The George Hotel

The hotel has a rest location and staff is very nice. They are in the process of a renovation and some rooms are updated while others are not. Our first stay we had a room that was large although outdated with no temperature control and older furniture. The second stay was a smaller room although of the same type which had been updated. The walls are thin and elevators are slow. But overall a nice option in Edinburgh. The newly opened restaurant bar and coffee shops are well worth the visit. The complementary breakfast is nothing special but what I expected. The coffee shop has much better coffee than the press pots they serve at breakfast.

This is a beautiful old hotel right in the city center. People walking on the street would admire the architecture of the building. The staff were very nice. They have the waiters in the bar and restaurant wear pinstriped kilts! Holy sexy! The entire staff is very much on top of their game. We walked to everything from here! The room was beautiful. We will stay here anytime we return to Edinburgh! A beautiful hotel in a beautiful city.

I loved my experience at the George Hotel. First off, the staff during the night was excellent. We rolled into Edinburgh at 1or2 AM after a long drive from the south of England and they were very accommodating and funny. Maybe I was delirious, but it was as if I was being checked in by Craig Ferguson.
had put our children’s room six floors away from ours, and The George fixed it in the morning.
Unfortunately, when the rooms were changed, my daughter had left her Teddy Bear behind in the room. We didn’t know until late that evening when it was time for bed and the bear couldn’t be located. Apparently, he had gone down to Rose St to throw some pints back. My daughter was devastated. The fine staff found him in the morning. Everyone was so relieved.
Secondly, the breakfast buffet was great. I have been wanting haggis for a very long time, and they serve a delicious version with the full hot breakfast bar. Bangers, bacon, potatoes, scrambled eggs, sunny side up eggs and continental stuff too. I suggest putting the sunny side eggs on top of the haggis. I won’t forget how good it was. Coffee and tea served promptly. £10 with the room if you tell them the night before. The dinning room was gorgeous as well.
I really appreciate the fine staff at the George Hotel and I cannot remember all the names, but Valeria is a real gem. :) I hope I will be able to come back again some day.

This is an overpriced hotel considering the small rooms and drab hallways. Breakfast was nice, but you pay a premium price for it.

The George is the 5^th hotel I’ve stayed in Edinburgh in the last 12 months. There is much to like about the hotel, but also some odd things.
First, the good. The location is perfect. Just a block from Princes Street, a short walk to the Waverley train station and a 10-​minute walk to The Royal Mile. There are lots of restaurant choices within a few blocks of the hotel, including The Dome across the street, which has a beautiful restaurant and bar. The room was clean and comfortable and larger than expected, considering European standards. The value was also good. I searched a lot on TripAdvisor and
. All the staff was friendly and helpful. We arrived very early in the morning from an overnight flight from the U.S. and they put us in our room with no extra charge for early check-​in. Room service was prompt and courteous, even late at night. Wifi was free and speedy.
There were a few quirky things that keep this hotel from getting a better rating. The tub/​shower was very narrow and if the shower curtain is inside the tub, you’ll end up having the curtain sticking to you as you shower. Kinda gross. The only way to avoid this is to put the curtain outside the tub, but then the floor gets very wet. At breakfast, we were told there weren’t enough guests to warrant putting out all the buffet food, but we could order anything that would have normally been on the buffet. Well the point of a buffet is to try a little of this, a little of that, go back to try other things, replenish what you like, etc. It seemed really odd to order ½ a grilled tomato and tablespoon of beans or some eggs for example. Then another tomato, or perhaps more eggs, or try some sausage. The waiters would be running back and forth throughout the meal. So for 17 pounds, it was not a good experience so we took breakfast outside the hotel after that. If you’re not going to put out the buffet, just print up a menu of regular breakfast food and let the customers order from that. The hotel bar was very nice, but had a very meager selection of whisky. This is Scotland! There should be lots of lots of whisky choices. Alcohol in a bar is such a high margin item for a restaurant and whisky doesn’t go bad once the bottle is opened, so there really is no excuse for not having a great selection.
These are small complaints to be sure, but worth noting. I would definitely stay here again, I enjoyed the hotel and location, but a little fixing up in the bath and restaurant would make this a much better option.

We stayed for 2 nights and we had a great time. Room was spacious and a comfortable bed. The concierges all wear kilts which is a nice touch for the tourists. The bar downstairs the tempest makes awesome cocktails. In a good location walking distance to everything in the town.

A nice hotel in a old building and in good location in the city centre, on George street where a lot of nice restaurants are located, and close to the coach station and Princess street where most of the shops are located.
Sadly the room had no air condition and it was already quite warm inside when we arrived. Luckily the window could be opened to get some cool air inside. However, the window was towards the back alley or something where a glass collection point was located. After waking up at early morning to this loud noise when several bins of empty bottles being poured into a glass collection point, keeping window open over the night was no longer an option. Also, the overall poor soundproof of the room was not something that I would have expected to see in four star hotel. The old TV that lacked a HDMI socket was small and had a rather poor picture quality. The hotel is really shooting their own leg with their greedy wifi policy. You can get one hour slow wifi access before your connections is put on hold for the next three hours. Internet is hardly the honey pot for a hotel, and by restricting access just makes all regular guests annoyed. Finally, the mattress was quite hard and you could feel the springs on your back.
Overall, I would have expected this type of quality in three star hotel. However for this four star hotel the value for money was a disappointment.

Great hotel, helpful, polite staff who speaks English I could easily understand (light on the Scottish accent). Attentive service –asked for extra tea and cream in the room, and a dental kit, and they brought them up within 5 minutes.
ONE PROBLEM though. Their blanket was super heavy. It was chilly enough that I couldn’t just put a sheet over myself. I needed a blanket. But it weighed like a brick. I couldn’t sleep the entire night because of that. Kind of a bummer. I could be partially to blamed for as well since I came from Los Angeles and don’t use thick blankets on a regular basis, so the weight felt very strange to me. You know that feeling of weight pushing down on your toes, and your ankles get sore for holding up the blanket? That’s the feeling that I could not ignore that night. The weird thing is that I lived in Boston for years and was totally fine with thick blankets – just not a super heavy one. I am a very easy sleeper who usually falls asleep within 5 minutes of closing my eyes, probably have problem sleeping once every year, so it was very unusual for me to have a sleep problem that night.
Continental breakfast was amazing. Great complimentary buffet at the Tempus. Got to try haggis there, along with potato scones. Beautiful décor and very attentive staff.
Other than the heavy blanket, I have nothing to complain about the George hotel, but it’s enough to scare me away from coming back – unless they can promise me a lighter blanket.

Hotel & rooms are very nice but it’s strange that they’re unaware of their own 4SQ deals. They charge £10/​hr for late checkout & there’s a fee to use wifi as guests of the hotel– basic courtesies. I would’ve given it a hire rating if it weren’t for these things.

Ok, so the hotel room itself somewhat reminds me a motel room. Bed pushed together with a-​ok sheets. But everything is gorgeous. It’s in a prime area and makes everything touristy in a walking distant. But then again, I just love Edinburgh so maybe it just made this hotel even prettier!

We stayed at The George Hotel for the third leg of our honeymoon, and really enjoyed it. The outside of the building is beautiful, and the inside is relatively modern considering the façade.
Location: on George Street, within a few minutes walk of Old Town and convenient to all sorts of restaurants and shopping in New Town. The cab ride from the train station was laughably short. We walked everywhere we went while we were there, but there’s easy access to busses and the train system, and it looked like getting a cab would have been easy.
Comfort: really nice bed, and the biggest room we stayed in in the UK by far. Outclassed our hotel in London by a mile. We also had a comfortable chair and nice desk. The bathroom is fantastic, equipped with huge bathtub, great showerhead, and even a towel wamer. Scotland was having an uncharacteristic heat wave so our room got pretty hot during the day, but it cooled off nicely at night, and we were able to open the windows and get a breeze. Our room on the 4^th floor didn’t have a great view because of a big ledge, but we could see the top of the building across the street (request 3^rd floor if view is important).
Personnel/​service: Everyone at the front desk is nice, and the concierge is helpful as well. We stopped by one day and mentioned our TV wasn’t working properly, and it was fixed when we got back to our room. We were also given a cake as a gift for our honeymoon, which was a really nice touch. Our room was always nice and clean for us.
Food: Attached to the Tempus, where you can get a deal to have breakfast included or eat dinner (see separate review) or have room service brought up from the full menu. We really enjoyed.
If I’m ever lucky enough to go back to Edinburgh, I’d definitely consider staying at the George!

We spent a wonderful week in Scotland staying at all levels of hotels. The George was our only disappointment. We had Pre-​paid for our room, but our plans changed. The George was inflexible in accommodating our changes even when we offered to pay a higher price. The staff was not welcoming on check-​in. The bath had only one towel. I am sure that they would have brought us a second towel, but we were in a hurry to get dressed in the morning since their wake-​up call was 15 minutes late.

Well appointed and, despite its façade, incredibly new.
It appears that the establishment commands a not-​so-​youthful crowd, making it an ideal pick for quiet getaways.
Likes its sister PH property in Glasgow my room was almost excessively spacious, with high ceilings, a full tub, heated towel rack and a good sized work desk.
Positioned along George Street broadens your choice of dining — from gastropub to Korean to the north, and Mexican to Thai nestled along a parallel alleyway to the south. Prince Street and Edinburgh Waverly station just five minutes away. Grabbing a cab or bus is a breeze.
The staff is friendly and helpful.
Sadly no free wifi is available. Check in strictly begins at 3 PM.

I love Edinburgh and I love George Street and New Town, luxurious feel with plenty of shops in a small area with a lot of great cafés and restaurants.
The hotel is centrally located, a gun position in the middle of George Street across from the fabulous luxury bar The Dome. The façade of the hotel is really nice so is the lobby.
hotel korridor and the elevator was distasteful refurbished felt like a cruise boat or a 2 star hotel. So sad ruins the whole feeling you get in nice lobby.
The rooms are nice but economical remanufactured, such as is displayed a giant ugly elements in the middle of the room, instead of hiding it, there is no AC and the room becomes very slightly wet due to poor ventilation. The closet is old and ugly lamp with cheap candles the feeling, sleeping area with beds are nice and tastefully done. The bathroom is ok renovated.
Breakfast room in the dining room is fantastic, breakfast is ok but nothing special, much to choose from. A lot of people there.
The staff at the hotel where varies, most are nice and helpful, but with an «eastern europe attitude», most people who work at the hotel are stressed and not quite time with the guests.
At my booking, I asked to get a room facing the water high up, I got a room on the 7^th floor with great views, it was beautiful.
It’s such a pity that the hotel skimp on simple renovations that had made the hotel so cozy.
The hotel deals with alot of conferences, sometimes it was very crowded in the lobby, not so nice.
I could imagine going back if the price is right, now pay about 90 GBP incl breakfast.
Hotel has great potential but do not deliver…

This is a very nice hotel! Very friendly staff. The rooms are small (for us Americans) and there were only 9 channels available on the TV. The showers are incredibly narrow. Dont get me wrong, this is a great place! I just think we’re so spoiled in the U.S. that we dont realize how different it is everywhere else. No gym, and no amenities for families.

We stayed at this hotel during the comedy festival and it was really good. Very central, comfortable and with a friendly service. It was recently renovated and as you will see it is a very popular spot for weddings. It is not the cheapest place by no means, but it was still reasonable considering how extreme the prices get during the festival.

My partner and I stayed here August 2010 and we loved it! Our first time in Edinburgh and we fell in love with the city. The hotel looked lovely on the website but inside it was even better. Gorgeous listed building, immaculately clean, friendly, helpful staff always with smile.
The room size was ideal. As we were on the back, there was only a view of some offices opposite, but as it’s on a busy street, so it was nice and quiet.
The breakfast was actually the best breakfast we’ve ever eaten. So much variety — a full cooked and continental for no extra cost. I’m a vegetarian and there was a lot of choice.
The only negative aspect was the parking. There is only metered parking outside the hotel or ncp car parks which we opted for as there were no spaces outside. It cost us £25 for 24 hours. The George does offer a discount with one of the car parks, but we didn’t find this out until we’d already parked. I’m still giving the hotel 5 stars as everything else was perfect. We can’t wait to come back and stay again and we always recommend The George to everyone.

In most cities where I spend a good amount of time, I have my preferred home away from home: Citizen M in Glasgow, 42 The Calls in Leeds, and The Velvet Hotel in Manchester. I’ve had the damnedest time trying to find that right mix of uniqueness, convenience, and affordability to settle on any one hotel in Edinburgh, however. I feel a little bit like a gypsy each time I visit.
Though I may need another stay or two to confirm, I might have found what I’ve been looking for in The George.
Things started off somewhat grim when I attempted to check in my first night. I arrived to a queue of a half-​dozen people in front of me, some stressed-​looking receptionists, and a growing line of other impatient would-​be guests behind me. It wasn’t until one intrepid porter brought out a large bowl of ice, two bottles of prosecco, and started handing out flutes of bubbly to everyone that the mood of the room turned from sour to not-​quite-​warm. Honestly, it was a brilliant touch of customer service wizardry if I’ve ever seen one!
Rooms here are reasonably well appointed with comfortable beds and linens, a radiator for heating, updated bathroom fixtures, and quality bath products. Even the office desk and chair made for a pleasant working environment. What’s even better is that my room at the end of a hallway was dead quiet; unless someone was directly outside the door, I couldn’t hear a single noise.
My one major gripe (much like many other hotels in Europe) is the lack of free wi-​fi, or in this case… –any– wi-​fi at all. Seriously, it’s 2011. Can’t we look into some basic technology infrastructure improvements? Instead, the only available internet option is via ethernet at the price of £10 for a 24 hour period. If there’s any one single hotel pet peeve I have, it’s a la carte internet charges. Just lump them into the room costs across the board! Please!
All told, by booking online, the discounted rates at The George are quite reasonable, so the cost of getting online is effectively a wash. When staying in New Town near Edinburgh’s city centre, this easily ranks at the top of my list for cost and quality.

We booked this hotel as a package deal from another website paired up with a Military Tattoo show tickets. I wanted to stay at George hotel, but booking just the hotel via hotel website was very pricey and also tattoo ticket was sold out the day we wanted to go. So, buying this package was a great deal as we got a better price for the hotel and also was able to purchase the sold out tattoo tickets.
This hotel was very classy and comfortable. Room was very plush, love the high thread count sheets and the bathroom was spacious and very clean. When we checked in, we had a choice of the room in the front or toward the back. The receptionist told us that if we like quieter environment we should chose the back room as the street gets noisy at night as there are many dance clubs and restaurants etc. Thanks for that advice we had a very quiet room and good night sleep.
Breakfast buffet at this hotel was amazing. Quality of the food and choices of the food we got was excellent! Haggis, blood putting, eggs, bacon, cheeses, cold ham, sausage, pancake, waffles, pasties, juices, cereal… you name it, it’s there.
We had a rental car and it was very hard to find a parking on George street, near impossible. Driving an unfamiliar rental car on the wrong side of the street through unfamiliar road, looking for a open parking space was like juggling triplets and trying to cook and change diapers and answer the phone at the same time! Very difficult. We tried to ask if we can double park and bring in the luggage after checking out, but the bell boy was never around and concierge was not helpful at all. So, good luck finding a parking spot and don’t move your car if you got a good spot.

This place is definitely a bit of an undiscovered gem. It doesn’t get nearly as much attention as the nearby Balmoral or Hilton Caledonian, but I think it’s trumps them hands down.
I don’t think it’s part of a chain, for starters, so there’s actually some character to go with the luxury. Even the reception area will impress you, with it’s huge pillars and grand vaulted ceilings, and sumptuous sofas to wait on. It’s a Grade 2 Listed building, so the Georgian charm runs throughout the whole place.
The room rates are really reasonable too, considering the quality. If you book online you save something crazy like 70%, and we ended up only paying £79 for a double room. Which is great, as it means you have more to spend on cocktails in their bar, which I can personally recommend! I feel as though I’m cheating on my beloved Le Monde just across the street from here, but the bar staff in this hotel really know what they’re doing.
I do have one grumble though… there’s no pool or spa here. If they had those, and maybe a gym, then I think I’d hoestly be able to say this would be one of the best — if not the best — hotels in the city centre.