Hving pre booked the Old Waverley I was a little worried after reading recent bad reviews of the hotel. However all was well.
Our room was clean and comfortable, overlooking Princes Street with a good view of Edinburgh Castle. The bathroom was ok with a nice big bath.
I have had a better breakfast but then I have had much worse in hotels. A continental type buffet and some fresh fruit would have been nice as well as the cooked buffet.
Staff all very friendly and helpful.
The only drawback were the stairs up to reception, however we were assured help would have been on hand to help with our luggage if we needed it.
All in all a good base for an Edinburgh city break.

Hi


Hen weekend!

We stayed at the Old Waverley on Princes' Street in Edinburgh. The staff were very friendly... the hotel was gorgeous, and the food in the bar was excellent... the rooms were huge, and the bathroom was spacious... The location was great... so close to the shops... We started the night going to the standing order, this was terrible... the smell in the place, then we decided to go to Finnegan's Wake this was great irish bar.... then went to the Three Sisters... this were the place was buzzing with hen and stag parties... brilliant atmosphere..... we then went to Espanage... 4 floors, music was good... but it was too packed... we were like sardines... the shops in Edinburgh were great..... had a fantastic weekend... would definitely go back, but for longer with my boyfriend do some sightseeing, the people were lovely... We went to the Filling Station for a meal on Saturday night, the food was gorgeous.... the food was excellent, and we were full after it.... definitely is very filling.... no compliants on the food and service was good...

Planning to go back soon!

An eventful weekend, never forget

Ener

The moment I walked into this place I was suspect. It was dingy, had no lift, the carpets smelled and the rooms were outdated. On the flip side, the staff was extremely friendly.

I don’t care how friendly the staff was, it does not make up for the fact that I am covered, head to toe, in flea/bed bug bites. COVERED!

And to top it all off, this place was no deal. It was relatively pricey to say the least. And all I have to show for it is scratchy, itchy bites! I urge you NEVER to go to this place – it is a disgrace and disservice to hotel properties.

BEWARE OF THE BUGS!

"A 3 star hotel at a 4 star price in a 5 star location"" - it must be good!

WRONG!

You arrive at street level to find there is no lift to the first floor reception. Once you have struggled up the stairs with your bags you find yourself in a reception/lounge/bar/restaurant area - this is not so much Barroque Rococo but more Barmy Cuckoo - the interior designer is either blind or has no taste.

Talking of no taste the restaurant is a disgrace - I ordered chicken wrapped in bacon and got cotton wool wrapped in shoe leather - reconstituted pre-prepared nonsense. The vegetables were 'architectural' - they should have put more effort into the basic food.

Then I was offered Chef''s Mystery Dessert - when I enquired they would not tell me what it was of course (gettit?). Well I don't spend money on things that I am uninformed about. How patronising of them and if I want to be treated like a school child I will go to the school canteen where the food is better thanks.

I settled into my room and then tried to access the wi-fi. I needed a code and of course reception had not informed me of this when I checked in and no they could not tell me over the phone and yes I had to go back down to reception to get it - along the dark narrow corridors of this wreck of a building they have just 'done up' - well they were certainly 'done' as we say.

The wi-fi costs £10 for 24 hours but only worked intermittently.

The people above room 406 had either invited the Scots Guards Pipe Band in for marching rehearsal, or were on honeymoon or had invited all of Edinburgh's finest hookers round for a party. Their creaking floor/my ceiling meant it was impossible to sleep and after two phone calls to reception and the threat of my personal intervention in the matter eventually they shut up. (By the way, 50, fat, post heart attack, never given to violance and no criminal record - but the noise drove me to the point of distraction.)

Anyway why worry? - by the time they settled down at 2.45 am, one could still hear the drunks of Edinburgh yelling their way along Princess Street - yes that's right, your central, scenic 5 star location.

The interior designer - remember him? - had thoughtfully ensured the only heating in room 406 is an air conditioning unit - pointed at the bed so you sleep in a gale of wind and noise anyway. Unless you turn it off and are kept awake by the creeping cold of an Edinburgh night.

I tried to book an early morning call but no one answered on reception so I just programmed my mobile instead.

No-one asked me if I wanted a newspaper when I checked in so there were none available when I came down in the morning. Could I borrow the reception copy to read with my beakfast? 'No' I was told until the duty manager over heard and over ruled the staff.

Breakfast was OK apart form the fact there were no eggs of any kind on the buffet - in any normal hotel you stock up with a fresh dish of anything running low, before disappearing with the empty dish. But then this is no normal hotel.

I love my mother in law too much to send her here, I love my money too much to waste it here, I love Scotland too much to let this place carry on damaging the experience of visiting Edinburgh and I love Trip Advisor for being invented so us poor suckers who have to stay in these dumps get our chance to tell the world.

Edinburgh is blessed with some good hotels - spend a bit more and go somewhere run by professionals with a property that is fit for purpose.