If you're a Harry Potter fan planning an overseas vacation this year, make sure you check out Canongate Luxury Apartment. This Harry Potter-themed rental in J.K. Rowling's hometown of Edinburgh, Scotland features decor based on your favorite Potter locations, including the four Hogwarts houses, Platform 9 3/4, and the Great Hall. Canongate Luxury Apartment even includes a few items that once belonged to Rowling herself. At roughly $200 per night, you won't want to miss out on the chance to stay with a little bit of Potter history.
In its current state, Canongate Luxury Apartment is the brainchild of Yue Gao, a Potterhead herself, who restored the historic building, transforming it into what she describes to Cosmopolitan as "an homage from a huge fan." The apartment comes equipped with several Potter-themed mugs, and kitchen cabinets painted in the Hogwarts house colors, as well as two very special pieces of furniture — a desk and a mirror — that once belonged to J.K. Rowling herself. The apartment owner happened upon those items out of pure coincidence, telling Cosmopolitan:
There is a desk which actually belonged to JK Rowling — I managed to acquire it as the furniture restorer's son went to the same school and was in the same class as JK Rowling's daughter.
He fixed this antique desk for her, and when she moved house, she left the desk at the furniture fitter's place. So that gave me the opportunity to have it.
The mirror in the apartment was also once JK Rowling's — she wanted to recycle her old hand railings so they cut them into a mirror frame.
In the master bedroom, you'll find oodles of Gryffindor-themed decor, including a giant canopy bed like the ones assigned to Harry, Ron, and Neville in the Harry Potter films. A second bedroom has been modeled after Platform 9 3/4, with lots of trains and a bed that bears a striking resemblance to the kind of sleeper car you might find on a long-distance train.
Canongate isn't the only Harry Potter-themed attraction to pop up in recent memory. In January 2017, a new, build-your-own-pasta-bowl restaurant called Pasta Wiz apparated into New York City, bringing a ton of magical fun to its Brooklyn location. Later that year, two Harry Potter escape rooms popped up in Conshohocken, Penn. and Novi, Mich., tasking fans with escaping from Hogwarts in daring, Golden Trio fashion.
Unfortunately, this Harry Potter rental in Edinburgh does not have wheelchair access, so tourists who are physically disabled may need to find different accommodations in the city. Additionally, the $200 price point may be more than some Potterheads can budget for lodging. If that sounds like you, not to worry. You can still bring the magic of Harry Potter home with the right decorations and furniture.
Make your reservations at Canongate Luxury Apartment while you can. With all this media attention, the rental calendar is sure to fill up quickly.
