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Where to stay in Edinburgh
A former lunatic asylum versus a stylish but unpretentious first hotel from an Italian fashion house.
Hotel Du Vin opened an Edinburgh branch last December. It is situated inside Bedlam Asylum, which served as the city's lunatic hospital in the 18th century. Scottish poet Robert Ferguson was interned there in one of the stone-flagged cells. However, the place would now be unrecognisable to former inmates.
How they rate it
The hotel has 47 rooms "restfully decorated in taupe and mauve with discreet tartan touches", says Harriet O'Brien in The Independent. It is conveniently located very close to the University of Edinburgh and five minutes' walk south of the Royal Mile. And if you are at all worried about getting your bearings and finding the sights, "the staff are very keen to help you find your way around town", says Francesca Hoyles in The Daily Telegraph.
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The hotel bistro is a "big hit" with the locals, says O'Brien. Dishes include pork Milanese with lemon salad or salmon coulibiac.
The cost
Double rooms start from £125 for the room only. Add a further £10.95 if you fancy a continental breakfast. For more information visit www.hotelduvin.com or call 0131-247 4900.
Hotel Missoni
"I admit that, in the rain, Scotland can seem cold and dark and terrible, but in the sun you see its true beauty," says Rosita Missoni. That's why the Italian fashion house chose to open its first hotel in Edinburgh. Kurt Ritter of the hotel group Rezidor, partners with Missoni on the venture, gives another explanation: "If we had waited for Milan or Paris to open up as a potential site we would still be waiting." Whatever the truth, Missoni has created a fabulously stylish hotel with just the right amount of the designer's famous patterns.
How they rate it
Hotel Missoni is "stylish without being 'fash-pack' pretentious", says The Sunday Times Travel Magazine. There are "shiny surfaces in Crayola colours, bold monochrome prints and tactile furniture". The Missoni touches are everywhere; even the doormen sport Missoni kilts. The hotel is "perfectly placed" just off the Royal Mile. Book room 507 to have a view of the castle from your bed.
The menu
The hotel brings a little bit of Italy to Edinburgh with its food. Breakfast includes home-baked zeppole (doughuts) and for dinner you can have pasta with octopus.
The cost
A double room costs from £190, room only. Find out more at www.hotelmissoni.com or call 0131-220 6666.
What the travel writers are saying
White-truffle season is upon us. So head to Tuscany and join the hunt. "Hunting for truffles is like prospecting for gold or diamonds, except shape and colour don't matter it's all about the aroma," says the Lonely Planet Magazine. Visit the organic farm Barbialla Nuova this autumn and hunt with Guido Manfredi and his dog Imperio, "the finest truffle-hound in the forest". At the peak of the season this farm sends 500g of truffles a week to the River Caf in London, where people pay £50 for a plate of Taglierini pasta with just 5g of shaved white truffles on top. In Tuscany you can find and scoff them for half the price. A stay at one of Barbialla Nuova's converted farm buildings in Tuscany costs from £60 per night (Barbiallanuova.it).
For a different kind of food celebration try the Exmoor Food Festival, which runs until 10 October. October is a "fine time to be on Exmoor. Autumn hangs in the air, over the soft English moorland, which rolls down to the sea, where villages the colour of clotted cream sit enveloped in mist," says the Lonely Planet Magazine. During the festival there are food-themed walks on the moor and farmers' markets. Or you can help plant an edible hedge, carve pumpkins for Halloween or tour the Victorian kitchens of Dunster Castle. Stay at Andrew's on the Weir in Porlock Weir, a top restaurant with rooms. From £75 per night (Andrewsontheweir.co.uk).
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