Stand Free

similar but better than my visit on 9th September- first travel since March!. Good to see you no longer need to pre-order breakfast to collect from the restaurant. Digital key at this property I find always intermittent at best.
On a positive note, the chap behind the bar was flexible with the max 2 drinks per person- seemed that a number of guests who would have been in the lounge gravitated to seats beside the lounge entrance- old habits die hard!

IAN-UK

Nice enough stay. Perfectly comfortable, and they seem to be coping well with COVID restrictions.

It's got the air of a mid-range tourist/business hotel, which seems a fair description of most Hiltons.

Staff were helpful, forgiving the stupidity of a guest who forgot to complete and submit the breakfast the day before

The odd feature of the room was screwed-down secondary glazing. I guess it cuts down on suicides and prevents pigeon invasion, but it clearly makes cleaning the windows a bit of a chore. They were caked in muck.

The _Banking_Scot

Hi,

Given the tightening restrictions for travel from Scotland ( testing requirements in the EU and quarantining on return to the UK) and with the hilton promo on just now I decided to do a mattress run here ( I live about 30mins by train from Edinburgh)
I booked a king guest room and during the day on the app I got a message that I had been upgraded to a Executive King ( Room 527 ) and a digital key was offered.

After a day sightseeing in Edinburgh I went into the hotel ( the North Bridge has rennovation work on at the moment) . I stopped by the front desk ( first time using the digital key) and got a manual key- just as well as the digital key did not work)

The front deks gave me a 2 drink coupon and advised that due to the new Scottish Govt restrictions announced a couple of hours earlier, there would be no alcohol from Fri

The room was on the 5th floor with the corridor stepping up and down prior to the room.

The room was large ( in other hotels it would be equivalent to a Junior suite ) with a small turret and a side view over towards the Scott monument. A nespresso machine witth 4 capsules was available as well as a kettle. Bathroom was large with a walk in shower. Room was quiet, good a/c and the bed was comfortable.

The bar was empty when I went down ( 4 people in total) with menus via the QR code.

I had a glass of red wine ( pretty good) and a diet pepsi ( no coke) with my diamond vouchers. and had
Fish and chips with mushy peas ( GBP 15)- very large portion
Sticky toffee pudding( GBP 3.50)-excellent value
Cafe Latte GBP 3.95
Highland Park Whisky GBP 6.

Elevators have signs saying 1 person limit for social distancing and signs encouraging people to use the stairs. The Fitness centre is on floor -2 and was empty when I had a quick look with machines well spaced apart.

Overall a pretty decent hotel in an excellent location for central edinburgh sightseeing.

Some photos;




Exterior of hotel on North Bridge Street ( about 1630 hrs)

Entrance to 527 with cupboard ( safe inside) and Nespresso machine


Sofa


TV and view of turret



King bed


Bathroom ( shower to right of door and toilet)



View from Turret looking south ( North Bridge street)

View from window by the bed ( Scotsman hotel across the street) and Scott Monument to the right ) Covering of Waverley station also.


Better view of turret from the sofa

Bar ( 1st floor)



Sticky toffee pudding , Cafe latte and Highland Park Whisky in the bar

Regards

TBS

hugolover

Thanks for the review. Setting aside Jimmy Krankie’s far-right alcohol ban, I wonder why they got rid of the open bar and reduced it two vouchers. Seems rather tight.

squeeler

I was there this week and can confirm (though I am sure it is not needed) all of TBS’s observations (other than the details of the inside of room 527). I was upgraded to 445, which was similar but not quite as spacious. The visit was certainly better than my last in August. Breakfast is by pre-order and is good. I ate with a colleague in Prezzo next door (which was decently busy). He pointed to a door on the station side of the building, and told me it used to be the hotel entrance when it was called simply “The Carlton”. It was the first hotel his parents ever took him. His wife suggested that the rest of the hotel used to be an up-market department store. The structure inside suggests that two buildings have been knocked into one - there are a few steps down then back up on each floor on the station side.
To the all important booze for Diamonds - there is a limited selection of freebies on offer, including bottled Stella (&#128551. The barman filled my glass with Merlot on three occasions; I felt he would have continued except we reached 10pm. Sadly the steak option is not available - it used to be great bar meal, as it was the same meat and cooked in the Marco Pierre White kitchen. Of course you can forget all the abobe r the next couple of weeks as the First Minister continues trying to distract attention from her political skullduggery by bringing central Scotland to its knees again.

Dan72

I was in room 512 last week. It's on the corner with the Royal Mile/High Street and offers great views up towards St Giles.

All things being considered, I thought it was a great stay. Thought they did a great job at breakfast. I actually prefer the cooked to order fresh breakfast, over the usual hot buffet. They still have a good selection of continental items to choose from in the usual way.

On the hotel's origins, yes it used to be a department store, including, in its final days, as part of the House of Fraser Group. Some pics here: https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.c...cotland-627489

squeeler

On the subject of Edinburgh, I stayed in the Hampton Inn at the airport this week. It is a five minute walk from arrivals. It is a flne, clean hotel. Breakfast options are ordered the evening before, and a time to eat is set with the order. I was in a room at the front of the hotel, which was not perfectly soundproof. I would request a room on the other side of the hotel next time. It is a good option as long as Edinburgh is effectively closed.

squeeler

Short update. Lockdown has been increased in Scotland. The Hilton Carlton has changed its service to reflect this. The menu for dinner is severely compromised, with a couple of curries and lasagne available. There is a veggie option. It also seems to be room service only (I arrived after 6pm; it may be different earlier). There are no complimentary drinks for Diamonds.

kkong42

Only in some parts of Scotland.

In the Highlands there are few restrictions and the likes of Aberdeen is less restrictive than Edinburgh / Glasgow / Dundee / Perth.

squeeler

Good point, thank you. Sadly too far to get to the office! 😜😜

Schwann

Just finished a few nights here. Got a decent deal via a Hilton BRG so paid around £55 per night. Upgraded from the cheapest room to a Executive King.. after which I did online check-in to secure one of the turret rooms which were a novelty! There were great views up High Street from my turret... it was nice to stay in a room with a bit of character, even if it did lead to a room with a bit of an quirky (but great) layout. The bathroom had a bath with shower and a seperate shower. Room had a nespresso machine and a decent sized desk in one of the turrets. Staff were all very friendly.

Given 2 bottles of water at check-in, no drinks coupons or anything like that. I assume their lounge is closed - no indoor alcohol at the moment due to COVID anyway.

Breakfast required a form to be filled in the night before with your time and choices for hot breakfast - think sausage/eggs/tattie scones/tomatoes/beans etc. Bit of a pain but not a great hardship. There were also continental options which the staff brought to your seat and did not require pre-selection on the form. The staff said in the last several days the continental options were self-service/buffet but they were told to switch to table service only. A few minutes after sitting down they'd bring out your pre-ordered hot meal. Food seemed decent quality.

For sure one of the nicest Hilton brand hotels that I've stayed in the UK.

pazza2000

Out of interest, where did you get your successful BRG claim from?

To keep it on topic, you didn’t miss much from the lounge there, it’s a very basic offering when opened.

Schwann

Expedia.co.uk

Can't say I missed going to any lounge either!

The _Banking_Scot

Hi

Extending my holiday by 1 night by staying 1 night before back to wfh from my corner in the study
flown in in from Berlin via Lhr so will not be arriving till later this evening

App shows an upgrade from king deluxe to executive.

Regards
Tbs

residentx

Let us know how you get on, I've been informed the lounge is now open. I am heading there next month for 5 days.