Yotel Edinburgh

I had a ground floor room and as, other reviews have mentioned, the rooms are not very sound proofed. I was adjacent to the room where breakfast is hosted and, despite having a corridor in between, the sound of chairs being dragged across the floor was as if it was overhead. This also occurred bizarrely as late as 11pm and as early as 6.30am. I sleep with earplugs in anyway, and I would consider them absolutely essential as the noise of the water pipes and air conditioning is also quite significant. The room was clean and nicely laid out but there didn't seem to be a way to turn on the reading lamps and the TV's brightness had been turned way down with no way to access the settings to turn it back up. The AC would turn itself back after about half an hour of turning it off, which meant it would come back on while sleeping, blasting cold air. There was also no kettle or hot drink making facilities which is unusual in a UK hotel. It's an exceptionally busy hotel, with coach loads of tourists waiting for buses in the foyer most of the time. None of this really bothers me but if you want a quiet hotel, this isn't the one. The breakfast was decent but expensive for what it was (£16.99). The self-check-in and check-out was straightforward and convenient to use. It's also really centrally located without being on the absolute busiest roads. The bed was comfy as well, which is always a relief.

This was my first time staying at this hotel after reading many reviews, and here are my thoughts: The room was clean and nicely presented, and the location is excellent – right in the city centre, which is very convenient. I arrived early, around 12:30 PM, and asked if early check-in was possible (standard check-in is 3 PM). The receptionist confirmed it was, but only with an additional charge – no complimentary option was offered. This was actually the first time I’ve ever had to pay for early check-in. On top of that, I was told that more charges would apply if I didn’t check out by 11 AM sharp, which felt a bit harsh. While the room was clean, it was not soundproof. I could hear noises from the corridor – from cleaning staff to other guests closing their doors – which made it hard to fully relax. There was no kettle in the room and no room service available. So, every time I wanted a coffee or tea, I had to go all the way down to the ground floor. My room was on the fifth floor, so this became quite inconvenient. The bar and restaurant had a very laid-back attitude, and the service was extremely slow – not ideal if you’re looking for efficiency or attentive service. Overall, the hotel does have potential because of its cleanliness and central location, but the lack of basic amenities, poor soundproofing, and disappointing service really let it down. They claim to be a four-star hotel – but having no kettle in the room and no room service just doesn’t reflect that standard.

A good location, undone by staggeringly badly-designed rooms. The bathroom has no door or partition separating it from the main room, with the shower and toilet in small cubicles. Obviously, this means that to use the loo in the night, you need to switch on the room's main light, to the 'delight' of your no-longer-sleeping partner. For maximum inconvenience, the sole switch is located by the door. The towel rail is, inexplicably, located in the toilet cubicle. There is no wardrobe, although there are hangers on a couple of rails in the room. One of the bedside tables has copious plug sockets, while the other side completely lacks them. The rooms lack tea & coffee-making facilities, although the management graciously allows you to carry hot drinks from the bar to your room; this prospect is as-appealing as it sounds when you're on the fifth floor. The air-conditioning is loud and effective, annoyingly switching itself back on about an hour after you have switched it off. The safe was also broken on arrival; reception advised that Facilities would call the next day to repair it, but the were presumably unable to do so. Housekeeping was to a high standard, with the room impeccably cleaned each day. I see that in replying to reviews, the management describe their offering as stripping back "frills" from the hotel experience. This cunning formulation appears intended to allow themselves to charge four-star prices for rooms which lack basic design conveniences found in even a standard Travelodge. I would go to considerable lengths to avoid staying in this hotel again.