Upon arriving at the Orwell Lodge Hotel, which should really be classed as a guest house, the staff were rude and unfriendly. Please do not expect any 'Welcome' or 'Hello' if you decide to stay here. On the first night, I was moved rooms with my belongings removed from the room while I was out and left in a back office. I found this out by a written note on the door, telling me to contact reception as I was now in another room. The breakfasts are OK, but again don't expect to receive any niceties. For the money, I would rather stay in a guest house and get better service or pay the extra and stay in a hotel which is a lot closer to the centre. The 'hotel' would have been satisfactory 20 years ago, but now the decor is dated and is in need of renovation. The staff also need to go on a customer service course.

Sorry about the pedestrian title but that's what I thought. It wasn't too expensive (by Edinburgh standards), but it wasn't luxury either. We got a nice room with a clean bathroom at the back. The staff were very helpful and friendly, breakfast perfectly good, but most importantly there is a bus stop opposite the hotel which takes you right into Princes Street. OK the ground floor is a pub, but many smaller hotels here seem to have that , and it didn't cause us any problems anyway. Basically pretty happy about our stay and Edinburgh is a lovely city with super people. Don't miss the open top bus ride - especially if you get a good guide.

Just returned from spending the New Years holiday in Edinburgh. We stayed at the Orwell Lodge Hotel for three nights. On the positive side, the hotel staff were very nice and helpful but that does not make the stay in all cases and definately not this one. The hotel is rated as a *** but does not meet the standards of a normal European ***. The room was adaquate but dirty and could use a bathroom refurbishment. For some reason or another we did not receive maid service for all three days even though we posted our service sign on our door. Crazy but true. This was our biggest issue as the garbage and dishes piled up. We attempted to place the items outside our door but the staff did not touch the items. We improvised by putting the garbage in a large shopping bag and taking the dishes to the kitchen ourselves. Edinburgh was awesome but this hotel did not cut the mustard.

We have just spent 2 nights at this hotel and have to say were a little disappointed. The building and location are fine however we got the feeling that the hotel is not being managed well. It could be a gem of a place but lacks such a lot at present. As you enter the hotel you pass the bar which is really a pub, a lot of locals drinking in it. As we approached reception we noticed how worn and drab the stairs carpet was. A sign on reception said"please find a member of staff". My husband went into the bar as we could not find anyone and the girl serving had to come through to check us in. Our room was quite clean and comfortable. There was a few inches of dirt all around the bathroom carpet which wasnt very nice. The bedding was very clean. Next morning at breakfast a very dirty cloth had been left on the buffet table where we selected our cereals etc which was really off putting, then used by the waitress(who was same girl who served in bar and checked us in) to wipe the table next to us. The hot food was edible but have had far better.
The good points about this hotel are the free parking, buses into the city directly outside and constant hot water. With a little attention to detail and more staff around this place could be lovely.