Hotel 5: Holiday Inn Edinburgh – City West
£58.50
Points earnt: 797 (base) + 3000 (bonus)
Big Win progress: Completed
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I spent a while watching the prices of nearby Holiday Inns fluctuate, before pulling the trigger on a 21 day advance booking with a 10% discount for IHG Rewards club members. £58.50 got me a room for one, and nothing else: no wifi, no breakfast. But since I'm local, I didn't need either.
It was another dark and stormy night (gusting 30mph+) when I finally got around to crossing the city, with the impractical combination of rain coming in sideways, and the kind of wind that makes a mockery of umbrellas. So although I'd planned to walk the three or so miles, I opted instead for a bus – helped by the only route that serves my local stop happening to also run past the Holiday Inn. Another £1.50 of expenses, therefore, taking this mattress run to a round £60.
The bus took half an hour or so from mine, so perhaps twenty minutes to Waverley. To be honest, for a tourist visit I can't see this hotel being especially well located, unless the price was very attractive. Nearby features are a petrol station, supermarket and retail park, and whilst some rooms apparently offer views of the castle, mine (501) wasn't so appealing:
Check in took a while due to some paperwork kerfuffle – although I was asked to confirm my address, they didn't enquire as to why I was staying in my own city – and several attempts to sell me on breakfast. I was the only person checking in with three staff at the desk, though, so I imagine it would run smoothly most of the time.
Here's the room, if you've never stayed at a Holiday Inn yet have a strange curiosity about them:
The immediate impression is of less room than the Holiday Inn Expressopodes, but the bathroom turns out to be much larger (partly due to the bath, partly due to a weird excess of space by the sink). Fixtures and fittings were of a better standard, too, such as having an actual wardrobe and a sturdier desk.
I did actually stay the night rather than trying the 'ruffle the bedding, leave the key card behind' approach. Since I've paid anyway, I might as well save on my home heating bill; and having not stumped up the extra for wifi, I was able to get a decent amount of work done without the distraction of the internet.
I didn't get an amazing night's sleep as large fifth floor windows and heavy winds makes for quite the soundtrack, not helped by occasional clunking noises from the heating. Bed was comfortable enough, though, and I do appreciate the choice of pillow firmness that seems to be an IHG standard.
Otherwise, not much to report. I was up fairly early to check out and get on with my life, and chose to walk back having been lazy the previous day. A detour to Waverley to collect some train tickets for further Suffolk-Edinburgh travel (mercifully booked into first class) meant I could make up for the lack of a castle view earlier:
I also got a chance to wander through the obligatory German Christmas market- these are perhaps more numerous in British cities than German ones, now. Resisting bratwurst allowed me to totally justify buying some goodies for lunch, and soon I enough I was home to enjoy them. Still winning.