Market Street hotel — Hotel in City of Edinburgh

The hotel is located in a fantastic location. As it is right across from Waverly station and just steps away from the Royal Mile making it central to many attractions. With lots of bars and food options around. And considering its location, the rooms were very quiet.

Unfortunately, even with its great location and quietness, this is where the benefits of this hotel stop. As there were so many issues that we encountered just during our two-night stay. Broken Toilet - Upon arriving we found out that the toilet flusher was broken. We did call for someone to fix it, and were instructed to “hit the big button to flush” or else it would break again. Which it did again on our last night, even though we were using it as instructed.

--- Broken Fridge - A complimentary mini bar was included with our room tier, which was pretty exciting upon hearing about it at check-in, but when we went to open the mini fridge to chill our own drinks we found it was also broken. This is not the biggest deal, but after the broken toilet incident, this really soured our opinion about the hotel. One positive though is that housekeeping was quick to respond and bring us a bucket of ice. but the fridge was going to be broken for the remainder of our stay.

--- Flickering Lights - When we turned on the lights at night they proceeded to flicker. Which was probably due to them being the wrong bulbs for dimming. The light switches were also a nightmare to figure out.

--- Strong Smells - My family ended up booking two rooms with the Market Hotel, one for my sis & husband and another for my mom and myself. Both rooms were not located on the same floor, so when we stopped at floor six to let my sister/husband off the only smell we could sense was perfume. However, when we got to the 5th floor, there was a very strong smell of sewage and perfume. Luckily I was in the middle of allergies so I could not smell it that well. But my mom, sister, and brother-in-law said it was incredibly strong.

--- Nor Loft - The first thing that irked us was hearing that we would need to make a reservation for breakfast. So we opted not to do breakfast and decided to go somewhere local like Mimi’s or Gordens St. Coffee, which was only steps away from the front door. Later that night after checking we tried to go to the lounge for a quick nightcap before bed and were told that they were fully booked for the night and that there was no room for us. Although we could clearly see there was room on the patio that was already in use. We tried a couple more times at different times of the day after this, and each time we were told they were full, even though they had spots available. Im not sure if this was due to poor management and not utilizing the space properly. Or if it was because we did not look like the right type people. We were dressed casually, but no athletic/gym wear. Just like tourists. This outcome started to feel more plausible as I was reading other reviews about the nor loft.

--- Minor issues - Normally these types of things wouldn’t be a big deal, but after everything else happening it just became the icing on the cake. The sink soap was in a squeeze bottle that you had a man handle to use (my sisters' room had a liquid pump bottle). The shower was not sealed properly so it leaked everywhere. It was also clogged so the pan overflowed. And the TV was confusing to use. It should not take more than a minute to find a news channel.

If hotel location is important to you, and you don’t mind throwing money out, this...

My best friend and I visited right before Halloween and this hotel was just 10 weeks old. Saying that, we had a few bumps that included moving my room because my phone did not work. We found out when my wakeup call did not work. The staff actually came to my room and knocked on the door to wake me! Great Service!!! They moved me to a new room that faced Market St right at the corner of the City Art Center. The view was majestic! The train station is below ground level so your view from the hotel is great all around. The backside is the close and it's pretty neat too. My friend found her lights flickering (joking that is was haunted), it turned out that the bulbs for the dimmer had to be switched out. For our "inconvenience", we were able to experience complimentary breakfast throughout our visit. She chose not to move because her room had a tub that she used each night because we walked sooo much each day. Quirks that I noticed right off is that there are no curtains on my windows. There is a sort of sliding wooded door that blocks out the sun. Socttish music is playing when you enter the room. It's a TV station and it's lovely! There is no fridge, just a "cooler" filled with complimentary local drinks and snacks. You are encouraged to enjoy the sampling of the snacks Scotland has to offer. (Counter-intuitive I know.) The restaurant was able to give me a small ice bucket to keep items in there cool as I have meds that need to be kept cold (I'm old). There is cold breakfast and a chef is available to make hot omelettes, etc... Lovely staff and great coffee bar and fresh breads! Even morning shots were provided to kick off the day. And bring a bottle for water as the tap water here is wonderful and clean. You are able to purchase a bag lunch if you will be out for the day. That was convenient and was at our doorstep on the mornings that we were rushing out. The lobby is on the 7th floor and it is a great introduction to the beauty of Edinburgh. This is the same location as the restaurant and bar. The staff was lovely and Paul, the manager during out time there, was professional and very personable. and the candy in the jars are not just decoration. The rooms were quite modern yet very cozy. New Dyson hair dryers in the bathroom. Many lighting options and the A/C is intuitive for even this American. A very good thing to know is that there is a mini-mart with fresh fruit, etc in Waverly Station. Make sure you go, we only found it after 5 days. Could have saved quite a bit of money. Don't just see the Burger King and leave. There is plenty down there even if you don't...

In response to the hotel’s reply: Your reply completely avoids the main issue. There were never three people staying in the room to sleep. The real problem is that your staff entered our room without permission, locked us out, and not even once offered an apology. Not in person, and not even now in your response. Do you seriously think this kind of behavior is acceptable in a hotel?

And another question Does having three suitcases in a room break your so-called “safety standards”? Are you really claiming that luggage is a fire hazard? This is honestly one of the most ridiculous hotel policies I’ve ever seen.

The worst hotel I have ever stayed in. Very bad attitude at reception to my sister. Entering a guest room without permission. Locking room card of no reason. No apology received.

We booked a king double room for myself, my mother, and my underage sister. Upon check-in, the hotel refused to let us stay together, claiming that only two people could stay in the room. I explained that my sister is not adult, but the manager sarcastically responded, saying, “She doesn’t look like a child.”

They asked us to pay over £500 extra to book an additional room, which we found unreasonable. So I told them I would help my mother find another hotel nearby instead.

To avoid misunderstandings, my mom stayed outside the hotel only my sister and I went to the room to take rest.

But without informing us, they went inside the room and deactivated our room key card, locking us out while our luggage and valuables were still inside! We were not notified, not contacted – who takes responsibility for the safety of our belongings?

When we returned to ask for help, the receptionist coldly said the room had been locked due to the “presence of a third person” and refused to do so at first. The reception said only allowed us 5 minutes to go upstairs, grab our luggage, and check out. We were shocked !!!!!!!!!

To make things worse, when my younger sister firmly explained that we had paid for the room and should be allowed to collect our things properly, the front desk rudely snapped at her, saying:

“You cannot talk to me like this.”

In the end, we chose to forfeit the hotel fee, booked a last-minute flight to Paris, and checked out around 10 pm, choosing to sleep at the airport rather than stay one more night at this...