The Howard

My friend and I went for afternoon tea on a rainy afternoon, intending to just dip in for some tea and scones, and ended up sitting there for three hours. The staff is very friendly and the eating area is cozy, with comfortable armchairs and an electric fireplace. The tea itself was very good and serviced nicely, with the leaves still in the pot so we had to use a strainer over our cups, as it should be. The food was so satisfying — scones with thick, real clotted cream and homemade jam, in addition to an assortment of sandwiches with flavor combinations that keep your mouth interested, topped off with a variety of small desserts. All of this for 17 pounds. Quite a wonderful afternoon!

Stopped in here for Afternoon Tea yesterday. Pleasantly surprised that we were able to get it, arriving as we did on the cusp of it ending, but then we were I think the only duo in for it.
The service throughout was as good as expected and the atmosphere in the bar/​lounge was certainly relaxed and condusive to good conversation.
The teas we ordered were good and came in decent sized pots (4 cups worth at least) but the food wasn’t as good as expected for the price — the scones were a tad dry and the mousse in a glass needs a thinner spoon to avoid waste at the bottom.

A perfect afternoon and not a thing went wrong. Impressive for our very large group of ladies there as part of a hen do.
We arrived half an hour early but that didn’t seem to be a problem for The Howard (really helpful as it’s hard to organise 20 women arriving in the right place at the right time). The hotel and tea room is located on a residential street and seems like your arriving at someone’s house for tea, not a business. Very intimate and cosy start. Our coats were taken quickly and led to a reception area while final prep was done to the room.
We had a private room, and the server quickly poured the champagne so it was there as we were sitting down. Perfect. He took tea and coffee preferences and their tea of choice was raved about so much that I switched from coffee (also great) to tea and had no regrets.
Extra points for having blue tooth enabled sound system so we could play our music of choice in our room.
Food was excellent, and the scones were warm from the oven. Fresh cream and house made jam was perfect. The sandwiches were also excellent and bread was fresh (no dry corners or other indication they had been made hours or days before and left out). I was not super impressed with the dessert options. They all sounded excellent — lemon tart, eton mess, a scottish-​style fudge thing and cheesecake — but I just preferred the sandwiches and scones.
There was plenty of food for everyone and for the price, I was beyond impressed with the quantity and quality. We had a few hours booked, which meant there was plenty of time to sip tea and coffee and play a few party games. We could be as loud as we liked in our private room :)
Unilocal check in offered a free glass of prosecco! The server had sense to tell us that instead of us all downloading the app and checking in he would just comp us all a glass. What a good bloke.

Outstanding for afternoon tea!
Butler service alone gets 4 stars and then if I could give the same and more for the actual food it would be like 10 out of 10 stars!
I got the voucher via itison — afternoon tea for 2 with prosecco!
For starters, we had a canapé and sandwiches, followed by lovely warm scones and adorable sweet treats.
The prosecco was delicious too as was the Earl Grey Tea.
Yeah I’ll be back for more!

Room: Amazing.
Service: Pretty good.
Sound level: Pretty quiet.
Price: SUPER REASONABLE.
I decided to get away for the weekend and turned to Edinburgh for my adventuring. A few quick clicks on
made me realize something: I could just a star or two in a hotel rating by just being a mile outside of Old Town. SOLD!
The room I booked was the Luxury Double (see: pictures) and the room was named the Ravelston. Second floor room and rear-​facing for extra-​quiet abilities (aside from the squeaky floor).
The Howard has a Butler service and two of the three I was quite happy with; they were friendly, helpful and useful.
The room service is incredibly reasonable: you want tea? They bring a fresh pot at no charge. Want to order from their menu? It costs as much as any café you could venture to. And, with any room booked it came with breakfast– so there’s that.
I feel like The Howard won 4 – 4.25 stars from me. I was happy, comfortable, relaxed and they accommodated quite well to my antisocial tendencies. So, what are they missing? I think the food is a bit under par to be considered 5-​star as are their drinks.
This place was quite lovely, I would definitely consider booking again.

A small, very welcoming hotel, the Howard is both friendly and elegant. The rooms are lovely, the service is perfection itself.
Highest recommendation!

A charming hotel, if a little old fashioned. The food was good, but it was a shame they couldnt get the Internet connection working (fixed or wireless). A hotel for a break, not business.

We had our wedding at The Howard in October 2008. We had been double booked by our first venue, and ended up at The Howard based on a recommendation from another hotel. We ended up being so pleased that we had been double booked as our experience at the Howard was absolutely phenomenal! The staff were so attentive (especially Fernando!), and nothing seemed like too much trouble for them.
The rooms were beautifully decorated and luxurious, not to mention absolutely spotless. The food at the hotel was some of the best we’ve had.
I can’t say enough about how special the staff at the hotel made us feel, and they certainly contributed a great deal towards making our wedding the most special weekend not only for us, but for our guests who stayed at the hotel as well.
We definitely look forward to staying at The Howard for a few nights each year when we go back to Scotland.

the edinburgh howard hotel is sumptuous five star georgian elegance in the ‘new town’ area set to the north of princes street and with spectacular views of the forth estuary from the top floors. with romantic canopied beds and intimate dining — no GM, beautiful materials: marble finishes, satin, silk. quality is unsurpassed in this boutique hotel — concierge services — haunt of filmstars not surprisingly !