Arrive at The Balmoral Hotel on any given day, and the first thing you’ll notice is its glorious clock tower that’s never on time.

This irregularity (or calculated miscalculation as the locals call it) is a historical quirk as legendary as the hotel itself and dates back to 1902 when The Balmoral was built as a grand railway hotel, and its turret clock was set three minutes fast to make sure passengers never miss their trains. To this day, the hotel’s clock is dependably inaccurate, but everything else about The Balmoral is on point, from its excellent location at the prestigious No. 1 Princes Street address to its world-class facilities, including Brasserie Prince by Alain Roux and Michelin-starred Number One. But the real highlight of the hotel is what designer Olga Polizzi did with its decor. Everywhere you look, the Scottish heritage of the hotel shines through, beautifully infused with 21st-century sophistication (think sweeping staircases, Corinthian columns and gorgeous murals complimented by calmly contemporary furnishings). With so much history and grandeur lying in wait, the Balmoral is right on the money in its claim to be an Edinburgh landmark.