We discovered that self-catering worked well for us. There seems to be lots of apartments that have been converted over to self-catering suites. A search with the words self-catering and Edinburgh will get you started. The chap who we rented from has several properties that are all listed here http://www.self-catering-edinburgh.com/ We stayed in the one in the Grassmarket area next to Edinburgh Castle - it is a three story walk-up so smaller size suitcases and knapsacks came in handy. http://www.self-catering-edinburgh.com/self-catering-edinburgh-apartment1.html It is a bit of a hike to the archives but is in the Old Town area and is still walkable. We found it was great and the prices were good. Having a few meals in, was also a nice break from restaurant fare every meal. There are a couple of small grocery stores close by for supplies. We had been warned that the Grassmarket area is party central with plenty of pubs - thus it may be a bit loud on long weekends when there are plenty of young people. I didn't hear a thing that Saturday night but I tend to sleep quite soundly. My wife heard one loud conversation from the street around 2 pm but every other night was very quiet. With the variety of pubs nearby - great food and reasonable prices - it was also a handy spot for finding lots of options for dining out. We had to move to a B& B hotel for the final evening as the suite had a prior reservation - so we moved to Frederick House Hotel http://www.townhousehotels.co.uk/ Their promo line is "quality 3 Star city centre bed and breakfast hotel accommodation and 4 Star city centre self-catering apartments in a relaxing, comfortable and friendly atmosphere." It was even closer to the archives (about 10 minutes walking) and also to Waverly Station so was great for arrival and departures. It is an older style hotel but was in good shape with reasonable rates. A great French bistro is across the street called Cafe Rouge. Good luck in both your archives search and in the accommodation one. Ian Scott -- Ian & Daphne Scott 51 Ambrose St. Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada, C1A 3P5 (902) 892-5796 scotts@pei.sympatico.ca