Grassmarket hotel

I would recommend

We chose this hotel because we weren’t going to be in Edinburgh very long and it was located near most of the sites. It was a wise choice.

Traveler's tip on dining

We recommend the Thai Orchid which is a close walk from the hotel. Reasonable price and excellent food.

Very down at the heels

This hotel is in terrible physical condition. The location is good, and the price is relatively low. But the furnishings are old and in need of repair, from peeling paint, to stained carpet, to lamps falling out of their wall attachments. The attendant was friendly but there is little other service. The rooms have old-fashioned keys -- which is fine -- but you must turn in your key before you leave the premises, even if you have not checked out. This doesn’t speak well for their opinion of their clientele. I would NOT recommend staying there.

To avoid

Poor hotel management. Very unfriendly.

Great Location

I would stay at this hotel again. It has a fantastic location right by the Royal Mile. The elevator only goes to certain rooms for some reason, so I had to carry my bags to the third floor, but that is more than made up for by the location. The bar downstairs has great food and service. The hotel is older and rundown, but for the price, it is worth the money.

Traveler's tip on getting the most out of your stay

The New Years celebration Hogmanay is a huge deal in Edinburgh. They celebrate New Years for an entire week. If you are looking for a quiet stay, avoid New Years. Call ahead to book the whiskey tour and Real Mary King’s Close, neither could take walk-ins, even during the off season. They could only book for the next day.

Great no frills (better than a hostel) hotel

Great location first of all. Right next to the Royal Mile. In fact, a city walking tour took a mid tour lunch break at the bar next to this hotel. Room was quite small, but enough for a couple who do not require tons of space (which we are). Staff was very helpful and friendly, although wake-up calls were 30 minutes late. Use your cell’s alarm to backup. Only other issue was the bar located right under our room. It was very loud, but we were so tired we were able to sleep.

Traveler's tip on saving a few bucks

Take the Free Tour. Pamphlets are in the lobby. Terrific 3 hour tour of the city by great guides who do it for only tips. We gave 10 pounds for 2 people, but others gave less. We were just very pleased.

Great location

Good two star hotel. Our room was spacious and clean. The best thing about this hotel is the location. You can walk to all the attractions.

Noisy but comfortable

Great location and clean room. Very noisy as it’s next to a Pub. Bring earplugs or ask for a fan! Front desk staff very helpful.

good value for the seasoned traveler

This hotel isn’t luxary accomodation, but for travelers whose purpose is to get out and see things, rather than focus on their room, it is excellent. Provides simple, comfortable convenient place to sleep, great location,very near Edinburgh Castle/Royal Mile, restaurants, shops. Overall, you couldn’t do better. If you have a lot/heavy luggage, consider cab from the train station to the hotel, it is cheap and well worth not having to pull luggage up the long, step steps in the "closes" between streets. Pubs next door,small grocery stores,you can walk to full restaurants on Royal Mile. Hotel staff adequate and well intentioned, but appeared inexperienced.Breakfast was good (cost extra) but like everything else expensive, we skipped it after the first one and bought from bakeries, etc. on the street. The room was huge, had a good television, good en suite bath, complimentary coffee/tea/and shortbread each morning . It was clean overall,but carpet had definitly seen better days. That was really the only fault with the room, and pretty minor all else considered. We would definitly stay there again, and recommend it to others.

Traveler's tip on getting the most out of your stay

Plan your day so you minimize walking and back tracking between sights, Edinburgh is very hilly, and the streets all go up or down some very steeply.

Most horrible two nights ever

The only thing this hotel has going for it is the location. The room smelled moldy from the beginning. My clothes left with that stench. The service was unreliable. You need to leave your room key at reception every time you leave the hotel and pick it up when you get back. Upon return one day, I had to wait 15 minutes to get any service. I went to the bar to ask if they had any information on the girl at the front desk and was told that they don’t have any connection with the hotel. The girl came out of the bar 10 minutes later with a cup of coffee and the bartender and the receptionist were chatting it up the next day. I prefer not being lied to.

Traveler's tip on recreational activities

Take a trip to the highlands

Great Location, Horrible bed

I’ll start with the extrememly positive. The price and location of the hotel was absolutely fantastic for my stay in Edinburgh. It was just up the street and around the corner from the Royal Mile, which was fantastic. I even liked having the bar right next door, Biddy Mulligans, to go to after a day of walking. Pretty good open mic nights there. Now to the bad. While the room was a great size, the bed was really uncomfortable. I sleep on my side and I actually had bruises on my hips from whatever tags (or something) were on the bed. My last night in the hotel, I slept on about 4 pillows and wish I had thought of that sooner. Also, the elevator went out of order after my first day. It wasn’t a real problem for me, since I was on the first floor, but I felt sorry for people that had to go any further than that.

Traveler's tip on local attractions

The Real Mary King’s Close was a great tour - right on the Royal Mile. And aside from Edinburgh Castle (of course), Calton Hill and Arthur’s Seat defintely deserve a visit for some great city views.

Great location, not very comfortable

I stayed at the Grassmarket on May 16th and 17th, 2008. The hotel is in a prime location which is probably its biggest selling point and the staff was friendly and helpful. The castle and Royal Mile are just behind the hotel a couple of minute walk away. There’s tons of restaurants and pubs within a few minutes walk as well (including a very popular bar right next door and some others just down the block). There’s nightclubs just up the next street if you want to go there after the pubs close at 1am. Even though there’s lots of activity near by, my room was still very quiet. As far as the rooms go, mine was the smallest hotel room I’ve ever seen. It was clean and the bed was comfortable, but I’m 6’5" tall and could not even come close to standing up in the room. The ceiling was probably 6’3". The shower ceiling was even worse at about 6’ and my TV didn’t work. My stay was short and I was by myself (and had already paid through Expedia) so I dealt with it, but I’d probably try to find another option next time. If you’re shorter and don’t mind a tiny room, the price and location are great and the rooms are clean. I’d rather stay in this location than on Princes street.

Modest but comfortable rooms, best location imaginable, very reasonable $

Adjacent pub (so stay on 3rd or 4th floor if you want really quiet, though even 2nd floor), great service, clean rooms with good shower, can’t beat the location. I’ll stay here again!!

Great hotel

The staff is nice. They helped us a lot. The Royal Mile is almost round the corner and the hotel is placed in a safe area. This is great when you come back to the hotel late at night.

Too noisy-no a/c.

Hotel is pretty clean although small. Staff not very friendly and there was construction going on along Grassmarket street. With the bar next door letting out every night, it was very noisy. Our curtains fell down as well. Hotel is conveniently located but I wouldn’t stay there again.

Decent option

This is an ok hotel. I would have no concerns about staying here again. Everything was acceptable, and I agree with many of the other reviews posted here that could arise. There are bars in the area - though I was not disturbed, perhpas it was a function of timing of my stay. There is an incredibly long and awkward walk from the lobby to the rooms, requiring stairs. The hotel is not to far from the train station, but it is an impossible walk with luggage, up and down steep hills on cobblestone. All in all a decent place to stay

Traveler's tip on recreational activities

Take a day tour to the countryside - well worth it, but be sure to make reservations because many trips sell out....also for some reason, convenience food marts are rare and hard to find in Endinborough, so stock up on goods when possible

Tiny rooms, but good value for money

This was one of the cheapest downtown Edinburgh hotels and the location is great. But rooms are tiny, in all dimensions. My ceiling was at 6’5" exactly! Noise can be a problem, too, especially with people out in the corridor. But I have to admit I couldn’t hear the street noise at all (except one night when I later discovered that the housekeeping people had left the window ajar). The room was very clean and, all in all, I enjoyed my stay.

Great Location, Tidy, and Fun

We stayed for three nights while attending a wedding in Edinburgh. All in all, if you’ve traveled Europe at all, you’ll appreciate this hotel as having local flavor (its attached to a great pub which serves tasty breakfast) with reasonable costs (not a hostel, but not a snobby chain), in a great location, with clean and bigger than average rooms

Good value overall

This hotel was a good value for the money. My room (including the bathroom) was very clean. Although I was on the same side of the hotel as the bar I didn’t really notice much noise. The best part of my stay was the nicely done Scottish breakfast. My side of the hotel didn’t have an elevator so be prepared to carry bags up a few flights of stairs. The bus to the airport is about a 10 minute walk from the hotel. The bus runs 24 hrs.

great hotel

not a huge room, but great location. friendly staff and clean rooms. loved it. friday and saturday nights kinda busy due to clubs, but rest of the week is quiet. just steps below royal mile and the castle. can’t wait to go back.

Nice Hotel - Could be Better

This hotel was truly confusing to me. It could be a really really nice hotel, but it seems they have settled for being merely a good one. The location is excellent, right off of the Royal Mile and on a street with shops and pubs. Great location. The hotel itself is where I was most confused. The rooms were extremely large for Europe. The beds were really large. The bathroom was really large. In general, the cleanliness was great. However, a few little things here and there were noticable. A huge stain on the carpet, a few lights that didn’t work, and one ceiling light that was dangling by the electrical cords, and dirty curtains. It seems a little effort would turn this into a great hotel. Overall though, I think the location and general level of the hotel would make me stay here again if I returned to Edinburgh.

Traveler's tip on local attractions

The Royal Mile is on an extremely steep hill. Start the day off at the Edinburgh Castle so that you can spend the entire walk going downhill, instead of uphill.