Le Monde Hotel

From the outside, this classic Georgian building, just north of Princes Street Gardens, couldn’t be more obviously Edinburgh. Once inside the rooms, though, it’s easy to get lost; each of Le Monde’s 18 suites is named for one of the world’s great cities, from New York and Dublin to Cairo, Havana, St. Petersburg — and they’re decorated to match, in a style that fairly accurately conjures the atmosphere of each chosen town.

Even discounting the cities gimmick, the rooms are striking; that they go all the way towards their chosen themes does quite a bit to set them apart from the slightly tedious minimalism of today’s average boutique hotel room. Cairo or otherwise, all the suites come with lush Egyptian cotton sheets, as well as big, decadent bathrooms and plasma-screen televisions.

The world cities theme doesn’t stop there, either. Four restaurants/bars is quite a lot for a hotel of this small size, but it’s just that kind of place — hotel guests and the George Street crowd alike dine and drink in Paris, Vienna, Milan, and the late-night basement bar, Shanghai. And lest one forget, Edinburgh is always an option — many of the city’s best bars and restaurants are within walking distance of Le Monde.