Virgin Hotels Edinburgh

Overall we really enjoyed our stay at the Virgin and if we ever go to Edinburgh we would stay here again. The rooms are great, housekeeping is phenomenal, it’s in a great location, the hotel is beautifully designed, but the food is god awful. Not a huge deal as you have an entire city to pick places to eat. And hotel has some glaring security features. Location: A- It’s right in the heart of old town, on Victoria street which is famous and also touristy. So expect lots of people taking pictures. But it was an easy location (other than the hundred stairs, lol) to get to most places in the city. There were coffee shops and restaurants all near. Room: A We got a Junior Suite and it was perfect. Nice and roomy, everything modern and high end, high ceilings , TV, strong air conditioning (which was quiet!), and a nice stocked (and free) mini-bar. We were worried about noise with Victoria street out of our window but we never heard any street noise which was surprising (we were on the 9th floor) so we slept really well. Check-in: B We were taken right away no waiting, but the big miss was they gave us a Queen Bed Suite vs. the King Suite I booked. We got to the room, and immediately went downstairs to say we had the wrong room. They go “oh” and got us the correct room. But not sure how this was missed. Feel they were trying to downgrade us. Always speak up! Hotel layout/design/decor: B All modern with many instagramable moments. It’s a lot of small rooms and nooks so feels a bit cramped in places, but it’s an old building refurbished so makes sense. Housekeeping: A Came twice a day never a miss and did a great job. Entrance Staff/Security: F This is where I have issues. The front doors are left open all day and night. There is NO ONE at that door. Not a bellhop, not a security guard, no one. If you need a taxi, no one to help you. Need help with luggage, no one to help you. You’d have to go inside through multiple rooms to find the concierge or desk for help. But right as you go into the front door, the main stairs up to the rooms presents and those stairs can get you on the 9th floor (our floor) with NO security. The doors are left wide open 24/7. You also can use the elevators without a key card. So essentially, the hotel is wide open for anyone to walk in, at any time, and get to a room. Now Edinburgh is a pretty safe city, but it’s still a city and not a safe as say Dubai or Singapore. There is still crime. So this always shocked us that anyone can walk in and just roam around anywhere. Food: D We tried breakfast and it was bad. The buffet was cramped, the food not good, and we saw people putting their hands into bowls. Idk. It was also super slow we couldn’t even get water delivered. We tried the Eve restaurant for dinner the night we arrived and the pizza was disgusting and the pasta no better. The staff is friendly and it’s not super expensive, but we still decided not to eat anything else there during our stay. If you are ok with a few security issues and ok eating meals out around the city, I would pick here for the rooms and location.

The service at this hotel is warm and supportive not only efficient. We were treated respectfully even though bumbly. Food was superb and breakfast was an immense spread of items to start our day.

This is a review for the afternoon tea experience and not a stay at the hotel. The afternoon tea takes place upstairs in an area that in effect a walk way. It is set up with chairs/sofas and tables. Our table was directly facing a a room door so when the guest walked out the first thing they saw is me eating!! I get the impression that the hotel wanted to do something with the space and thought this fits. There is no atmosphere and there is nothing luxury about it. The afternoon tea was a little disappointing. The rolls were dense and dry as were the scones. There was no standout item in the selection. The tea selection was great lots of choices. We used discounted vouchers for this which was fine but I would have been really disappointed if I had paid full price for this. There are better places to have an afternoon tea like the Signet Library which is a great tea and a beautiful seating. The staff were lovely and service itself was good but it is not a well thought out experience and felt like a way of moneytising the floor space.

This hotel is perfectly located. The staff is terrific, especially the concierge. Very easy to walk or Uber anywhere in town from the Virgin hotel.

Location is perfect, couldn’t be better. However.. avoid the Pavilion rooms at all times; no cell service, dirty terrace, stairs accessible only. Service and problem solving didn’t live up to the expectation.