The Caledonian Edinburgh, Curio Collection by Hilton

On checking in to the Caledonian hotel we were offered an upgraded room, even though i paid for a premium king size room. The room offered had a view of the castle which was through an attic size window. Room 518 is situated at the very end of the hotel on the top floor. It has a small double glazed window looking at the castle but also has a large sash window right next to the bed. This window has no sound proofing or double glazing. The noise in the room on a Saturday night was terrible. It took until 3am before myself and partner got any sleep due to the noise or people, cars and sirens from the street below. I understand the hotel can't control this but they can ensure adequate sound proofing in all rooms. This is the least i would expect from a 5 star establishment. Having mentioned the issue the following morning at reception it appeared of little interest to the staff. Just a warning to other travellers if you are offered an upgraded room and it is at the end of the corridor please avoid especially room 518!

Amazing hotel! Clean, wonderful staff, spacious rooms and great breakfast!! Perfect location very close walking distance to the castle and other sites etc.

We stayed at the Royal Caledonian Hotel in Edinburgh for a short family vacation. It was one of the most positive hotel experiences in my memory. The hotel itself is ideally located in the center of Edinburgh, in walking distance of many attractions. The historic building was beautifully decorated for the Christmas holidays. What impressed us most, however, was the customer service. Our daughter left her passport in her hotel room, which we realized at the airport, after we had checked out. Nathan at the concierge desk was able to locate it and expedite it to the airport before we departed, which literally saved our return trip. It will definitely be our first choice whenever we return to Edinburgh!

Wow, what a lovely hotel and ever better staff. We checking in for a night stay for my friend’s birthday and the Christmas decorations were truly beautiful. I loved how the hotel was situated right in the city centre, just a few minutes walk from the Christmas markets, the dome and Spence, the bus/coach station, and not too far from the airport too. This trip wouldn’t be the same without Emma. From arrival she was very welcoming, we did pay for an upgraded suit, but it was heavily discount as we had the Hilton membership! She also upgraded us to breakfast which was truly delicious. Above all that she was very engaging and attentive, and honestly personable. You can chat with her for ages haha which is a good staff strait! She helped us with places to go, and helped us with a late check out too as we were stuck on the highland hills! Thank you Emma you made this trip worth while. Another mention was Jay (bell service). Lovely man, very welcoming and was efficient with taking our bags and showing us directions! Thank you Jay, and we really liked the uniform too. The breakfast was lovely, french toast was warm and hearty. Room was lovely, especially the tower view! Minor things I would say is that the water pressure in the room was very low, found my self taking longer showers because there was barely any water coming out. Additionally the soaps that are used don’t lather what’s so ever, so a lot of it was used. By the end of my shower I didn’t really feel clean due to the types of soaps used. The pool and spa was quite disappointing, dirty changing rooms and tiny sauna. The steam room also was out of service. And lastly the room was chilly and the heating as strong as the aircon. Still a perfect trip, will definitely be back!

Sadly another review for a very disapointing afternoon tea. We have had afternoon tea here several times in the past when it was Peacock Alley and the Court is now memorable for all the wrong reasons. Food Husband is coeliac so had the gluten free afternoon tea. For the sandwiches we were missing the turkey and cranberry and given two tarts instead with no explaination. The gluten free bread was terrible - very stale like it had been sat in the fridge for days. The fillings were fine but portion sizes small - in the ham sandwich there was only one small piece of ham. The sweets were also not great. The cakes were dry and tasted stale, the whiskey choux was overpowering and the flavour combinations were poor compared to our last few visits. Missing items As above one of our sandwiches was missing but also our booking was meant to include a festive cocktail which was not offered at any point so we didn’t get this. Upcharge When we arrived we were asked if we wanted water for the table - we said yes. No offer of type of mention of any charge so assumed this would be included only to have a £5 charge on our bill for this. Service Service was very poor compared to our previous visits. We were sat to the right of the hostess booth in a little corner which meant that we were almost completely ignored. We had to actively track down staff when we had run out of tea and in the end had to get up and pay at the hostess stand as we couldn’t find anyone to get our bill. Staff we did interact with had little knowledge compared to previous visits. One told us that we couldn’t have milk due to being coeliac showing very little allergy awareness and the person who talked us through the sweet selection wasn’t sure which item was which. We then were charged a 12.5% service charge for this terrible service. All in all a terrible downgrade from previous visits on all fronts. Emailed the hotel the following day (over a week ago now) and received no response which tells you everything!