Standing at the East End of Princes Street is the imposing building known today as The Balmoral…read moreHotel. Owned by Sir Rocco Forte since 1997, the building has been completely refurbished and now enjoys a worldwide reputation as a luxury hotel. The hotel is a well-loved landmark which has graced Edinburgh's skyline since 1902 when it began its life as a grand railway hotel. Of course the building has undergone many changes since then but even to this day it still holds a certain magic that has luckily been harnessed and maintained. The famous Balmoral hotel is an iconic feature in the Edinburgh city skyline. With its impressive architecture, famous clocktower, and Scottish flag flying patriotically - it's like a siren that makes you want to see what's inside its walls.

Bar Prince in the Balmoral Hotel Edinburgh is the perfect combination of luxury, quality and…read morecomfort. The Balmoral has been hosting royalty, celebrities, and cultural icons for 120 years, but the staff makes everyone feel special regardless who you are. We went back two days in a row because it is such a beautiful space with quality food and cocktails. The design is stylish modern classic with some of the most beautiful glassware I've seen. The cocktail menu hosts a nice variety of wonderful signature and classic recipes. I had the Nutty Professor (photo #2) which was a tasty blend of Bourbon, spiced rum, Cocchi Torino (sweet vermouth), Frangelico (hazelnut liqueur), and black walnut bitters with an orange garnish. It was so good I didn't change it up for my second. The cocktail menu is fun because of its local focus. They use fresh, locally sourced ingredients, reflecting a commitment to quality and a connection to the surrounding Scottish landscape. We loved everything about the experience for our first time visiting Scotland. The Balmoral Hotel and Bar Prince are a must when you visit beautiful Edinburgh. Go there!!! Salute

This was the perfect hotel for a two night stay in Edinburgh. It's super centrally located and well…read morepriced. We were able to drop off our bags at 7 am and the room was ready by 12:30 pm. One of the major benefits for me is that they let you borrow a straightener from the front desk. My hair was so grateful!! The rooms are tiny but that's to be expected in Europe! The WiFi wasn't fantastic either but we really didn't need it much.

This hotel is located in the Grassmarket area of Edinburg. It's just steps away from Old Town and…read morethe Royal Mile. Edinburg Castle is about a 15 minute walk. There is a restaurant in the hotel but there are a LOT of restaurants within walking distance. We had asked for a room with two beds thinking they would be single beds. (Our last experience with hotels in Europe was not a great one. We had a tiny room and a tiny bed,) When we got our room it was bigger than we expected. It had two beds-one was a king and the other a queen. What a nice surprise! There is no air conditioning in most hotels in Europe. With the windows open and a fan I was quite comfortable because the temp was around 60° the three nights we were there. The hubby who likes it much colder said it was bearable. The staff was friendly. The hotel was clean. I don't remember if breakfast is included in the price. There is a buffet breakfast or you can order off the menu. The last morning I ordered the smoked salmon, poached eggs, and sourdough toast off the hot menu. It was delicious. Had to have smoked salmon before I left Scotland...wish I would have ordered it sooner. Yummy. Would have given it 4 stars but with the lack of ac and having to climb several sets of stairs before you get to the elevator I'm giving it 3 stars. In all fairness, on occasion I did use the hotel ramp to get into or leave the hotel but that entailed walking through the rain. It did, however, lead you directly to the elevator.

Fantastic location, room was spacious, and the concierge was extremely helpful…read moreLoved it

Beautiful hotel in the heart of the city along the Royal Mile. It's a perfect location but the…read moregreat thing is that when you are in the room, it's nice and quiet. You'd have no idea that you are in the midst of a touristy area. The room and bed was very comfortable. The shower is nice and hot. It's an added bonus to have a fully-equipped gym with sauna and steam room. I highly recommend staying here.

Beautiful hotel to stay in. Rich and old fashioned looking. Located right next to the Royal Mile…read more They offer daily breakfast and there is a nice restaurant located downstairs. The reception desk folks are friendly and helpful. When I sent emails about my upcoming reservation, they answered within a day which was great considering the time difference. The rooms are comfy and the bathroom shower is the best I've ever had. A wonderful place to stay while visiting Edinburgh. Oh and it's across the street from the train station.

Very good food. Nice atmosphere. Friendly but average service. Not the most attentive staff. But…read morevery pleasant. I think we Americans are used to a different kind of service so take my service comments with a grain of salt. For example, I asked for water and it did not come till 20 min into my meal. We ordered Cullen skink Fish and chips Lamb Steak and frites Potato leek soup. The best ever Everything was delightful.

High tea at The Court, Edinburgh -- such a lovely experience overall…read more The ambiance is beautiful and really sets the tone. It's $65 per person, so definitely more of a treat, but it felt worth it. We started with sandwiches -- about six per person. They were fresh and decent (we skipped the ham options), nothing extraordinary but a good start. Then came the pastries... oh my god. Absolutely the highlight. Delicate flavors, beautifully presented -- they genuinely felt like little works of art. Tea and coffee were unlimited, which I really enjoyed, and the serving staff were incredibly sweet and attentive throughout. A really charming experience, especially for the ambiance and desserts.

We had very good customer service and experience until the last hour of our visit. At checkout,…read morecalled front desk for help with luggage, promised to send someone 'right up'. 15 min later called again because they never came right up. Bell desk proceeded to tell us should have left our stuff in room and just come down. As if we would know that after speaking with front desk. Finally bellhop brings our stuff down on the luggage cart, loses control, and dumped all our stuff on the wet filthy Edinburgh sidewalk. Brand new coats, my wife's toiletries rolling across the street. Of course, No accountability, immediately blamed it on 'colleagues' for loading it 'incorrectly'. picked everything up, got car loaded. I decided to tip him anyways because I worked service once upon a time and handed him a five. Instead of saying 'thank you', he said 'yeah'. Needless to say, his attitude and ungratefulness was unexpected after dumping our possessions into the middle of the sidewalk. My wife went back in to see if they could find a glove the same bell desk lost when they brought our items in for check-in. Same bellhop was completely flippant - "it's Edinburgh, we don't have your glove, anyone could have picked it up". very beautiful hotel, breakfast is excellent, fitness/spa very nice, customer service we received from everyone else was top notch. Will give them benefit of doubt, & probably come again, but might not ask for any more 'help' from bell desk.

After a 4 hour bus trip through Scotland, this was a welcoming hotel. Warm chocolate chip cookies…read moreupon check in. We ate several meals here and the food was better than almost every other hotel. Great variety, made to order. Huge selection of foods.

I love this hotel, and I say that after just the first night of a 3 night stay here! Well, there's…read morealways their famous warm and delectable chocolate cookie presented upon check-in, but that's just the tip of the iceberg for this particular location. This hotel has the major advantage of a supreme location as it's only a 10 minute walk from a host of famous Edinburgh attractions and highlights. Just some of those very nearby attractions are the Edinburgh Castle, the National Museum of Scotland, the Greyfriars Kirkyard cemetery, the Royal Mile, and the Grassmarket Market commercial district. Besides that and more, there are a ton of pubs and other eateries of all sorts of cuisines close by. Then there are their normal hotel amenities. It's a spacious hotel housed in a historic building built in 1892. The room we have is cozy and comfortable and we even have a nice 2nd floor view of Edinburgh Castle. Their breakfast buffet is a delicious and large spread of classic British goodies. All of the staffers we have met are helpful and wonderful. The Hilton chain staffers are also always able to look up my Hilton Honors member number for points even though I never remember it. I can't give this Doubletree a bigger thumbs up. Thank you!

I would recommend this hotel solely for the location, the breakfast, and kind staff. However, I…read morewould not recommend due to the layout and how many hurdles we needed to get through to get to our room: two separate elevators, and three sets of doors. We had to do that every time we came into the hotel. If you don't have much of any luggage, you will be fine. The rooms, and overall hotel was very clean. They have a bar on the third floor, in between the rooms so there are rooms immediately next to the bar, which gets loud. The breakfast was wonderful too.

Such a beautiful hotel and wonderful staff. Monday greeted us when we arrived and gave us a tour of…read morethe hotel while giving us a brief run down of the surrounding area. The room, the Glennkinchie suite, was spacious with multiple amenities, including a heated bathroom floor. They offer passes to the gym next door. Breakfast was always delicious and included tastes from the local cuisine. The staff at breakfast was always friendly and gave great tips. Henry (or Harry, I can't remember) was one of the servers that gave us good recommendations for sights. This hotel is central to a lot of major sights. I will miss this place and hope to return one day.

During our stay in December, we liked the location of the hotel to the main attractions and…read moreproximity to various points in the city within walking distance. Once you check in, the staff does not really interact much with you. We barely got any insights to the city and the hotel, making it feel less welcoming. We were told to look at a paper for the restaurant hours and there was some remodeling going on that made it a bit inconvenient with only 2 elevators. The rooms were spacious and clean, but a bit outdated and stuffy. It was comfortable but you could definitely feel the old room. Edinburgh was welcoming and everything around it made worthwhile the stay.

Everything could improve. The hotel is being renovated and the rooms that are being rented out…read moreare far below a four star property. There is no concierge to take luggage up to the room as advertised. There was no sheer curtain on the window so I could see directly into the hotel across the street which means they can see in to mine unless the blackout curtains are closed. There was no remote for the TV in the room. The bar provides ice for the rooms, however it is brought to your room with no lid on the public elevator so any sneeze or cough and your ice is contaminated. I called for ice and after waiting an hour I went to get it myself and saw the bartender pick said "Ice bucket" (a bucket without a lid is a wine bucket, not an ice bucket) off the floor from under the glass washing sink (unhygienic). Four days into my stay I brought my concerns and frustration to the assistant manager. She said the curtain would be hung and for my inconvenience I would get free breakfast for the rest of my stay (I was booked for two weeks and had mentioned I could have stayed at Premier Inn and gotten better service and free breakfast (as stated earlier breakfast was added along with executive club benefits which I wasn't interested in). I did go for breakfast which is served buffet style (£27 normally) and while the plates were hot, the food was not. I never ate there again. I spoke to the General Manager regarding my concerns and stated I thought I should receive a discount for the state of my stay (I was booked for two weeks). This did not happen. Instead he tried to insist I move rooms; a suite. I wasn't interested after unpacking and being there for five days already. I did request a discount for part of my stay. Hilton Honors was made aware, however they added 20,000 points to my account; after this experience why would I want to stay in a Hilton property again? To date, I've received no financial compensation for this deplorable stay. I'd avoid this hotel at all costs. The Scotsman is across the street, Radisson Blu around the corner and Marriott has properties also in Old Town. BTW, the General Manager told me he charged £7 for a cider in the bar "because he could"! Hardly the attitude a customer who has issues with their stay wants or needs to hear. Overall, I'd avoid this place like the plague...my stay was Jan 15-29, 2026.

We enjoyed our stay at the Sheraton Grand in Kraków so much that we decided to stick with this…read morebrand when staying in Edinburgh. I'm happy to say that it was a great decision. First of all, the location was perfect for us. It's right on Festival Square. Just look at the view that we had from our window on the 7th floor. The castle view is amazing! If you're a fan of concerts, then you'll also be happy that Usher Hall is right across the street from the hotel. The Edinburgh Farmers Market (every Saturday) is just behind the auditorium on Castle Terrace. There are many great restaurants all along Lothian, Fountainbridge, and everywhere in between as you walk up to Grassmarket. The great service started immediately with Ryan. He checked us in and made sure we had everything we needed. He was a great resource throughout our stay. The lobby was always neat as a pin. There's infused water available. The club is also accessed from this 1st floor area. We chose the Castle Suite which was very comfortable and spacious. The lighting and AC controls are modern and easy to figure out. There were plenty of electrical outlets (adaptable), and all were where we needed them to be. The bed was comfy, and house cleaning was great in getting the room ready in a timely matter on each day. I enjoyed the chocolate that was left for us each day at turn down. It was always a different flavor. The shower pressure and bath amenities were also great. We were also happy that our room included club access. It was great to be able to use their coffee machines throughout the day. I especially loved the fresh orange juice machine. Just insert a couple of whole oranges at the top and it produces a full glass of juice. Loved it! You'll also get access to the breakfast buffet at One Square on the 2nd floor. We did try it out on our last full day there. It had a larger variety of buffet items with table service. I especially liked the stuffed croissants. I think the one I had was filled with rhubarb. All the pastries were fresh daily. You can order an egg any way you like it, but you need to ask for it. It doesn't have the same open kitchen concept like the one in Kraków. I thought the breakfast buffet in Kraków was better. Although, I did get to try some unique Scottish items such as haggis and tattie scones. It was still well-done. I would most definitely stay here again. It made quite an impression on us for its comfortable amenities, good value, and location. Marriott Bonvoy members should be very happy here.

Rooms. Beds cozy. I sank into them and slept soundly. 5…read moreStars. Very clean room, classy upscale I love the shower control and the hot water Red nightlight around the beds is a nice touch Their breakfast buffet was pretty good by most standards, but I couldn't find some things like fat-free or low sugar yogurt Their omelette and eggs Benedict were nothing to write home about.