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Victoria Hotel: Handsome old townhouse hotel
We came to Kirkcaldy for a short midweek stay and are determined to come back to the Victoria Hotel at a later date for a longer one.
Kirkcaldy is about 40 minutes from Edinburgh via rail, and makes a very pleasant alternative to city-center hotels if you don't want the increased expense or noise of staying in a city. The town has numerous old historic churches and buildings, a long seafront, and a good-sized shopping area in the middle of town, with all the usual UK-based "high street" chain stores, and a good supply of pubs, restaurants, etc. There is direct bus service to Edinburgh Airport from Kirkcaldy.
The Victoria is a smallish, comfortable hotel a short walk (ten minutes or so) from Kirkcaldy town center and the Kirkcaldy beach promenade. Rooms are small but comfortable. The hotel staff are extremely courteous and helpful. The food in the hotel is excellent: dinner there was surprisingly high-end for a place with such an old-fashioned feel, and the service was terrific. Breakfasts are generous, and "cooked" breakfasts featuring black pudding and haggis (if you want them!) are included in the room rate. The hotel takes all the usual credit and debit cards (particularly Maestro, which is becoming increasingly useful for international travel). Meals and snacks are also served in the hotel bar.
Please note that because of its lack of elevators / lifts, and stairs to be climbed, this hotel isn't suitable for people in wheelchairs or with other similar physical-accessibility issues.
The Victoria Hotel was built by furniture-maker A. H. Macintosh for his family, who lived there from the 1860s until the 1940s. The public rooms of the hotel are full of beautiful and unique examples of his (or his workmen's) carving, mostly done in golden oak, with every design unique.
You can see a Flickr photoset of some of the woodwork, stained glass, and other details here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dianeduane/sets/72157594154919146
