I stayed at Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh a few years ago, back when it was a Hilton branded hotel.  I wanted to try it again this time as a renovated and upgraded property and see how they stack up with other Waldorf Astoria hotels elsewhere in the world.  It is probably one of the top hotels in Edinburgh and was good on just about any aspect, except for the room which falls a bit short of WA standards. 

Location

The location of WA could hardly be better as it’s sitting right besides the Edinburgh Castle and many rooms have views.  It is also convenient from the airport because the hotel is very close to the West End stop which can be reached either by airport bus or tram. 

Room

I booked a Carriage Room and originally got upgraded to a Premier Room with Castle View.  When I checked in I asked the receptionist if they normally upgrade Diamond guests to Junior Suites; he answered that for Diamonds the upgrade can be Premier with Castle View or Junior Suite without a view.  I chose the latter as I did not mind the lack of view and I preferred to have more space, and anyway there is a material price difference between those room types, the Jr Suite being more expensive so I must not be the only guest who prefers this room. 

The strong point of the junior suite (and the hotel generally speaking) is the historical nature and unique design of the room.  The suite was on a split level with the bedroom being three steps below the living room.  Unlike many old hotels, the ceilings were very high, even more so in the bedroom which provided a feeling of grandeur.  The bathroom had obviously been renovated recently but only had a single vanity as the bathroom was not very large.  Where this room felt a bit short of WA standards is that the shower was in a bathtub which I do not like, and there was carpet throughout the room.  As mentioned above the room did not have a view because it was looking over the inside of the triangle-shaped building rather than looking outwards.  In addition, our room only had three somewhat narrow windows and Edinburgh does not always get a lot of sunshine even in the summer, so it made the room a bit dark which was another drawback.  On the positive side the bed was very comfortable like a WA bed and we had no problem having a cool room during the night, unlike some other hotels in Scotland which tend to be too warm.  Bathroom amenities were the standard Salvatore Ferragamo products which are among our favorite toiletries compared to other luxury hotel brands. 

Dining

For breakfast, as expected there was no buffet.  First they brought a tray with cold cuts, cheese, and fruits to start with.  They also had a decent a la carte menu which I prefer to a buffet, and unlike in the past none of the items were at an extra charge for Diamond guests.  The food was excellent quality but some dishes could probably have been a bit better presented.  For example the steak & eggs and the smoked salmon with scrambled eggs on toast looked bland and lacked color – maybe more veggies on the side would be an improvement.

The room used for breakfast was small with only a handful of tables suitable for dining, the other tables were more for lounging with drinks in the evening because these tables were a bit too low.  Nonetheless they had to be used for breakfast because there were too many guests and not enough traditional tables.  On the days we were at breakfast early enough, having the best tables was great: there was good spacing between guests, the cathedral ceiling with the glass roof made the room wonderful, and all staff wore masks. 

Service

Service during our stay was very good for example all miscellaneous requests were met efficiently such as printing and delivering documents to our room, and several staff at reception remembered our name and room number when we stopped by for questions so they seemed to know at all times who the in-house guests were and were well positioned to provide service with a personal touch.  During breakfast the staff were nice and remembered our orders from previous days which is excellent, but they could use a bit more coordination because different servers did not always know if we had ordered already and there were minor mistakes such as bringing a small jar of hot milk but without a cup or a mug to drink, and also they served yogurt with cereals without a spoon.  Generally speaking all staff in the hotel were very friendly and pleasant; I mean many hotels have nice staff, but in WA Edinburgh they were clearly more so than average and did a good job to make guests feel welcome and ensured needs were met.  For these reasons, I would say service was on par with the WA brand despite a few minor hiccups.

Wifi

Wifi was excellent during our stay with speeds over 75 Mbps.

Overall

Overall we had a solid stay and I can recommend this hotel.  While it might not meet the WA threshold in all regards such as the room, and the brand could have been Conrad instead, the price tag is also far more reasonable than many other Waldorfs so I did not have much to complain.  Compared to the local competition, it is safe to say that WA is one of the best hotels in Edinburgh and Diamond guests can get excellent value.