March 2024 by David Tidmarsh
Sadly a poor experience all round. Certainly not worth the price.On arrival, reception were not welcoming and sent us the wrong way up and down many stairs to find our room. English was second language for all staff we met except one and not at a level that could communicate as needed for staffing a hotel.No help to carry case to first floor; no lift. Arrived at room a long way from reception and card key did not work. Returned to reception; wrong room had been set on card key. Once in room, electrics on one side of the room did not work, including TV, kettle, lights above dresser and sockets for hair drying.We were give an 'upgraded' room no extra charge. Lovely view out on to Edinburgh and local park by the river. 4 poster bed with firm, good mattress. But bedding options were not enough. Tall ceiling as part of the original Georgian / Victorian hotel. Lovely old style thick curtains, but well worn and difficult to open and close. Carpets worn in room and on stairs. Much of the Scottish theme decoration and art work was faded and long past being appropriate.Tea supplies were meagre; two tea bags. Staff in bar (no one at reception) could not find any to top up. The furniture was semi-vintage of car boot sale standard; an attempt to provide period items to fit with vintage of hotel - on the cheap. The wardrobe was useless. Door did not close, too narrow for hangers and wobbly. Very few draws that opened for clothes.Bathroom / shower was great. Modernised and looked recent. Surprised that the soap and gels were such a cheap brand. Towels good and fluffy. Good night sleeping with little traffic noise.Breakfast. Self service buffet between 7.30 and 9 am. Doors close at 8.45 am. not the best timing for those wanting a relaxed start. All available was of the cheapest (wholesale / supermarket basic) brands; juice, bread, cereals, soft rancid butter, individual plastic marmalade / jam / honey, packet cheap croissants ... At 8.10 am the hot breakfast tray food were barely warm and short on content. No eggs, beans congealed, tomatoes over cooked. Top up only on request. Porridge ordered was under cooked.In such a long / large building, low level signs to fire exits very poor.Everything felt like cutting costs to a minimum to maximise profit. In need of an environmental impact review; a lot of waste and use of plastic.I made a suggestion to my wife. Along with many other hotels in Edinburgh, this might well be a hotel bought out by far east money as an investment to pack a profit over a set period on the back of the tourist / coach party / flight party / Edinburgh festival with minimal investment and running on the lowest overheads / costs possible to maximise profit. Out of season - run on a shoe string. Staffing costs kept to a minimum and I suspect the use of agencies. After carefully researching, it turns out I was absolutely right!
March 2024 by Nathan Tsang
Lovely hotel in a great location, public transport is very handy here. We could see the Edinburgh castle from our room. The room and the bathroom was lovely. I live the classic style of this accommodation. The staff are very friendly. There is a bar here too. The breakfast was very nice.
March 2024 by Teresa Megías
Rooms: Comida y silenciosa
March 2024 by Jimmy Caldwell
Delightful small hotel proving to be ideal for a Six Nations weekend. All staff so friendly and helpful. Rooms were clean and cosy. Enjoyed the service and drinks at the bar. Thankyou Jake. Really enjoyed a tasty Scottish fry up for breakfast. Another plus is the hotel is a registered stop on bus route so very easy to travel into the city centre. I?d certainly recommend the 2.8 mile walk into the city as there is plenty to see.I will return!
February 2024 by keenans bar
The staff are amazing we stayed Friday and Saturday cannot fault the service bar ,restaurant and reception aswel as the late evening reception staff all very
November 2023 by Nathan Shaw
I paid £75 a night on priceline which was around the cheapest non hostel hotel in the area. Room was a nice in general but a few bits showed why it was the price it was but it was still better than what I saw of other options for the price. Shower was very nice not these pathetic affairs you find in other cheap rooms. Bed was a bit firm and heating a little lackluster for a chilly autumn Scotland but nothing that was a deal breaker. Free customer parking. If you stay find Magnus the hotel cat chilling in the reception area very cute. In summary it's budget hotel price that's nice enough to not feel like prison or student accommodation room. Book if the hotel is only a means to an end for your holiday and you'll be pleasantly surprised. Would certainly stay again.Rooms: Rooms are a little plain and the heating left a bit to be desired even with the radiator and electric oil filled radiator found in the room turned on but still acceptable for the cheap Priceline price paid. However it was a bit annoying when the housekeeping took our towels that were air drying and folded them on the towel warmer as we came back to damp cold towels in the evening.Walkability: Not very walkable but from the 2 bus routes that stopped either right outside or 3-4 minutes down the road we could reach anywhere we wanted to go to.
November 2023 by John B
Great visit. Lovely room with super views. Breakfast also first class as was cleaning. Strongly
October 2023 by Sandeep Deb
Loved the stay in Briad Hills Hotel. Nice location and view of the park. Room was spacious. The icing on the cake was the surprise upgrade to deluxe.Really appreciate the hospitality of the staff to make our stay wonderful.
October 2023 by NAINA BHARTIA
The hotel is half an hour from the centre. But its a traditional built hotel with amazing view and location.Rooms were clean, cosy.Service was quick.Bathrooms were really big.Rooms: Rooms were amazing.We got an upgrade. That really made our day.
September 2023 by Philip Munnis
My family and I, from Yorkshire, have stayed here a few times. It is a large Victorian hotel. Yes it could do with modernising, and sprucing up, but it certainly has character, style, and is always welcoming. The rooms are typical of its kind, with high ceilings, big windows, large doors, and do feel that they could do with modernising, but we found them adequate comfortable and clean, with all the amenities one expects in any hotel room you might stay in.We only paid for breakfast. As per another review I read, breakfast was fine, typically cereals, fruits, yogurts, juices, toast, fried breakfast etc, perfectly adequate, but nothing to get excited about.It has ample parking, making it a good base for touring Edinburgh and the surrounding areas, but it is a little way from Edinburgh's centre, however there is a good bus service, which I have used, should you wish to leave the car behind. Alternatively, we tried heading out to the airport, where there is the Park & Ride free car park for the tram service that takes you directly into Princes Street. Certainly something to think about if you wish to avoid driving in, yet might be in the centre for most of the day.The foyer and bar feel cosy and welcoming with a good range of beers, spirits etc. However the one thing I will be forever grateful for to the Braids Hills Hotel is the hand wash soap in the foyer's toilets. It is or was Noble Isles' Whisky and Water hand soap, simply fantastic. Since discovering this we have never been without it in my own home.We would be happy to stay here again, and would suggest it be somewhere I'd recommend to, at least, try.
September 2023 by emilywU9319GL
The exterior of the hotel is beautiful. The look of an old building that you would expect in Edinburgh. My boyfriend and I checked in and were taken to a separate building where the club rooms were located. we liked the room and it?s privacy from the main hotel. However about an hour after settling in and unpacking our suitcases we hear this running water sound and we go into the washroom to investigate and see the toilet is leaking all over the floor , everything is soaked as there is water everywhere. We call the front desk and they send someone over and we are told we have to move rooms. We pack all our stuff back up and the hotel manager, a young guy, meets us outside to take us to our new room in the main hotel. He asks us what happened and we explained to him. he rudely asked us if ?one of us had a big dump? to make the toilet leak. We were appalled as this is so unprofessional. I didn?t even know how to respond. We were promptly taken to our new room which was an upgrade but I have to say I liked the old room more. There was also no apology or offer of a discount at the restaurant or something off our bill for the inconvenience. The next night we booked a table at the restaurant for dinner. The food was very underwhelming not seasoned well and very overpriced for what you get. The service was also very poor as we sat with our empty dinner plates for 15 mins before someone came up to take them. We just asked for the bill and went up to pay. The bill came to around 70 pounds and I proceeded to pay with a 50 pound note and a 20 pound note. However I was told they don?t take big notes (50 pounds) because a lot are counterfeit and it?s hotel policy. I have never heard of a restaurant not taking a 50. As a traveller from Canada I wanted to limit the use of my credit card and made sure I went to the bank before I left to get money out. The restaurant also told me that a lot of places in Edinburgh don?t accept 50 pound notes. This was a huge lie has i travelled the city extensively while there and no one gave me any issue with using a 50 pound note. I even went to the Edinburgh information building and used a 50 to buy tickets for an event and they didn?t give me any issues. I asked the girl at the desk if she has ever heard of anyone not taking 50 pounds and she looked confused and said she has never heard of that. I had to pay with my credit card at the restaurant instead receiving a conversion fee for the pounds to Canadian dollars. All in all the I plan on coming back to Edinburgh many times in the future but I will not be coming back here. To stay or eat.
September 2023 by A206DWmichaelb
I have stayed here many times because of the convenient situation of this hotel. Breakfast and evening meals are provided and are reasonably priced. Rooms can be hit and miss, some are well appointed and have city views, last time I had a turret room and the wind was so ferocious I thought the roof was going to blow off. Staff can be helpful at times at other times some can be slightly offhand. There is no lift and many stairs to the rooms so be aware when booking if you have mobility issues.
September 2023 by John Osbourne
We stayed there, and it was quite something. The rooms are outstanding. Everything is spotless. And the facilities are very much above and beyond. The food is first class,there has been allot of effort made into customer service. And it shows .plenty of parking space. Just a short bus ride to town.I would recommend it to everyone.
September 2023 by jaxjax1965
We decided to go to dinner for convenience of location to where we were staying but wish we hadn?t. We were not instilled with any confidence when we read the menu that contained a number of spelling mistakes. For some reason, the drinks menu was separate to the wine menu, and we had to ask for both. It was clear that the waiter had little idea about the menu and service but having said that, he was in training and he was eager to assist us as best he could. We had to ask what the soup of the day and pasta of the day were as the waiter had no idea. The chefs pasta of the day was said to be chicken and tomato ragu with some twisted shaped pasta as described by the staff. This turned out to be fettuccine topped with canned tomatoes and slices of chicken breast with seemingly little added flavouring apart from salt. The skin-on potato chips were skinless, oily and not worth the 5 pounds that we were charged. The bread on the egg sandwich was stale. The lentil and tomato soup was quite nice. However, the leaves of the accompanying salad were limp and well past their use by date. Overall the meal was a disappointing experience and overpriced.
September 2023 by Davy Winton
Was at our friend's wedding 9 September 2023. Wedding was great and well attended which made it. However the Bar service is the worst I've ever seen in my life. Absolutely clueless bar staff who didn't even know how to pour a drink. Absolute shambles in pricing and lifting unfinished drinks from table and bar. Absolutely appalling. It won't encourage me to revisit in the future. Less than half a star. Very Very poor
