Old Waverley Hotel — Hotel in City of Edinburgh

Nothing special about this hotel. In a few words the positives are: Clean especially the beautiful bathroom Powerful shower Excellent location to tour the city

It lacked things I expected as standard for most three star hotels. My room being on the sixth floor really isn't the issue. The issues were: Only window was small, circular and the curtains couldn't be drawn open for most of my stay because I could clearly see the office workers in the next building (being about ten feet away) & vice versa. Hence, no privacy, no views of the city & deprived of the only natural light. The electrical circuitry by the bedside were old; the two electric sockets aren't consistent with the UK standard three pin plug. The room had no mini fridge and had to purchase shop bought water & ice cubes and relied on my miniature fan & power bank at my bedside to survive the day and at night to get some sleep. I was initially pleasantly when welcomed by a member of staff who on our way up to reception (after my almost six hour journey by train from London). A moment later, he wasn't convinced I was at the right hotel asking for confirmation when the reservation could have been checked at the reception desk computer; leaving me trying to convince him that I was at the right place on the stairway leading to the reception. I had booked and fully paid almost three weeks earlier. Yes, this all happened within two minutes of my arrival at the hotel. When he was eventually convinced, his female colleague though not rude did not attempt to rectification the situation with an apology, discretion or diplomacy. I was then asked for a £25 deposit. I found this rather strange as I had never experienced this at other hotels in the UK or elsewhere of similar calibre. I offered to pay cash as I didn’t have a card on me which was reluctantly accepted. They were so rude that they expecting me to go through my luggage at the desk for the cash until I insisted that I go to my room and bring the cash within minutes which I promptly did. The location of my room wasn't communicated to me other than that my suitcase had been dropper there. Yes, no directions to the lift and this is unacceptable when you actually are at the hotel with a layout different from most traditional hotels. The entrance is between two retail outlet and barely noticeable as a hotel entrance (yes, I had to double check with Google Maps). On entry, no proper lobby just a corridor, a bell and a flight of stairs leading to the reception desk on the first floor. My experience was humiliating and I avoided the reception staff for the rest of my stay. Saying the hotel's location was excellent as a tourist is an understatement due to its Princes Street location & its proximity to Princes Street shops, Princes Street Gardens, Calton Hill, Edinburgh Waverley Station, Scottish National Gallery for viewing the town's lovely architecture and landscape, boarding city tour buses and going further afield. Lack of professionalism of the reception staff is the main factor why I am unlikely to make this location my base whenever I am in town. Thankfully, I received my £25 deposit back. Next time, I will pay a bit more & stay elsewhere to enjoy my future visits...

The location is absolutely fantastic and the views from my room were honestly amazing. I reckon that is why the price is so high. I initially booked it back in April and it was coming to approximately €990 for 3 nights (which is crazy but I was willing to splash out). Luckily, I checked the prices again 2 days before my visit and I saw the prices for the same room dropped by approximately €280. I cancelled my original booking and rebooked it. ||Positives: ||- The location is absolutely outstanding, you couldn't get better honestly, everything is at your doorstep.|- The staff were incredibly nice.|- The views of Princes Street and the Old Town from my room were incredible.|- The bathroom was small but lovely and recently renovated (I am guessing) as it looked so much more modern than the rest of the room.|- The wifi worked perfectly, no issues. ||Negatives:||- Keep in mind this is quite an old hotel (built in 1848) so it is not really modernised at all, if you are expecting any bit of luxury for the price you are paying, then try elsewhere as it won't suit you.||- It's as if there's no sound proofing in the bedrooms at all. I could hear every footstep throughout the hotel. When the room above me was showering in the morning, it sounded as if someone was power-washing in my bedroom, it woke me each morning as they were very early risers.||- The mattress for me was just way way too soft, I just sank into it like a beanbag and it genuinely hurt my back trying to sleep in it. I had to sleep on the floor as I have a bad back from time to time and the mattress unfortunately was killing it, so something firmer was the better option, so I chose the floor. I moved my duvet on to the floor and slept on that. The pillows were fine.||- The floor in my room was uneven, it was unusual it felt like there was an incline then a decline and every step I took the floor boards creaked so loudly.||- The sockets for the bedside lamps are different to the rest of the sockets in the room, so you will not be able to plug in your phone charger etc, if you wanted to use it while in bed. ||- The food I ordered was microwaved. This was obvious by the potatoes and lack of taste. I drowned it with salt & pepper to give me some flavour. I did order food very shortly before the kitchen was due to close, so this was probably why they had to microwave it, so that is probably my fault for ordering so late. I did not eat in the hotel for the remainder of my trip. (I hear the breakfast is good though). ||Overall, you are paying for the location (which is incredible!) and the views are amazing too! I think if the hotel got some more modern renovations and sorted some simple things, it would be 5/5 hotel. The staff were incredibly friendly. I understand it's an old hotel (which does add to it's charm) but there are some things that need fixing. ||Attached a photo of the view from my room to prove how good it was!||Overall a 3/5 is a fair score. Again, if you want a convenient location, it is perfect. If you want great comfort for the price you...

We have stayed at the Old Waverley several times over the last few years, but this time is sadly our last. It definitely has the air of a hotel that is living off its past glory. The room was clean, but definitely in need of some TLC. (Someone had actually scratched the word DODE into the wall over the bedside lamp!) The paintwork is chipped, there are ridges in the carpet, & a plastic box cover in the wall wouldn't actually close. (This was just in our room.)|The TV is so small we didn't bother putting it on. It is tiny.|The windows in our room were a problem. They were dirty. They definitely looked like they haven't been cleaned on the outside in a very long time. We struggled to close the middle one in the evening to reduce the noise of the passing traffic & revellers, & the two windows on either side wouldn't open at all. (We opened the middle one during the day to try & cool the room as it has no air-conditioning.) Our room was on the side of the hotel where there is building work starting early in the morning. Not something you'd enjoy on a "relaxing break." We asked if we could be moved, but were told the hotel was full, so no. |The breakfast selection was ok. My husband really enjoys a cooked breakfast while in a hotel, but he had to use napkins to soak up the fat the sausages & bacon were sitting in, before eating them. (Not something we've ever had to do before.) The fat was enough to put me off, so I enjoyed the yoghurt & fruit. One morning I asked for poached eggs, but after a 15 minute wait I was told the order had not been passed on, & asked if I still wanted them. Yes I did. I did try the croissants, but I think they'd been in the warm counter so long they were always dry & crispy. Not the start to our day we were hoping for.|Paying well over £300 per night, for 3 nights, I expected something of a much higher standard. |Other things to look out for in room 417 are, the toilet takes ages to fill, the shower dial falls off when you change the temperature, & the sink plug doesn't work & hold water. |The majority of staff were very pleasant & helpful.|Prior to our arrival we brought to the hotel's attention that we'd received an email, (supposedly from them,) containing all our booking details, asking us to confirm our identity, including our credit card number. We called the hotel directly to check why we'd received this email only to be told by them, over the phone that "we've been hacked!" For some strange reason they didn't think this was important enough to inform us!! Because of their carelessness our data had been stolen & we had to cancel our credit card & order a new one. |There were far too many issues for it to be a slight oversight. Real changes need to be in place to bring rooms up to scratch. |Such a shame that standards have fallen so much since our first stay here. It was such a...