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The Witchery by the Castle: Traveler Reviews


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The Royal Mile | Castlehill, Edinburgh EH1 2NF, Scotland
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Traveler Reviews

89% Recommend
4.5 of 5 stars 163 reviews
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Out of this world!!!

The Witchery by the Castle

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5 of 5 stars
missy_greyhound 40 contributions
Glasgow
Jan 13, 2008 | Trip type: Couples
3/3 found this review helpful

Wow! We have just spent a night at the Witchery to celebrate my boyfriend's 30th birthday. I wanted to take him somewhere special and read the reviews on tripadvisor. Although I thought the reviews were good I was not too sure how we would like the rooms after looking at the photos as we usually like modern, contemporary hotels. Well I couldn't have been more wrong. The photos do not do this hotel justice at all. When we arrived at our suite, the Armoury, we were taken aback by the sheer size of the accommodation as well as the beautiful interior. It is absolutely stunning, romantic and full of character. A lovely staff member, Roxy, had our room ready for us and it was all cosy and warm after being out in the cold. There was champagne on ice and classical music playing. The floorboards are creeky as you walk around and the suite dips down in a slope at one side because the building is so old. All these little things added to a really unique experience. Every little detail has been taken care of from the luxuriously deep, roll top bath with Molton Brown toiletries close by to the huge, comfy four poster bed. The TV is concealed in a chest at the end of the bed and appears as if by magic at the touch of a button. We spent the first couple of hours just wandering around taking everything in. We had a separate dining room with open fire where breakfast was served to us in the morning. We also had our own separate small kitchen. In the dining room there is a special surprise, you just have to look for it on the floor!!! I'm saying no more as I don't want to spoil the surprise. You will just have to book the Armoury suite to come and see it! When I booked the room it crossed my mind that it was expensive but after being in the room for half an hour all I thought was that it was worth every penny. We went for dinner in the Witchery restaurant and although it was a beautiful setting and the service was excellent I did think it was a bit over priced for the quality of food. It's not that the food was bad at all but we have eaten in some places where the food is so amazing that you don't even think about what it cost you because it was so good but here we were left thinking that it wasn't really worth that kind of money. However we don't want to take anything away from this place as we loved it so much and already are talking about coming back for our next special occasion (my birthday in the summer hint, hint!) Roxy who works here is a real star and so friendly and helpful, he even arranged for us to have a tour of the other rooms. Another thing I liked about this place is that it is not at all snooty as some 5 star establishments can be. The staff couldn't have been more friendly and welcoming. We just loved it so much, you must go there!!!

  • Liked — Everything
  • Disliked — Nothing
  • My ratings for this hotel
    • 5 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 5 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 5 of 5 stars Check in / front desk
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
  • Date of stay January 2008
  • Visit was for Romantic getaway
  • Traveled with Spouse / significant other
  • Age group 25-34
  • Member since April 13, 2006
  • Would you recommend this hotel to a friend? Yes
  • I recommend this hotel for An amazing honeymoon, A romantic getaway, Older travelers, Tourists
  • I do not recommend this hotel for Girlfriend getaway, Great pool scene, Families with young children, Families with teenagers
  • I selected this hotel as a top choice for Museums / Cultural / Historical sites, Great food / Wine
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
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Fantastic Experience

The Witchery by the Castle

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5 of 5 stars
AnonUsa 4 contributions
USA
Dec 12, 2007 | Trip type: Couples
1/1 found this review helpful

Stayed in the Vestry suite for a night just before our wedding. The suite was amazing, very romantic and we ate in the Secret Garden which was equally romantic. food was delicious

the next morning we chose to eat breakfast in the restaurant instead of our room and it too was beautiful. And although we were the only couple at breakfast we didnt feel awkward.

Fantastic service all round.

A must if you visit Edinburgh

  • My ratings for this hotel
    • 5 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 5 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 3 of 5 stars Check in / front desk
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
  • Date of stay November 2007
  • Visit was for Romantic getaway
  • Traveled with Spouse / significant other
  • Age group 35-49
  • Member since March 07, 2005
  • Would you recommend this hotel to a friend? Yes
  • I recommend this hotel for An amazing honeymoon, A romantic getaway, Tourists
  • I do not recommend this hotel for People with disabilities, Families with young children, Families with teenagers
  • I selected this hotel as a top choice for Great food / Wine
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
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Sooooooo Romantic

The Witchery by the Castle

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5 of 5 stars
TLWMiltonKeynes 7 contributions
Milton Keynes
Dec 10, 2007 | Trip type: Couples
5/5 found this review helpful

After stumbling across the Witchery on the web we waited 7 months for the first available weekend and it was well worth it. We absolutely loved this place it was perfect for an intimate weekend. We stayed in The Vestry suite and adored the gothic opulence of it, if you like a swanky, contemporary 5* then this probably won't be for you but if you like sheer over the top romance then you'll love it. It's true what others have said that Edinburgh is a beautiful city but you just won't want to leave your room, we had champagne on ice, a roll top bath, red velvet everywhere and the snow falling outside - perfect. The continental breakfast that is brought to your room is more than sufficient but we tried the a la carte breakfast in the Witchery restaurant on our second morning which was excellent, I can recommend the Arnold Bennet omelette and my husband thought it was the best black pudding hehad ever had. We ate in The Secret Garden on our 2nd night which was beautiful, fantastic food in a lovely candlelit ambience (ask for a table by the window) Staff were attentive enough without being intrusive, slightly pricey yes but for something special worth every penny.If you like to experience something different try The Witchery, we'll definitely be going back!

  • Liked — Everything
  • Disliked — Leaving
  • My ratings for this hotel
    • 5 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 4 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 5 of 5 stars Check in / front desk
    • 4 of 5 stars Service
    • 3 of 5 stars Business service (e.g., internet access)
  • Date of stay December 2007
  • Visit was for Romantic getaway
  • Traveled with Spouse / significant other
  • Age group 35-49
  • Member since July 30, 2007
  • Would you recommend this hotel to a friend? Yes
  • I recommend this hotel for An amazing honeymoon, A romantic getaway, Tourists
  • I do not recommend this hotel for Young singles, Girlfriend getaway, Great pool scene, Pet owners, Families with young children, Families with teenagers
  • I selected this hotel as a top choice for Museums / Cultural / Historical sites, Great food / Wine, Other
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
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Absolutely Amazing

The Witchery by the Castle

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5 of 5 stars
Honeymooners_Dec07 1 contribution
Sheffield
Dec 10, 2007
2/2 found this review helpful

We stayed at the witchery for our honeymoon, the stay surpassed all our expectations, can not see why anyone has published a bad word against the place. Roxy whom we had already read about showed us to our suite "the vestry" which was as he said theatrical - nothing can prepare you for the room until you see it first hand. Totally burlesque!!

We ate in the secret garden the first night (which we had booked in advance) and were so impressed we booked for our second night. Two nights is never enough in a place like this hard to imagine staying anywhere else.

Already planning our anniversary stay - absolutely fantastic

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
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Such a great time; our bad for taking the key

The Witchery by the Castle

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5 of 5 stars
tashy1019 20 contributions
San Francisco, California
Dec 9, 2007 | Trip type: Couples
8/8 found this review helpful

We stayed in the Inner Sanctum for one night to celebrate our honeymoon in lavish over the top surrounds. We got what we were looking for! The Witchery was so much fun, we're now determined to become ridiculously wealthy and work out some sort of permanent lease program with the hotel/restaurant.
The snacks, champagne upon arrival, room, and bathroom were all fantastic.
We had a wonderful dinner at the Witchery restaurant. The food was delicious, our waiters were all charmingly Scottish young men, and we could not have been happier. The seafood in Scotland is so fantastic! I think I'm permanently spoilt from having it in such great quantities.
One night, for us, was perfect. We got to enjoy the experience without going broke. The staff was stupendous, the breakfast brought to our room was so wonderful. All in all, it made for a very relaxing, romantic stay.
It was fun reading the guest book in our room -- there were so many cute couple stories! A lot of honeymoons and anniversaries.

  • Liked — gorgeous lavish surrounds
  • Disliked — too many rich complainy people ;)
  • My ratings for this hotel
    • 5 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 5 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 5 of 5 stars Check in / front desk
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
  • Date of stay October 2007
  • Visit was for Honeymoon
  • Traveled with Spouse / significant other
  • Age group 25-34
  • Member since June 01, 2006
  • Would you recommend this hotel to a friend? Yes
  • I recommend this hotel for An amazing honeymoon, A romantic getaway, Older travelers, Tourists
  • I do not recommend this hotel for Young singles, Girlfriend getaway, Great pool scene, Pet owners, Families with young children, Families with teenagers
  • I selected this hotel as a top choice for Museums / Cultural / Historical sites, Great food / Wine
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
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The Witchery by the Castle Also Known As

Address: The Royal Mile | Castlehill, Edinburgh EH1 2NF, Scotland