After a long drive and a challenge finding the hotel due to the number of road closures, road works we finally arrived. The doorman helped us unload the car and valet parked it for us. Check in was friendly and efficient and we were directed to our Junior Suite number 360. Not what we were expecting, given the two pictures of the Junior Suites on the hotel website. They looked cosy, our was just big with a round table by the window, with 3 chairs! Windows overlooking Princess Street. As there are office building opposite, we had, for any privacy, to draw the main curtains during the day. Some blinds or long net curtains would be beneficial Terrible small bathroom, shower in the bath!. Come on this is a Suite - The dressing room was a big, we felt the design of the room was wasted. it was just a big room, no welcoming, to be honest a bit drab - They could have made a much more luxurious bathroom. Brasserie Prince is perfect. Great cocktail, wine, Champagne list. We were looked after by Joanna. Very welcoming. Friendly. Helpful and knowledgeable about drinks. we had dinner at Number One. We enjoyed it so much we tried to book again, but Sadly it is closed on Tuesday & Wednesday - Keith and the team were exceptional. Thank you for making our evening so memorable. Phil looked after us at breakfast. What a credit to the hotel. Engaging, efficient very friendly. We dinned at Brasserie Prince both of the other evenings and had the pleasure of being looked after on evening by Dimitri who was as everyone was, friendly, very efficient and engaging. Would we go back, location yes, rooms no, service yes. Number One restaurant, definitely.…
This place is simply marvellous. The view, the food, the rooms, the customer service, each one all top drawer. I could not believe how amazing this place was! I will definitely be back, it has the perfect location, right in the heart of the city!
Firstly staff were wonderful... Our room was a deluxe King with city view, not the nicest of views, the roof of Waverley Station, have stayed in nicer rooms at a third of the price elsewhere so we were a bit deflated and guess we assumed it would be more luxurious than it was for the price we paid. Breakfast was nice but very pricey £29 each, and again have had the same quality at half that price elsewhere There was a service charge on everything , even on top of the price of your room - for housekeeping to make your bed and swap towels I guess, which of course you don't have to pay but be aware it's on your bill. We were quite happy to pay Balmoral prices as it was a special occasion break, but we just expected the room to be a bit more special I think....we couldn't even have a nice biscuit with our coffee in the room, there was only a bag of crisps at £4 or a bar of chocolate at £6 haha.. your bed was turned over on an evening with a teabag left at the end of your bed, a nice chocolate would have been nice too.. Having said that we had a lovely time, staff were so friendly and helpful, we can now say we have stopped at the Balmoral, but prob won't stop again as room was slightly disappointing for the price. We had afternoon tea in Palm court, which was lovely, can highly recommend that.…
Had an excellent time from check in to check out. Staff very supportive and friendly, room large and well appointed. We arrived late but Bistro held kitchen open so we could have a late dinner after a long day of traveling. Also enjoyed the Scotch Bar and I am not a regular whiskey drinker. A bit difficult to choose between 500 versions of whiskey, but whiskey sommelier knew his stuff, and his recommendations were on point. One point to note is that the bathtub in our deluxe suite is huge. Really huge. Great if you want to take a swim. But difficult to climb in or out (more like hurdle over) just to take a shower.
We had a four day stay in mid-June that was absolutely lovely. There were 6 of us, including 2 kids ages 11 & 7, and everybody had an absolute blast. The kids were served cookies every day at 5, and they were gifted welcome packages complete with stuffies. Breakfast was decadent, and the staff were remarkably attentive. All of us were spoiled. Our youngest already asked when we can come back and we just left yesterday.
Beware. We stayed at the Balmoral which was booked through our private tour company. We were promised (and paid for) an executive old city view. If you look on the hotel's website, the executive old city view looks lavish and large with two large windows. The room we were given was quite small with one small window. In fact, it looked exactly like the standard (classic)) room on the website pictures. When I complained, I was promised a room change for the better the following day. My mistake was that I took the front desk staff's word that the room would be larger and more like the larger room picture on the website. It was actually smaller (smaller window, smaller bathroom as well ) We were flabbergasted and felt that our good faith had been taken advantage of. Although the hotel lobby and dining room were beautiful and the concierge, dining and bellman staff were wonderful and attentive, the hotel room issue was so disappointing and we felt so deliberately cheated, that I will probably not visit this hotel again.…
We spent three nights in one of the inner facing rooms. It was very quiet and comfortable. Normal TV and WiFi , marble bathroom etc. If I was picky I would say that a shower rather than shower in the bath would have given more room and been easier to get in and out. The beds and pillows were comfortable. The breakfast choice was extensive and tasty and the Crispy Bacon roll was a favorite. It is next to the train station on Prince's St and a short walk from numerous restaurants, shops and attractions. The Brasserie for dinner was an unexpected bonus.
Every part of this hotel experience is just wonderful. Check-in is uncomplicated; the staff, throughout the hotel and with no exceptions had a smile and an “Hello” every time we saw them. Afternoon tea was fabulous; thank you Omar and team. The Scotch Whisky bar was brilliantly hosted by Ross, whose knowledge and recommendations were impressive. Bedrooms are nice. The atmosphere is informal and friendly and one feels very welcome.
It’s been some time since I last stayed at The Balmoral and it’s brilliant to see continual investment in the hotel. I stayed in an executive room, which had been tastefully re-decorated with some stunning wallpaper and the finishing touches you’d expect from Olga Polizzi, including some great Scottish touches, such as Timorous Beasties cushions. Although I was surprised to see no reading material in the room. Lighting, in particular, had been well thought out and the room was superb. Cleanliness was top notch and housekeeping efficient, including an excellent turn down service. Staff were excellent, particularly in Bar Prince and Number One, where they took time to talk to you and addressed you by name fairly soon into your stay. Number One served some excellent food, with exemplary service: the loss of the Michelin star perplexed me… Surely this will return?!In the bar, and brasserie, the food was unfussy and tasty. Evening service in the brasserie was a tad impersonal, however. Breakfast better. Scotch was great, and the knowledge of the two gentlemen was incredible, they both run a very special bar. I’m comparison, for example, to Brown’s Hotel it’s larger and feels less intimate and perhaps a little less polished but it’s still really rather good, with staff who clearly love their jobs. Totally deserving of the Forbes Five Star rating and easily the best hotel in Scotland. Thank you for a lovely stay. …
Because our experience in parts was amazing and in other parts incredibly disappointing I am unusually going to start this review with a summery so you don't have to read the full rant below unless you really you want to. So to summaries we will not be staying in this or any other Rocco Forte Hotel ever again. We have stayed in other hotels in Edinburgh where the rooms were just as nice, the service much more personal and the rooms were considerably less expensive, and had no hidden costs that you are guilted into paying for. That being said we will be back to the Brasserie Prince and for afternoon tea at the palm court as these experience were so good I will remember them for the rest of my life. We found this hotel to be a bit of a mixed bag, when we visited it recently for my Wife's birthday. I will start with the positives. The afternoon tea in Palm Court, was amazing and felt very special indeed. The choice of teas was mind blowing and the food even better. I had mentioned in advance that it was my Wife's birthday, they brought out the cakes with a candle in and the harpist (that was playing lovely background music) played Happy Birthday To You, which absolutely made the experience for us. We had dinner in Brasserie Prince which is attached to the hotel and I would have to say I cannot think of an occasion when I have ever had a better dinning experience. The food was out of this world and the service was amazing, simply second to none. Again they remembered that it was my Wife's birthday and gave us both a glass of champagne on the house. My Wife had two Spa treatments and she raved about them for days afterwards to anyone who would listen. She said to me repeatedly that they were by far the best spa treatments she had ever had. The hotel on the other hand was a complete disappointment. Not one member of staff wished my Wife a happy Birthday despite me making sure this was mentioned on the booking and again when we checked in (which seemed to come as a surprise to the checking staff). I had upgraded my booking from an executive double to a junior suite, on-line about a month prior to arrival. This upgrade seemed to have been lost in the ether. I did not want to make a fuss in front of my Wife so had to accept this mistake. Although when I did report this to the check-in staff, I was offered a Junior Suite at an additional expense but by this stage my Wife had unpacked and I did not want to have to make her move rooms. My wife tried to use the hair dryer in the room, but it fell apart halfway through drying her hair and sucked her hair in through the back of the hair dryer. This then took quite a bit of time and pain to extract her hair from it. Then we come to the overall experience, which to me was ruined by the blatant attempts to try and extract as much money from there guests as possible. I first noticed this when I went to use the TV in the room, while my Wife had a treatment in the spa. The TV was obviously a modern smart TV with all the smart capabilities disabled. However there was a selection of films you could purchase through the TV. These films were not particularly modern and were being charged at £12.99 a film or £59 for all the films you could watch in 24 hours. I watch a film on my phone through Netflix, which I would much rather have watched on the big screen TV in the room. This experience followed me all the way to check out where I found a £49 charge for room service, which we had not used. When I queried this they advised it was for cleaning the room before we arrived. Although I was advised that it could be taken off, the lady on the check in desk made me feel that I would only take this off if I was not happy with the cleanliness of the room. I have stayed at other high end hotels before and have never heard of a charge like this. You would think at over £800 a night for our room this would be included! They should be very glad of Palm Court and the Brasserie otherwise the rating for this review would be considerably lower.…
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