The Leddie Hotel & Restaurant, East Lothian – Review

Located in the small Scottish coastal village of Aberlady, boutique hotel The Leddie brings fresh energy to a centuries-old coaching inn. Its 27 individually designed bedrooms are matched by confident interiors, warm hospitality and a destination restaurant and bar with a clear focus on Scottish ingredients and provenance. The result is a contemporary base for coast and countryside escapes just thirty minutes from the Scottish capital. The Luxury Editor checked in for a pre-Christmas stay to experience this latest addition to East Lothian’s luxury hotel scene.

Background & Concept

If you are local to the area, you will remember The Leddie as The Duck’s Inn. I used to drive past on the way to North Berwick and looked with envy at guests drinking in the patio area, convinced it made the perfect suntrap, and I am pleased to see that the outdoor space is still very much part of the experience. Renamed The Leddie, taking the original name of a river in Aberlady, the property reopened in 2024, joining The Marram Hotel Collection following a major refurbishment and multi-million-pound investment.

Just prior to visiting, I realised I had enjoyed lunch at their sister property, the Bushmills Inn in Northern Ireland, whilst on a trip to meet and interview Bushmills Master Blender Alex Thomas earlier this year. I am equally excited to see their upcoming project, The Kithmore in St Andrews, opening in 2026 which will be a transformation of the former Ardgowan Hotel on Playfair Terrace and if The Leddie is anything to go by it will be a fantastic addition to St Andrews.

Check In & Lobby

Stepping through the stone entranceway, you move into a lobby with reception desk ahead. The space feels like a modern interpretation of the classic drawing room. Feature panelled walls sit in contrast to leather sofas in rich oxblood tones, while a fireplace behind is set, ready for the long winter evenings. A warm welcome was provided by Shivaugh, who checked us in, talked us through the Coastal Escape Offer, which includes a welcome drink on arrival, a three-course dinner and breakfast and then showed us up to our rooms.

Lounge

After checking into our rooms, we made our way down to the lounge area for a welcome drink. A glass-fronted whisky cabinet separates the lobby from the lounge, and being a whisky lover and as a whisky lover I naturally paused to take in the collection. Two back corner booths then caught our eye, so we settled into one of them and perused the bar menu.

Artwork

Artwork runs throughout the corridors, communal spaces and bedrooms, giving the hotel an extra layer of personality. The mix of styles, whilst appearing random, is intentional, with some works appearing to reference Scottish scenery and characters, while others are more modern and graphic.

Location

Located on Aberlady’s high street in East Lothian, it’s a short drive from Gullane, North Berwick and Muirfield. Aberlady Bay Nature Reserve is a few minutes’ walk from the front door, while Gullane Bents beach is reached in five minutes by car. The surrounding area forms part of East Lothian’s “Golf Coast”, with over twenty courses nearby. Edinburgh city centre is around a thirty-minute drive west, North Berwick is 15 minutes in the other direction, and Newcastle is a two-hour drive south.

Bedrooms & Suites

There are 27 bedrooms in total, with 25 located in the main house and two larger Cottage Suites set within separate outbuildings. Room categories range from Cosy and Comfort through to Deluxe and Junior Suites. Comfort rooms are dog-friendly, while the interconnecting Cottage Suites work particularly well for families or longer stays.

Interiors take guidance from the surrounding landscape, using soft greens, reds and grey tones layered with natural textures, and wool throws. Given the age of the building, each room’s footprint is slightly different, some have views looking out to the high street while the courtyard and others have a pitched roof. Bathrooms feature rainforest showers, green tiled walls and L’Occitane toiletries, and homemade shortbread adds a thoughtful touch on arrival. All rooms offer well-designed storage, lighting and plug placement, a Nespresso machine, WIFI, safe and tea and a kettle and king beds can be swapped for twins on request.

Junior Suite

I checked into room 8 on the first floor, a Junior Suite at 28 sqm, which feels more like a small studio apartment than a standard hotel room. The generous layout runs from a king-size bed at one end to a seating area at the other, with a sofa, coffee table and wall-mounted Smart TV. There is a built-in unit with wardrobe space, open shelving and next to it a desk that doubles as a dressing/work table.

A Nespresso machine, tea, a kettle and complimentary bottled water cans are provided.

Art continues through each of the rooms; in my room hung a pair of playful prints. One a soft study of cactus-like foliage, the other a delicate illustration of a peacock. It’s an unexpected pairing for coastal East Lothian and one that made me pause and wonder why it had been chosen and what story it was meant to tell.

The bathroom continues the room’s aesthetic calm, with soft green tiles and a large walk-in rainfall shower helped along by a line-up of L’Occitane amenities.

Cottage Suite

I also viewed the Cottage Suites. These two suites are located in a separate area just behind the main house. Each has its own front door and terrace. One suite measures around 29 sqm and the other 36 sqm as it includes an upstairs space. The two cottages can be booked together and interconnect, making them ideal for families or small groups.

Deluxe Room

And room 1, a front-facing deluxe room, also caught my eye, its three sash windows offering views out over Aberlady’s main street.

Bar & Restaurant

The restaurant is led by Head Chef Lewis Lane, whose culinary pedigree includes time in some of Scotland’s most respected kitchens, including 21212, Restaurant Mark Greenaway, Timberyard and Borthwick Castle. His cooking leans into Scotland’s natural larder, with a clear focus on sustainability and locality, with suppliers largely drawn from within a short radius of Aberlady. The restaurant itself feels like a smart modern village dining room, a leather banquette wraps around three walls, paired with marble-topped tables and dining chairs. On the other side, a curved timber bar runs along one side, which leads out to the patio at the back – ideal for those summer months ahead.

Dinner

Dishes are built around simple flavours, often with a Scandinavian thread from Lane’s Timberyard days. The menu itself balances between comfort and refinement, offering elevated pub classics. We started with John Gilmour haggis bonbons, little crisp spheres topped with slivers of apple and apple purée, and a burrata starter followed, the cheese sitting on a bed of greens with roasted squash, confit pear and a light mustard dressing.

For mains, we both ordered fish and chips (and it has to be the best I have had this year) the batter light and glassy, almost felt double fried with the perfect crispness is served with crushed peas, tartare sauce and a wedge of lemon. Across the rest of the menu, dishes such as East Lothian lamb rump with autumn vegetables or whole sea bream with lemon and caper dressing underline the commitment to local Scottish suppliers.

For desserts, the sticky toffee pudding arrived in a generous pool of butterscotch sauce with a scoop of ice cream slowly melting into the edges, and the apple crumble came recommended, baked in a small copper pan, all soft fruit and crisp, almost biscuit-like topping with ice cream.

Breakfast

After a great sleep we went down for breakfast. For starters, I had the yoghurt and apple compote, and for mains we opted for one vegetarian cooked breakfast and one classic cooked breakfast.

Patio

Final Thoughts

Since opening, The Leddie has hit the ground running, gaining an AA Rosette for culinary excellence, the East Lothian Hotel of the Year award and a recommendation in The Times Top 100 Places to Stay and we are not surprised. The Leddie offers a modern take on the classic village inn, rooms are design-led, the restaurant is a destination in its own right, and the setting suits everyone from golfers to families and couples looking to relax.