Novotel Edinburgh Centre

“Wonderful Stay”

Lovely place to stay...staff were friendly and extremely helpful...my room was very comfortable. The included breakfast had a wonderful variety of foods and the staff kept everything topped up and running smoothly. Being so close to Trafalgar Square there was always good energy and many interesting… more

Lovely place to stay...staff were friendly and extremely helpful...my room was very comfortable. The included breakfast had a wonderful variety of foods and the staff kept everything topped up and running smoothly. Being so close to Trafalgar Square there was always good energy and many interesting sites that were easily within walking distance. I would happily stay here again.

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“Outstanding customer service, perfect location”

Novotel hotels have always been a sure bet for us when traveling to the UK and Europe. This one was no exception. First, the customer service: I had some complications with our reservations—we stayed several days in late September and a few in early October, because we took an excursion to the Hig… more

Novotel hotels have always been a sure bet for us when traveling to the UK and Europe. This one was no exception. First, the customer service: I had some complications with our reservations—we stayed several days in late September and a few in early October, because we took an excursion to the Highlands—that were all my fault. I got on the phone with Judit in the reservations department and she straightened them out. She was amazing and followed up by phone and email to ensure that all was well. I can't stress enough how important this was to having a good vacation in Scotland. Kudos to her manager as well, for such a well-run department! Because we were limited to how much luggage we could take on our excursion, the hotel graciously stored a large suitcase for us until we returned, at no cost. The front desk staff was very helpful in many regards, very friendly, and very professional. The cleaning staff took excellent care of our room. All of this contributed to a wonderful stay. We never ate in the restaurant, but did in the bar a couple of times. The pizza was great. The bar staff was efficient and friendly. The hotel is centrally located, so we walked everywhere. It's close to the historic Grassmarket, where pubs and restaurants are plentiful, and there's a market there every Saturday, where you can buy art, crafts, jewelry, gifts, and locally made food. We enjoyed the Saturday market twice. If you use one of the hop-on/hop-off bus tours, there's a convenient stop nearby. The hotel is in a quiet location, so we slept peacefully every night. The rooms were a good size (remember, we stayed twice, so got different rooms), but we paid extra for the executive rooms. The rooms had safes, small refrigerators, bottled water, and strong wi-fi. I do want to mention one thing that could be an issue with some people. There is not a separate, enclosed bathroom. The sink is in an open area near the bed, and the shower in an enclosed stall and the toilet in another. The doors to them are glass, but not frosted for privacy. They are mirrored glass that you can see into and out when lights are on. I don't know if this is just in the executive rooms or not. All things considered, this was a perfect stay and great value.

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“Nice, clean hotel, good location. Very exposed pool though.”

Had a night’s stay here with the family (two adults/two young kids). Nice hotel, clean rooms. There’s a car park under the hotel which you can ask to use (if there’s space), otherwise they’ll give you a rate at a nearby NCP car park. Location is good, close to the Grassmarket (about a 5 min walk … more

Had a night’s stay here with the family (two adults/two young kids). Nice hotel, clean rooms. There’s a car park under the hotel which you can ask to use (if there’s space), otherwise they’ll give you a rate at a nearby NCP car park. Location is good, close to the Grassmarket (about a 5 min walk to it). You’re not far from the Royal Mile, we managed to easily push a double-buggy to and from the centre. We used the pool, which was a big factor for us staying at the hotel with kids. What I would say is that it’s not private in the slightest and open to everyone in the reception or those coming down the stairs to the toilets/car park. In the space of 40 mins you’ll probably have about 30+ people walking past being able to look into the huge open glass wall. If I were the hotel I would be putting proper frosted glass up to make guests more comfortable. The water was also cold, almost like being in a slightly heated outdoor pool. Also it’s not made clear, to use the pool, you have to request separate key cards from reception, rather than your room key. Breakfast in the morning was good. Decent selection of hot/cold food. The layout was a bit odd (fruit juice in the middle of the hot food counter, rather than beside the hot drinks machine, but not a biggie. Overall we enjoyed out stay, the only downside was how open the pool was to the public.

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