The Balmoral commands your attention when you step onto Princes Street. Its a huge but very beautiful building situated right on the corner, above Waverley Station. My brother snuck off in secret and got married, then headed off to the Balmoral Hotel and invited us plebs to join him. The hotel is grand and you instantly feel important when you enter. The staff cannot do enough for you, I guess this is one of the perks of five star accommodation! The rooms are spacious, comfortable and welcoming, can I move in? Obviously they come at a rather expensive price, but my guess is if your going to stay in five star accommodation then price isn't an issue. You certainly get your moneys worth in this beautiful hotel. At Christmas time it is even more enchanting with its stunning decorations. The Michelin start restaurant within the hotel is worth a visit, as is the Brasserie for a more relaxed meal. It really is just the perfect hotel. read more

See all

The Balmoral is a great hotel in the heart of Edinburgh. It seems kind of dated, but we enjoyed our stay.

For this kind of ££££, I expect to have everything. Balmoral offered lots of luxuries but failed on a few of the basics Luxuries.... Grand lobby & staff greet us & immediately we are treated like royalty. Rooms are super-incredibly plush w/ huge cathedral ceilings & overstuffed beds & chairs. Bathrooms are equally push & the shower was one of the best I've ever had.....water pressure is spot on, temp is fantastic & the products are luxuriantly smelly The concierge desk was fantastic & secured rezzies at various "already fully booked" restaurants & had a recommendation for just about everything Location also can't be beat - situated right in the heart of Edinburgh, this hotel is w/in easy walking distance to all the touristy hot-spots. There's also a plethora of taxis available to take people on short jaunts - as my parents have limited mobility we super-appreciated the hotel arranging taxi support. We found many taxis "on the road" refused us the short ride but happily agreed when we started through the hotel. Highly recommend arranging transportation through the hotel if you find yourself in a limited energy / mobility situation like we were! As far as for the basics.... Free WiFi is not a luxury - it's a basic yet there was none. I had to go across the street to Burger King for the free stuff & that's just not right I also expect a full tv channel lineup - Balmoral only offered limited channels (& my fav ITV3 was not one - boo). When faced with only reality shows on *every* channel, my books became that much more appealing & when travelling w/ parents, living up the nightlife is nonexistent. We *need* tv! So as happy as I was to stay w/ you & knowing I would totally stay here again, I just cannot say this was a full 5-star experience b/c this was not "as good as it gets". Add the free WiFi upgrade for your guests & we'll talk about a star upgrade, in kind read more

The Balmoral is an absolutely legendary, stunning feat of design and architecture, that never fails to halt my vision in its tracks when I walk past it, despite having lived here for years and having walked past the hotel countless times. The Balmoral's reputation as a luxury hotel destination of elegance and long established grandeur is well known worldwide, and a cheeky few nights stay here is guaranteed to cost you more than a pretty penny. However, considering how beautiful the hotel is, and its prime position in Edinburgh's city centre, it's probably worth saving up for if you're visiting the city, just so you can experience staying in such a stunning hotel, at least for one evening. If you live in Edinburgh, staying in the hotel will be less of a draw, but nosing and peering around parts of the hotel is still an option, if you go to the Bollinger Bar for some champagne, the Palm Court for afternoon tea, or either Hadrians or the Number One restaurant for a gorgeous meal. read more

Overall, it was a great hotel in a great location. The staff were very knowledgeable and courteous, and the rooms were very comfortable. A nice touch for international travelers like me - the availability of adapters for electricity, which is a particular pet peeve for me. The concierge was particularly helpful as I arrived at the hotel a bit too late and most of the restaurants/bars around the city had already closed for the day - he was able to point out places that were still open. This has nothing to do with the quality of the hotel but my particular room had a lot of Sean Connery posters in his 60's James Bond pomp, but then hey...I was in Edinburgh... read more

The location may only be surpassed by the helpful and welcoming staff. Our day trip to St. Andrews was facilitated by the concierge that offered specific directions and a map, recommended popular destinations within a short walk of our destination, then descending a flight of stairs to the super-convenient rail station. The staff in every position is top-drawer. Dining and drinks were attended with courteous observation. Housekeeping was friendly and highly professional. When we checked out, the front desk noticed that I helped myself to a piece of fudge on the counter, and prepared a small take -way box for our taxi ride to the airport. Like Paul M. (review 5/8/2014) we stayed in room 655. They have obviously replaced the mattress since then. read more

We stayed here a few weeks ago on a large family trip. Altogether with my wife's cousins, spouses, and kids, we had a party of 17. The Balmoral was amazing. Not only were the rooms beautifully appointed, and with an incredible view, but the staff was absolutely incredible. One of the most impressive things about the staff was how they treated the children in our group (ages 6-11). Everyone on the staff was absolutely wonderful with the children, giving them "Balmoral Passports" that they could use to explore the hotel and earn prizes (everything from chocolates to Teddy Bears and toys). I've stayed at enough high end hotels over the years to know that the warm welcome the children received is not always on offer, and seeing it here stuck with me more than just about anything about any of the hotels we stayed at on this trip. (As an aside for adults, the scotch bar is excellent, and the bartenders really know their wares, and The Balmoral Bar makes some mean cocktails) (Further, there are two giant pictures of Sir Sean Connery hung right next to the toilet, so you feel safe going in the middle of the night.) read more

Excellent location. Very easy to go anywhere from here. Personalized service, staff remember your name after one meeting. No trouble with Internet. Best advice, book through the hotel's website, much better rates. I paid £30 more per night when the booked through Priceline. read more

See all

For the price, they should have better beds and pillows. The rooms are small, but location is great.

Worth every penny, yes it is expensive but the service, food, and comfort of the balmoral is outstanding. Every need was catered to with efficiency and hospitality. The food was delicious that in fact we ate breakfast lunch and dinner every day because it never got old. The location is also exceptional, in the heart of Edinburgh but not amidst the craziness of the all the city has to offer. Highly recommend this hotel to anyone who wants to travel in luxury. read more

This hotel is definitely beautiful, elegant, stylish, classic etc etc etc but when I stayed here for a weekend it was so clear that it lives off its own hype. We were going to a dinner-dance in the hotel on the saturday night, and when we went to the bar for a drink beforehand they squashed us into two table-booths (there were almost 40 of us), and they took 20 mins to even take drinks orders. Obviously catering for large groups is never easy, but when they charge £12 for the cocktail of the day you would kind of hope it might come a bit faster. The room was absolutely gorgeous, that much I will give them. Ours was dual-aspect, so we had spectacular views of the castle as well as North Bridge, which is beautiful at night. The other thing that struck me was that it's over-priced. Obviously, in a 5-Star hotel you expect to pay a certain amount, but I thought that their prices were excessive. A three-course meal in their Number One restaurant costs £60 without drinks, and when you compare that to the huge number of equally upmarket and high-quality restaurants nearby I don't see how they can justify it. Don't get me wrong, it's not that there's anything hugely wrong with it; it's just that even as luxury hotels go, this place is just a little bit up itself. read more

The Balmoral Hotel can be summed up in one word; luxurious. I have wanted to stay here forever but unfortunately a room for the night is a little bit out of my budget with the price for a double room often as much as £420! The building itself is absolutely stunning and it really stands out on Princes Street making me wish I was a guest there whenever I walk past. When I win the lottery, which should be any day now, I will be staying at The Balmoral as a regular and I'll be trying each one of the 168 rooms on offer just so I can pick my favourite. Each night I will dine in the sumptuous Number One, Michelin starred restaurant. Only £59 for three courses you say? Keep the change. read more

Afternoon tea here was one of the best I had in the UK. I studied abroad in London and tried quite a few but the Balmoral was one of my favorites if not my favorite. It felt never ending with all the little treats you get and you can try as many teas as you want. Great memory with my mom on our trip to Edinburgh read more

The Balmoral - Amazing afternoon tea - Hotels Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

Walking up Prince's Street toward to Balmoral from Waverly Station- and there it is, this big pile of stone and some glass, and there's a guy on the steps in front wearing a kilt and he opens the door and I am ushered in, where a man approaches me and looking at my luggage, directs me to a nice woman who checks me in, then takes me to my room while giving me the layout of various function rooms in the hotel, before explaining the room features to me and bidding me 'Good Day'. What a lovely way to meet a hotel! And what a nice hotel. The marble floor in the bathroom is heated, the TV is wondeful and the view is out of this world, the Castle to the gardens of Holyrood. What more could I ask for? Great breakfast, lovely gym and pool and drinks in the Palm Room expertly mixed. Give yourself a treat, stay here! Enjoy! read more

We could not have been more pleased. Excellent staff. The rooms are spacious and luxurious. Highly recommend staying at the Balmoral. read more

Luxury hotel in the ideal location in Edinburgh. Attention to all of the details is incredible. The staff are friendly & helpful- from the Kilted doorman to the room service attendant! The rooms are spacious & clean & very quiet and comfortable. The beds and pillows are just right! Every guest is made to feel like a rockstar. I highly recommend this hotel as well as the Palm Court, Balmoral Bar & restaurant. I will be back! read more

See all

Amazing! Love the exterior and the interior of the building! From the doorman in a kilt greeting you to the wonderful staff at reception, in housekeeping and in the restaurant. The rooms are superb, beautifully decorated, spacious. I can't express how wonderful our stay was, it was truly home away from home! I am quite used to this sort of establishment having the chance to stay and visit many a year for work, but the Balmoral is special. read more

2 weeks in Scotland and we ended it with 2 nights at The Balmoral and we definitely chose wisely. Great helpful staff, convenient location to the train and tram stops, very tasty breakfast which was included in our package, the shower/tub option was awesome as well (didn't get that option at any other hotel we stayed at), plus the room was very clean and well put together and they offered turn down service at night which was a cool touch. Very historic looking building and you can see it from most of Old Town Edinburgh so we felt very regal staying there actually. Did the spa treatments as well. Wife had a 85-minute massage I think and I had the 55-min Man massage (I forget the names), but for the location we really expected them to be alot more expensive (cost us more at other hotels we've vacationed at). The pool looked really inviting too but we didn't pack swimsuits (bummer). Definitely recommend staying at this location!! Only bad part was they couldn't get us a room with a better view (we had the inner courtyard view which is blech). read more

Afternoon tea is a favorite activity we enjoy in cities wherever we travel. While the sandwiches were numerous and acceptable, and the clotted cream and scone tasty, the pastries were the best I've had anywhere in the world. By that point I'm typically full, yet I couldn't resist the lemon blueberry sponge or the chocolate mouse and peanut delight! The puff pastry with a variety of flavors was also quite yummy, but I couldn't finish it. read more

Tea at the Palm Court is an experience not to be missed. Service was excellent; all the staff was extremely friendly. The food was delicious and VERY plentiful- go hungry, or go slow so as not to fill up completely before dessert!! Each of the three courses was generous, with an additional amuse-bouche to start and extra dessert ("complimentary" sorbet and chocolate truffle) to finish. I was deliberating between several formal tea options for our trip to Edinburgh, and I would absolutely choose this one again. read more

What a fantastic stay! The hotel is beautiful and the staff is off-the-charts excellent. Great location in city centre. I will definitely stay here again. It added to beautifully to my Edinburgh visit. read more

We were in town for the opera and sightseeing, and I must say, this is an incredible hotel. Service and staff are first rate. Spa was lovely. Difficult to get reservations for afternoon tea, but booked in advance, and it was well worth it! Sat next to a delightful couple - they were locals, treating themselves. Convenient location next to the train station. Another point - one in our party had difficulty with stairs, but the Balmoral has ramps everywhere - not too common in Europe. All around excellence, but particular commendations for the outstanding staff - extremely impressive. I have been all over the world - probably one of my favorite hotel stays ever! read more

Great place to stay in Edinburgh. Large comfortable rooms, though I swear I smell cigarette smoke now and then. We got a free upgrade which is always nice. Friendly staff, central location is perfect, and very good food. Would definitely stay here again. Now if I can just get my company to pay for it.... read more

Met here for a business meeting. Super attentive staff with class and excellent skills in handling a business situation. Great location and vibe. read more

THe Balmoral, a Rocco Forte hotel, is probably the most expensive hotel in Edinburgh. Getting a room there in August when we booked in April was interesting. . .They told my travel agent that there were no rooms available, so we were obligated to take a suite at about 3 times the price, then I went on Hotels.com and got a room. I tried to book dinner at their restaurant and they put us in the wrong one. That's another long story, but their reservation staff really needs a little training! HAving said that, the front desk was welcoming, the lobby was fine (albeit not as impressive or large as other hotels in its price range) and the place was clean. Our room was more "business hotel modern" than luxury hotel elegant. We appreciated the huge photo poster of Sean Connery in the bathroom, and the amenities were okay, but it was a bit bizarre. Our first room had an objectionable odor, so we moved to a second, which was fine, quiet, with no real view but we appreciated the calm. The hotel restaurant called Number One was amazing - one of the best meals ever, and by far the best feature of the hotel. We got in with no help from the hotel staff, and that's another review. read more

A great hotel in Edinburgh with wonderful proximity to lots to do. The restaurant and bar, the rooms, the staff, were all very good.

If location is the name of the game, then the Balmoral wins in spades. Situated right in the middle between old town and new town, immediately around the corner from the train station, and just a quick walk from the national monument, there is not a more convenient hotel for a tourist in Edinburgh. The Michelin starred restaurant in the hotel is of course a nice perk, and the rooms meet the five star billing, but the concierge desk is really where the Balmoral earned its rating. From easy tasks like getting reservations at hard to get seats to arranging my crazy itinerary around the rest of Scotland, the concierge staff was flawless. Whereas I usually feel gouged spending money on properties of this caliber, in this case, the Balmoral was worth every pound. read more

My companion and I spent seven nights at The Balmoral in Edinburgh and experienced service that was friendly, professional, anticipatory and thoughtful. Our rooms were clean, attractive and comfortable. Bedding was soft, cushy and fresh. Housekeeping staff were conscientious and thorough. Concierge staff did a splendid job of seeing to our taxi transportation when we requested it, provided us with a roll of sealing tape when we needed some, offering suggestions on activities and timetables, and smiling sincerely whenever we passed by the desk. We had breakfast in the hotel every morning and all the people who served us were very pleasant and efficient. Afternoon Tea was delightful and the food was wonderfully fresh and tasty. I would definitely stay at The Balmoral if I returned to Edinburgh. read more

Update: I've called, I've emailed. No response. In this day and age, it's hard to believe that a business refuses even to respond to email. Original review: This review is for tea at the Palm Court. I went twice during my stay in Edinburgh. The first time I would've given it four or five stars, we had a great time. Great food, excellent service. The second time I went, less than a week later, I'd have rated it two stars. Now you'd think that would average out to three stars. But, the Palm Court only gets two stars because I wrote an email telling them about my experience and received no response. Subsequently, it's a two star review. I will now speak to that experience. We made a reservation for four people for a noon seating. The tables are booked for 2 hour blocks. In the reservation, I noted some dietary restrictions for one in our party. I indicated that if they were unable to accommodate her, she would be happy to just have tea. After I was seated, I was ignored for ten minutes. No greeting, no server, no water. Nothing. When the rest of my party arrived, the same. It was 20 minutes before anyone acknowledged our group. When I mentioned the dietary restrictions, no one knew what I was talking about. Three times someone came to our table to ask again what we meant. "Vegan" I get it, it's not wildly mainstream, but I had already said, now for the fourth time, if you can't accommodate her restrictions, we will happily pay for her pot of tea. But they said it wasn't a problem, although it clearly was. During the service itself, we more than once ran out of water AND we ran out of tea! The whole thing is about tea, how can you have been so long away from our table that all four of us ran out of water and tea?!Then we also ran out of time. I had to pay the bill before our last course even arrived in order to catch my 2:30 train, which was a whole 5 minute walk from the hotel. So for over $240 for four people (that's just the tea service, no alcohol), we got tea, scones, and some sandwiches, but mostly we got ignored. And then to have no one respond to an email? PshThere are a lot of places to have high tea in Edinburgh. I recommend you choose someplace else. read more

Tea at the Palmcourt We were asked to move tables shortly after being seated to accommodate a large party. We were happy to do this, however from that point forward we became the forgotten table. We were not assigned a server and had to repeatedly ask for refills, pour our own champagne and waited an hour between courses. The group who took our original table was seated at least 30 minutes after us and were done 15 minutes before us. Very disappointing. read more

Great location, lovely whisky bar, impressive michelin starred restaurant, TERRIBLE room decoration! Sadly this may be a Rocco Forte Hotel theme as we were very disappointed in Brussels at the Amigo Hotel, similarly the room and hotel were dated and very standard. In conclusion, we would not return as hotel guests but would for drinks/food/afternoon tea. read more

Walked in after a long day of hot and sweaty tourism to celebrate my daughter's 18th birthday. I think they were a little reluctant to seat us, none of us were really dressed for the occasion. They did, and we ended up having a wonderful experience. All of us had specialty drinks, all of them excellent. My daughter loved here birthday drink. When it was served it came with a birthday bonbon and a plate saying happy birthday. What an excellent place to finish out day and have some wonderful drinks. read more

Beautiful hotel, central location and wonderful service. The restaurant's food quality is outstanding and even better if you are lucky enough to stay there for Hogmanay (New Year's Eve) and enjoy the incredible fireworks celebration down Princes Street. Really had a pleasant time at this charming place and highly recommend to friends. read more

Very disappointing experience. Rooms are stark, with a few James Bond photos to seemingly make them feel "hip." Service is at best, indifferent. Really underperformed the hype. The restaurant has a pedestrian menu. Lot's of improvement needed to justify 4 star prices. read more