Scotland · United Kingdom
Where to stay in Aberdeen
Aberdeen is a city in Scotland, United Kingdom, home to about 201,000 people. This guide covers 5 hotels in Aberdeen, with about 698 rooms between them. Every one carries a published guest score, and the list below is ordered by it.
- Places to stay in this guide
- 5
- Nearest airport
- ABZ8 km · Aberdeen International Airport
- Currency
- GBPpound sterling
- Time zone
- Europe/London
- Language
- Cornish, English, Irish
About
About Aberdeen
Aberdeen is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeenshire, but is now separate from the council area of Aberdeenshire.
Aberdeen is set in fertile lowlands and is the natural regional centre, becoming a city in 1179 when two villages grew into each other. Old Aberdeen is north, by the mouth of the River Don, and home to the University since 1495. New Aberdeen developed from 1136 two miles south near the mouth of the River Dee: this has a much better harbour and became the city centre. It was bashed about in conflicts until 1745, but then followed a long spell of peace and prosperity.
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Aberdeen
See
- Union Terrace Gardens
- Aberdeen Beach
- Footdee
- Girdle Ness
- Duthie Park
- David Welch Winter Gardens
- Johnston Gardens
- Hazlehead Park
- Aberdeen Maritime Museum
- Aberdeen Art Gallery
- Gordon Highlanders Museum
- Provost Skene's House
Do
Aberdeen Performing Arts list events and act as Box Office for several city venues.
- The Belmont Cinema
- Aberdeen Science Centre
- Aberdeen Harbour Cruises
- Scotstown Moor Local Nature Reserve
- Aberdeen FC
- Cove Rangers FC
- Adventure Aberdeen Snowsports Centre
- Linx Ice Arena
- Newhills Bowling Club
- His Majesty's Theatre
- Music Hall
- The Lemon Tree
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
The best-rated places to stay in Aberdeen
Ordered by guest score as each operator publishes it, weighted by the number of reviews so a handful of perfect scores does not outrank thousands of very good ones. Scores are shown on their own scale.
| # | Place to stay | Rooms | Guest score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leonardo Hotel and Conference Venue Aberdeen Airport hotel | 147 | 88/100 1,435 reviews |
| 2 | Leonardo Hotel Aberdeen hotel | 203 | 86/100 7,608 reviews |
| 3 | Leonardo Inn Hotel Aberdeen Airport hotel | 202 | 85/100 3,083 reviews |
| 4 | Travelodge Aberdeen Bucksburn hotel | 59 | 3.9/5 671 reviews |
| 5 | Travelodge Aberdeen Central hotel | 87 | 3.7/5 1,617 reviews |
Schematic: the city centre in orange, each place to stay as a dot, distance rings in kilometres.
When to go
The best time to visit Aberdeen
Aberdeen has no month that is both mild and dry by the measure used here. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 18 °C; October is the wettest, with about 96 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Aberdeen: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Aberdeen International Airport (ABZ), about 8.2 km from the city centre in a straight line; Dundee Airport (DND, 96 km) and Inverness Airport (INV, 125 km) are also within reach.
Getting in
There are flights to Aberdeen from Amsterdam, Bergen, Burgas, Copenhagen, Dublin, Esbjerg, Gdansk, Geneva, Groningen, Haugesund, Paris CDG, Riga, Oslo, and Stavanger, plus seasonal flights to the Mediterranean. There's a wide range of UK flights, as Aberdeen is far to reach by rail or road. These include London Heathrow (with BA), London Gatwick and Luton (with easyJet), Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Durham, Humberside, Kirkwall on Orkney, Leeds, Manchester, Norwich, Newcastle, Southampton, Stornoway on Lewis, Sumburgh on Shetland, and Wick.
Getting around
Walking is an excellent way to get around Aberdeen, particularly around central areas, as the city centre is relatively compact. Walking is also by far the best way to appreciate the grand architecture of the city. However, the city is not that small (e.g. Union Street is one mile long) so for journeys outside of the city centre, wheeled transport may be useful. Aberdeen has a medieval layout like many cities in the UK, so for the first-time visitor, a map is helpful. There are quite a few of these on signs around the city centre, mainly in points of interest (e.g. the Castlegate).
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
ABZ · Aberdeen International Airport
DND · Dundee Airport
INV · Inverness Airport
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in Aberdeen
Drink
As elsewhere, smoking is illegal indoors in pubs. It may be permitted outdoors in the beer garden. Belmont Street is the drinking strip north side of Union St, near the bus and railway stations. Watch out for drunken belligerent fellows like Samson, staggering towards his last bus for Gaza after a drouthy evening getting eyeless.
Stay safe
Aberdeen is broadly safe, but you need to use your street sense. There is the usual motley crowd of drunks, beggars, rough sleepers and sex workers. Aggressive drunks are the main hassle, especially at weekends: the centre is heavily policed but trouble can flare in a moment. Some drunks are capable of assaulting lampposts that they reckon have looked at them amiss, so English football colours are a red rag to a bull. Above all don't be drunk or drugged yourself. Areas to avoid, especially after dark, are Tillydrone (north of Bedford Road and east of St Machar Drive) and Torry (the south bank of River Dee).
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Good to know
Accessibility, parking and families in Aberdeen
How many places to stay in this guide offer each, in their operators' own words.
of 5 places
of 5 places
of 5 places
of 5 places
of 5 places
of 5 places
of 5 places
Questions
Aberdeen: questions travellers ask
What are the best-rated hotels in Aberdeen?
By published guest score: Leonardo Hotel and Conference Venue Aberdeen Airport (88 / 100 · 1,435 reviews · www.leonardo-hotels.com (operator's own guest score)); Leonardo Hotel Aberdeen (86 / 100 · 7,608 reviews · www.leonardo-hotels.com (operator's own guest score)); Leonardo Inn Hotel Aberdeen Airport (85 / 100 · 3,083 reviews · www.leonardo-hotels.com (operator's own guest score)).
When is the best time to visit Aberdeen?
Aberdeen has no month that is both mild and dry by the measure used here. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 18 °C; October is the wettest, with about 96 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Aberdeen?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Aberdeen International Airport (ABZ), about 8.2 km from the city centre in a straight line; Dundee Airport (DND, 96 km) and Inverness Airport (INV, 125 km) are also within reach.
Are there accessible hotels in Aberdeen?
3 places in this guide list accessible rooms.
What currency is used in Aberdeen?
pound sterling (GBP).
Nearby
Destinations near Aberdeen
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.