Old Town Chambers, Autograph Collection — Local services in City of Edinburgh

We stayed here for 6 nights, in two different apartments. Both had problems.

First one we were offered (apartment #44) had a deep loud noise coming from the boiler. It was so loud that woke us up early (6:00AM) next morning.

So we contacted the concierge and made them aware of the problem. They feigned to take note and said that they were going to call maintenance and check it1].

We were told that there was no issue. The wording that they used when talking to us was careful not to say that there was no sound. They said that according to maintenance there was no issue[2].

We quickly find out that this was a known issue and that we were not the first ones to complain about it.

Despite the complains, not only they put offer this apartment to people but they play dumb and make you feel like you are crazy and tiresome by complaining about it. Clearly unethical behavior to me. Simply unacceptable. No excuse for it.

They offered to move us to a different apartment. It was a downgrade but the concierge lady told us that that was the only apartment available for our stay (5 more nights). After debating our options, we went and speak to another person who was able to placed us in a similar apartment (wohooo!!).

We had no heating the first night. We made concierge aware next day and they sent maintenance to fix the boiler. We were told that pressure was down.

Next day, the person who was sleeping in the first bedroom said that the temperature was too warm during the night and couldn't get proper sleep. We found out that two radiators close to the first bedroom were always full on despite the setpoint temperature of the heating system.

We raised the issue once again to concierge. The same lady who was incapable of giving us a similar apartment was unable to turn the radiators off [3.

She offered us fans to use for the night (temperature was above 25 degrees celsius, 77 fahrenheit) and she said that she was going to send maintenance next day. I declined the fans offer and after she left, I managed to change the mode of the boiler, switching radiator heating off.

It is important to note that she failed to send maintenance next day and no one ask us again about the issue. We let it pass since I now had learned to switch the boiler mode and could circumvent the issue.

In summary, this is an expensive place and the last thing you want to do during your vacations is to be thinking about housing problems. Yes, design is nice and location is great but management behavior is unethical and unacceptable.

I will probably pick another hotel for my next stay in Edinburgh.

Martin.

[1]: We were quite puzzled by the fact that they wouldn't come to the apartment and check the sound in person

[2]: We also found out that evening that the kitchen extractor was broken

[3]: At first, the woman lied saying that the bathroom radiator couldn't be turned off because it was automatic wanting to dismiss the problem but then I pointed to her a second radiator and couldn't...

I had planned a special trip to Edinburgh for my girlfriend’s birthday, and we were really excited to stay at Cheval Old Town Chambers. It looked like the perfect spot, as it is beautiful, well-rated, and in a great location. We booked it months in advance and were counting the days.

Unfortunately, literally minutes before boarding our flight, our whole trip fell apart. Our connection through Heathrow was cancelled due to an emergency power outage caused by fires. The airport shut down for hours, and our entire itinerary was cancelled. There was no way to reach Edinburgh in time. The airline swiftly cancelled and refunded our flights automatically (even though they were non refundable), because this wasn’t just some delay or inconvenience, it was a complete shutdown of a major international airport due to a serious and uncontrollable event.

I contacted the hotel immediately to explain the situation and see if anything could be done. I emphasized that if a refund wasn’t possible, I’d gladly accept a credit for future use—something I assumed would be viewed as a willingness to reschedule the trip at a later date. Still, I was told there was absolutely nothing they could do. I wasn’t trying to get around their policy or ask for something unreasonable—I really just hoped they’d understand that this was completely outside our control.

Instead, I was referred to my credit card insurance (which doesn’t cover it either) and told there was nothing they could do to help. That was it. No empathy, no gesture of goodwill—just a flat and dismissive response.

I work hard for my money. This trip wasn’t cheap, and losing over $1,000 for a stay I never got to take—because of an emergency I couldn’t control—really stings. I completely understand having policies, but when you’re charging this much and branding yourself as a luxury accommodation, there should be room for basic decency. This wasn’t a change of heart or poor planning—it was a serious, documented travel disruption.

We never made it to Edinburgh. We lost a lot of money. And honestly, the most disappointing part was how quickly and coldly we were dismissed. If you’re booking here, just know that if something serious goes wrong, even through no fault of your own, this hotel will not help you. No flexibility, no compassion. I recommend looking into travel insurance if you’re planning on staying here, because if you had told me that a major international airport would be shut down for an entire day, seemingly out of nowhere, then I would’ve looked...

This was the first stop on a 3 city tour. This hotel is exceptional. I was severely disappointed with our other hotels after staying here. The location is perfect. Directly across the street from St Giles, a 10 minute walk to the castle, lovely restaurants and shopping very close, and a convenience store one block away. We were in a two room apartment and it was so clean, well decorated, spacious and with every amenity you could want. I usually don't use the hotel shampoo/conditioner because they aren't usually any good however the product they use is very nice. There was an espresso maker, kettle, dishwasher, refrigerator/freezer, ice cube tray, air drying clothes rack, iron and ironing board and a washer/dryer. The coffee and tea were very good and milk was stocked in the fridge, and had all detergents needed included under the sink. I was pleasantly surprised that the tap water in Edinburgh is so good. We filled all of our water bottles before moving on to our next stop. There was a lovely large dining table and an office area with lightning and electrical.The lounge had windows all around and the couch was very comfortable. The bathrooms were very large and spacious as well. The only warning I have is that in the master bathroom, the towel warmer is right outside the shower and I bumped it getting out of the shower and almost burned my arm. It gets very hot so be careful around it however having warm towels was very nice after a shower. The beds were very comfortable with nice linens. The TV's in the bedrooms have the ability to connect to your devices so you can stream directly to the TV. This was a very nice added bonus! All of the staff were so friendly and helpful. One lovely gentleman carried our very heavy suitcases all the way to the bottom of the steps and pointed us in the direction of the train station. The adjoining restaurant, the Luckenbooths, is where the breakfast is and it was exceptional. We actually ate here for a lunch and dinner it was so good. So for the not so good the floors are very squeaky, you cannot walk anywhere except the bathrooms without the floors squeaking. Also the apartment is on the side by the close and it gets very noisy very early and late in the evening. Someone decided to start pressure washing at 7am. We turned on the tv to help drown out the noise. We loved our experience and will definitely stay here again on...