Wendy Q.
Yelp
For the amount of money we paid for our suite (BIG BUCKS) , I have to say, I found the housekeeping, service, and overall condition of the hotel to be not on par with an establishment of this supposed caliber.
First off, the hotel is gorgeous (although somewhat showing it's age). The suites are really spacious and well designed, with a modern flair and exceptionally comfy beds and roomy balconies. Everyone at the hotel was incredibly friendly and tried their best to be helpful and engaged.
Now for the bad:
1) our shower flooded upon first use. This should have been sussed out by the housekeeper who (theoretically) cleaned it out after the last guest. This wasn't just a slow drain, but a major clog that immediately flooded the entire bathroom. Additionally, both sinks were running very slow, one so slow it might as well have been completely clogged.
2) There was a lovely, very welcoming little tray with scotch and a glass and water pitcher to enjoy a complimentary evening nip before bed. Sadly, there was a dirty glass (still with a wee bit of scotch in it) and a half-used water pitcher. Gross. I don't expect to find remnants of the previous guest in my room.
3) We were hot. I mean, HOT. The room air conditioner did not work. It was unusually warm outside for this time of year and our room was always warm. The thermostat simply didn't work. Instead, we relied on two fans which only worked part of the time.
4) We frequently came back to the room with a few dirty towels. They changed some, but not all. There was also hair in the bathtub so it was clearly not rinsed during normal daily housekeeping. Again, quite odd for a hotel of this caliber.
5) The check-in process was slow. There were only two employees in the lobby. The phone rang and rang and rang (with no one to pick up) while we were being checked in and that was beyond annoying and appeared oddly unprofessional. Not sure why they don't have a hotel operator.
6) I asked one of the hotel clerks (concierge) to suggest a nail salon. She was quite helpful and made and appointment for me. I followed her detailed instructions to get to the salon at the appointed time and it was not at the location she said it was. I reiterated the directions several times prior to heading out to my appointment: "just across the street and a short 5 minute walk." Well, a full mile down the road, down one side and up the other and not a nail salon in sight. Very disappointing, as I was looking forward to my appointment very much. Oh well, not a big deal, but more of an annoyance and I would have appreciated more attention to detail as far as helping me to get to my appointment.
7) rooms are left dusty and the only evidence that it's been cleaned is a few clean towels and the bed is turned down. This is a large space and there is no straightening done whatsoever. Ironing board was not put back into the closet...etc. It's the small details that separate your average hotel with the upper echelon. Again, for what we paid (nearly a thousand US dollars a night), there was appallingly little attention paid to details like this. I expect better fro the price of our room...
Positives:
*Love the honor bar in the 3rd floor lobby (which happened to be right outside our door!). Great selection and a lovely gathering area with a fire bowl to enjoy while sipping your favorite adult beverage.
* Rooms are gorgeous. I mean, GORGEOUS. Very modern and spacious. There is a large, high def TV that sits in the center of a wood-slatted room divider. It swivels a full 180 degrees, so can be seen in the living room portion of the room (which also has a nice, leather sectional couch) or the big king sized bed.
* Beds are fantastic. Very comfortable with very high quality linens. Super comfy and I slept like a baby!
* Location is fantastic. If you are visiting Edinburgh for the festival (which we were), it's centrally located and an easy walking distance to all of the really cool entertainment venues like the Miracle Mile. Shopping is close as well, but I recommend you get out and visit some of the off the path streets and neighborhoods to get a more authentic flavor of the city and it's citizens.
* Breakfast buffet is nice and just 13 pounds pp which is a good value for what you get. For an additional 5 pounds, you can add a cooked to order breakfast (like eggs Benedict). But the fresh salmon, fruit, meat and cheese platters, uber buttery croissants (I mean, best I have ever had) and strong Scottish coffee are more than enough for most. Nice buffet in a beautiful room with a view, Scottish newspapers and good service. A perfect way to start your day!
* Gourmet chocolates. Wow, delivered to your door every single evening. A cornucopia of very fancy chocolates in a very fancy box, delivered nightly. These make great presents for your friends and family who were not as lucky as you to be in this fine city and mostly lovely hotel. Nice touch!