m in the mood for… civilised dining.

The Restaurant at the CULTUREPLEX’s full service restaurant. Its approach will be to offer uncomplicated good food, drink and service with common sense and good taste. Menus by Chef Director Blaine Duffy.

I’m in the mood for…top notch tapas.

Canto’s celebrated older sister, El Gato Negro, might well serve the best tapas you’ll ever have outside Spain. It’s also worth booking the chef’s table, where you can enjoy the theatre of the open kitchen while you savour every bite.

I’m in the mood for…variety.

Mackie Mayor is a gorgeous Grade II listed indoor food market that boasts ten exceptional eateries under its brand new glass roof, with everything from Taiwanese bao to some of the finest pizza in town.

I’m in the mood for…a big, beefy burger.

Make sure you’re hungry before you venture to Almost Famous for some of Manchester’s biggest and best burgers. Pulled pork, BBQ chicken and deep fried mac ’n’ cheese await, along with beers, cocktails and shakes.

I’m in the mood for…Mexican with a twist.

Visit Mexico via Vegas with big, bold burritos, burgers, tacos and steaks from the team behind Almost Famous. At Luck Lust Liquor & Burn, the ingredients are so fresh that they even make the guacamole at your table.

I’m in the mood for…a hangover cure.

If brunch is your thing, head straight to Moose Coffee and join the queue – trust us, it’s worth the wait. Enjoy classic Benedicts and sure-fire remedies for the morning after the night before, like the Lone Star Moose meat-fest.

I’m in the mood for…understated elegance.

Yuzu is a little haven of Japanese calm that’s tucked away amidst the bustle of Chinatown and has been gaining country-wide accolades since The Guardian’s food critic, Jay Rayner, raved about it. Be sure to book ahead – it fills up fast.

I’m in the mood for…the perfect pizza.

A little taste of Napoli in Ancoats, Rudy’s is a neighbourhood favourite, serving brilliant pizzas (at brilliant prices) alongside a lovingly selected craft beer and wine list. Perfect for an easy-going night out.

And, one more for luck (because we couldn’t pick just ten)…

I’m in the mood for…everything!

Manchester’s legendary street food festival now has a permanent home under the railway arches behind Piccadilly train station: GRUB at Fairfield Social Club. Fridays and Saturdays see the place burst into life with food, drink, events and live music, and they even have a vegan day every Sunday.

Take a trip to Manchester and create your own foodie festival.

Stories of the Anchor Line Building from the locals that worked there

Leading our guests of honour down memory lane wasn’t difficult, since we had kept so many of the original features. Features like the luxury ocean liner décor that has filled the headquarters since it was built, as well as glazed tiles, terrazzo flooring, cruise ship inspired carpets, wood panelled walls and fireplaces.

78-year-old Eva Morgan remembered it well, having started working as a shorthand typist in 1959 at the Donaldson Line offices on the second floor.

“I had many wonderful years,” said Eva. “You would start at 9.30am and work until 5pm. You would get a four-shilling lunching voucher – which was a lot back then – and four weeks’ holiday a year.”

We even uncovered a love story when Eva told us how she met her husband Norman there. He passed her a note, asking to take her out for a drink after work. She said yes, and they married in 1966.

Maureen Reilly brought a collection of precious photographs with her, to show us what the building once looked like. She married her beloved husband here, and had her wedding photos taken in front of the beautiful fireplace that we fully restored and now resides in our premium one bedroom apartment, 103. It was a wonderful moment when she was able to recreate the photo, all these years later.

On the date of her anniversary, we invited Maureen and her sister back to Native a second time, to experience a night’s stay. Having lived in the building while her Father worked as the Head Caretaker there, Maureen recalled the bustling atmosphere that filled their home.

“Mum was always inviting our family and friends over for lunch so it was very busy and social. We loved being up on the rooftop sunbathing or round the kitchen table together. Dad loved his job too, it was a happy time when we lived here.”

John Duffy, 80, told us about his time as a customs clerk, when he would be chauffeured to Yorkhill Dock to collect the captain’s articles and make sure everything was running smoothly.

“It was a great place,” he said. “I thought it was sad that Anchor Line themselves had to move out because it’s such a beautiful building and it was built specifically for Anchor Line, so it’s nice to see it’s being put to good use now.”

We couldn’t agree more, John.

Intrigued? You can find out more about the Anchor Line building from Scottish national treasure and TV historian Neil Oliver.

Neil Oliver visits Native Glasgow from Native on Vimeo.

Stay in one of Glasgow’s most iconic buildings, book here.