Edinburgh City Centre (Princes Street) hotel

There are things to like and not like at the Premier Inn. We had a large room with a view of the Castle, a premium room with a sofa and chair. Not that much more expensive than a “regular” room. A queen bed was okay. Much of the space in the room was wasted. The desk, just barely adequate in size, could easily have been bigger. There was one bench that served as a luggage rack, but there was no place else for a second suitcase. It ended up sitting slightly precariously on the end of the desk. All the space in the middle of the room was wasted. There were plenty of plugs on the desks and nightstands. Lots of hotels fail this plug test. But there were only two USB ports in the room (one on each side of the bed), and both were USB-A ports. No USB-C ports anywhere. No USB ports at all on the desk. The bathroom was big, but there was only one sink. There were not enough towel racks, and the room came without adequate towels for two people. More towels were readily available by asking, however. There was not enough room on the extended sink for two toiletry kits, although there was a hanger on the door that held another one. Curiously, there were no other hooks in the bathroom. There was a night light in the bathroom, but it was too bright. There were NO electrical outlets in the bathroom at all. Never saw a hotel room before without a bathroom outlet. There were no facial tissues anywhere, another hotel rarity. Weirdly, there were two modestly heavy heaters in a closet. You had to take a heater out, plug it in somewhere, and then adjust it somehow to your taste. Want heat in the bathroom? Sorry. No electrical outlets in the bathroom! Even weirder, a heater turned out to be useful when shoes got soaked on a rainy day. Go figure! Shower was okay (no tub), but it was mildly slippery, and there are no grab bars. There was “free” wi-fi and premium wi-fi. The free version worked okay (but very slowly at times) with occasional outages and the need to reconnect. I got codes for the premium wi-fi, but I could not enter them because the wi-fi never prompted me for the codes so I couldn’t connect that way. Overall, the Internet here was below average. There were two extra pillows in the room, so you didn’t have to ask for more. That was good. Street noise was mildly noticeable, but I guess that’s the price you pay for a view. There was also some internal noise from showers in other rooms. There were several coat hooks by the door. That was a nice touch. There were two pieces of chocolate in the room, but both were milk chocolate rather than dark. Now I’m just getting petty. Overall, the room was decent, but nothing wonderful. The lack of first-class Internet was the most troubling issue for me. Would I stay in another Premier Inn? Maybe, but it would not be my first (or second) choice.

We travelled here by taxi from the airport so did not have the issue of car parking as it is not available at the hotel itself. This Premier Inn is in a great location near the opposite end of Princes Street to Waverley Station. There are many bus stops - and many buses - which stop outside of the hotel to take you down to Waverley if you do not wish to walk even though it is not that far. Elderly people might notice the distance though. Breakfast - as always at a Premier Inn - was fabulous and there was plenty of it. We booked a Plus room on this occasion which was quite roomy, certainly big enough for two people. This "upgrade" included a better version of WiFi. It was a bit hit and miss though - when it was good, it was great, however it dropped out a number of times which was quite frustrating. The need to log in each day with a different password also was frustrating. The bed was very comfortable with pillows to match. We were disappointed at the lack of towels - we were not given bathmat or hand towels when we first arrived and these were only provided after we had requested our room to be cleaned a couple of days after we had arrived. The "cleaning" process apparently did not include vacuuming the floor either as it was not done. Would I recommend - probably but only because of its location

Great location on Princes Street reasonably close to both Edinburgh railway stations and many attractions such as the National Gallery. Paid a couple of pounds extra for a spectacular view of tge Castle which was well worth it. Room was perfectly good and a reasonable rate (for central Edinburgh). Breakfast was OK but could have been better.

I was very satisfied with my stay. The room was clean and spacious, featuring extremely comfortable mattresses. Both check-in and check-out were efficient and straightforward.

Hotel is nice. Premier Plus rooms are as expected. If you want a room at the front with views of the castle, don’t expect a good night’s sleep. Constant traffic and footfall noise throughout the night, the windows may as well be made from clingfilm, no soundproofing whatsoever.