voco Edinburgh - Royal Terrace by IHG — Hotel in City of Edinburgh

Booked via IHG as we’ve had really good experiences at Voco hotels including the sister hotel in Edinburgh. This was a real mistake, a couple of days before check in I got a welcome anticipation email from ihg, run of the mill type looking forward to welcoming you. But I did notice a page to click on that informed me that due to ongoing staffing issues the restaurant and room service wasn’t operational. They did however say breakfast was being served as usual. I did contact them and suggested they could have let guests know when booking since this was ongoing for some time. We checked in and were informed we’d been upgraded to a premium king which we thought was a nice touch. That was until we saw the room. Rather tired and rather peculiar. A large room with a rather tacky four poster bed frame surrounding a standard king divan. No sense of style or aesthetic value. Housekeeping was poor, bottle tops from previous guests found under the chairs and bed and rather a lot of dust. I understand this Voco is an old Crowne Plaza, old is the operative and any refurbishment hasn’t made it to the rooms, the premium king at least. A MASSIVE tv perched on top of the blanked off marble fireplace suggested interactivity, smart tv, choice. No, just the usual 5 hd channels and no casting because the wifi connectivity had been switched off. Any chance they could switch it on. No. Heating was none existent and ranged from chilly to just about bearable. I tried the various control buttons and looked up the device online as there were no instructions but all that happened was the heater/air con made a few clicking and clacking sounds and blew out cold air so I switched it off. Reception weren’t any help, I asked for assistance and nothing happened, I mentioned it again the day we checked out and they told me they had no record of there being a problem… Breakfast was ok, nothing special and a bit run down although I have to say the staff at breakfast service were brilliant. Really upbeat and helpful. They kind of made the stay bearable. The bathroom in the room was again tired and ill thought out although I wouldn’t be surprised if I were told it was freshly refurbished. When deciding on bathroom furniture, think it through. Choose a washbasin stand that doesn’t take up a quarter of the limited space and above all make sure it doesn’t interfere with one’s ability to sit on the loo without having to turn sideways as there’s not enough leg room. I was informed at checkin that the manager wanted to gave a word with me, related to the ongoing restaurant problem I thought. I was told the manager on duty was the maintenance manager and maybe I should wait until the general manager was on duty, I agreed and said I would let reception know when I was going to be around. When I did I was told the manager was in meetings but they would get hold of me. They never did. Would I stay here again, probably not. Would I stay at another Voco, not sure. Would I stay in another brand IHG...

Stayed here for three nights. We had three rooms for our party one on the first floor and two on the second. All rooms need a review of the lighting as rooms are quite dark. Old building so uneven floor is to be expected but decor is in need of upgrading. Beds are comfortable but a small double was a shock in an age where king beds are pretty standard but we survived. Baby cot provided was old and uncomfortable and our 18 month old (and us) had three sleepless nights. Ensuite was tiny although sufficient shower water was tepid at best, but this was not the experience of showers in other 2 rooms. Odd though that other two rooms were given baths but the room assigned to us and baby had a shower only! Very inconsiderate not to give a family with baby a bath in ensuite. Breakfast arrangements need an overhaul. Having heavy lids on self service breakfast dishes you have to lift but have no space to place down just does not work! Breakfast items also were hardly if at all replenished sufficiently on all three mornings we were there. Both restaurant managers were lacking in customer relation etiquette (red haired lady was rude and abrupt, tall man would not engage with us and yet served other people he seated around us with orange juice and coffee etc) but waiting staff were a bit more friendly. When seated no one asks if you would like tea or coffee or to order from the menu. On all three mornings we has to beg a staff member to take egg orders and serve ourselves coffee toast and juice. The first morning we had to wait 20 minutes for a table so learnt the following 2 mornings not to ask to seat near each other or together. Eggs Benedict was disappointing (is hollandaise sauce from a packet?!) but omelette was fine. Bar man was fantastic. He asked all three evenings if he could heat our daughters baby bottle and he was pleasant and engaging with all 6 of us. Reception staff are also polite efficient and friendly. Walk in to city centre is about 15 minutes and 20 to old town. Lots of little bars and restaurants are at the bottom of the hotel hill and good choices too. Hotel is located on a quite street so no noise at night and safe to walk. Would recommend for short city trips to couples without babies but be prepared for a workout when serving yourself breakfast in...

When we arrived, the lobby was beautiful and we were greeted warmly. We were surprised by the tiniest of rooms considering all the pictures online showed very spacious, well-appointed rooms. While we spent about $1000 for 5 nights in a major city, it is never nice to feel fooled. I would have sprung for a more expensive room if I had known how small the room, bed and bathroom would be. The bed was about 40 inches wide and the bathroom was literally 3x4 feet. This was the single, double room. A standard double bed is 58 inches wide. This bed was scantly larger than a twin. When my husband and I laid down, there was no room on either side of us. He actually felt my side of the bed once because he thought I was on his side! The bathroom was not clean. The shower was a gradient white to yellow as it went down from the top. It was obvious no one was scrubbing the walls of the shower. As soon as we turned the water on, the pan began to fill up. It was clogged. SO GROSS to stand in drain water to try to clean yourself! We told the desk and while the shower was scrubbed clean, the drain was still clogged. I went back to the desk and told them I could show them how to clear the drain if they needed. The second time, someone DID get it cleared. The other thing is - If someone has to tell you that the shower is not clean, you would think they would clean the rest of the dirty bathroom when they had to come for the shower. The grout was supposed to be white, but was a dark grey in the walk area. There was so much mold and rust on the underside of the shower door that when finished with a shower and opening the door, the water would drip black onto the bathmat. The attention to detail was seriously lacking. I worked as a hotel maid for 3 years and this was an abysmal excuse for cleaning. The maintenance is not great either. Lumpy bumpy grout over mold around the sink and shower. We could have dealt with small, but this was insulting. All of the staff at the hotel were very kind and polite. We really tried to be nice when it came to the issues we incurred. I understand it is not the fault of those at the desk. This hotel could be SO much greater with a bit more effort in a...