Novotel Edinburgh Centre

We have had a wonderful stay here at the Novotel Edinburgh, not just a pleasant stay, but the staff went over and above helping us book taxis and print airline tickets. They gave us very good places to visit while in Edinburgh too

A good sized and modern hotel located in a reasonably central location, although certainly not in the thick of it. It’s about a ten minute walk from the Royal Mile, but only a couple from the bustling Lothian Road, where there are plenty of bars and restaurants. The check-in procedure seemed a little antiquated with much scribbling and highlighting of different bits of paper and it was unusual to be asked for written confirmation of my booking, which fortunately I had brought with me. Perhaps they had some IT issues. That said, the receptionist was pleasant and friendly, and I was fortunate enough to be upgraded to a superior room which was nice. There is a gym and a pool in the basement, although I did not check these out. The room was a good size with large windows on two sides. It was all clean and tidy, and the bathrooms (there was a separate loo) were smart and contemporary with tiled flooring and walls. The shower was a good size and had both an overhead rainfall shower as well as a flexible hose. The bed was comfy, and although there was a road outside, the triple glazing worked well and there was no noise at all. There was also a safe and tea/coffee making facilities. There was a ‘fridge in the room although all that was in there was small cartons of long like milk that don’t actually need chilling, so that seemed a bit of a waste. There were also plenty of USB charging sockets, although the ones next to my bed didn’t seem to work. Breakfast was a help yourself buffet affair, with even the hot drinks being dispensed from a machine. It fact even the fruit juices were dispensed from a machine, with an iPad like screen for selecting which one you wanted, which is something I’ve not come across before. Quite why the options were in French though (e.g.; pomme instead of apple) was a bit of a mystery. There was a good selection and there should be something to cover all bases, with hot food, cold meats, cereals, pastries, fruit salads and so on, even a griddle to make your own pancakes. On the whole, it was all pretty good, I had a small selection from the hot buffet including a pretty decent sausage, fried egg, beans and tomato as well as a couple of the fruit salads and a croissant. My only criticism would be that although plates were swiftly cleared from the table each time you went up to the buffet, so was any cutlery. So if you’d used a knife for your hot food for example and then wanted one to butter your croissant, you had to go off and find another. All in all I thought this was pretty good and very good value for money, although that said I did have the room upgrade and was paying a corporate rate, I’m not sure what the public rate is. As a bonus, the bar stocked Orchard Pig Reveller which is a great cider that I’ve not seen elsewhere in Edinburgh.

I am staying here now - have 3 nights ahead of me. Room smells very strongly of disinfectant or cleaner or both. Goodness knows what happened in here. No desk in room or single chair. Just a strange chaise lounge and a tiny low coffee table - so useless for a business trip. There is lots of space to put a desk (carpet has seen better days). See photo. Fridge in room doesn’t work. Staff at desk very polite - but given their arrival/departure process uses phones it looks like staff are on their phones rather than helping guests. Pool looks very nice.

There are complaints that some of the Trip Advisor reviews are biased, sometimes written by "ringers",... well despite this review maybe appearing overly favourable, I am a genuine customer who just likes the hotel. The service is always excellent, from Jordan Alice and the team at breakfast, the guys in the bar (unless they're going through one of their heavy metal vibes with the music!), Daniel and the folks on reception... the pool is lovely... the room was great... the only thing missing was Colleen, and that's because she was on Holiday... but still somehow managed to leave a greeting card in the room.. see, that's dedication, that shows you what the hotel is about... they are all very Heartist. Only complaint is that it could be cheaper (no harm in asking) :-)

This hotel has a great position. The rooms are spacious and chic. Food excellent. Staff were efficient. One downside is the karaoke at the Tap Bar which was underway from 7pm. The deafening off key horrendous noise was terrible. I saw customers leaving the restaurant and potential customers turn away because of the noise. Staff were asked on 2 occasions to lessen the noise, with no effect. Management needs to have this karaoke started later in the evening. I would not recommend this hotel or stay here again due to the decibel levels I was forced to endure.

The hotel was very clean and there is even a swimming pool. The reception was always helpful and quite freindly. The hotel is not far from the old town, about 10 to 15 minutes walk because Edinburgh is anyway not quite large. The reason why I have to give 3 points less is, 1. I have checked out more than 12 days, but till today, no bonus points has been credited into my le club card which I have never experienced all over the world in the last 10 years. I have called twice, but the colleagues said, there is an IT problem, but so long time??? This caused 2 points less because it is quite wired. 2. The breakfast is only till 10.00 O'clock, which is very inconvenient for me. I would expect that it will be open till 10.30 or 11.00 which is popular at other novotels in Europe. I really do hope, the hotel could solve the "IT" Problems asap and redeem my points asap.

We had a fantastic stay here for our 20th wedding anniversary!! We stayed in an executive room, which was clean, comfortable, had great nights sleep and only a short walk from all the landmarks. We would definitely stay here again and recommend!!

We stayed for 4 nights in a queen suite during the fringe festival and had a great time. The room was spacious and beautifully decorated and we had the added bonus of a balcony with amazing views. It was incredibly hot though and could do with air con. The staff were friendly and welcoming from the moment we arrived and chocolates were put in our room for our sons birthday which was a very nice touch. The bar and restaurant were great and our son enjoyed the pool each day. The room layout, as mentioned in many reviews, was slightly odd with the sink being in the middle of the room. It looked good but was fairly impractical. One way this could be improved upon is to add a sink, or a a hand sanitiser unit, in the actual toilet room as it felt somewhat unhygienic to be walking around the room to wash your hands. Overall, we enjoyed our stay and wouldn’t hesitate to come back - maybe not during the fringe festival though as the hotel price rockets then (as do they all).

This hotel is fabulous and centrally located for access to food, shopping and entertainment. About the rooms themselves: our fridge never seemed to get cold. We didn’t end up discussing with the front desk, however did hear of others from our tour who had the same experience. I understand the idea of the water closet, however seemed slightly unsanitary to not have a place to wash your hands before opening the door to exit the WC. During my time living in Japan, I had a similar set up in my washroom, however the sink was located on the back of the toilet. You essentially washed your hands in the clean water that was coming in to refill the toilet (no different than the water coming out of a faucet in the sink). A number of our fellow travelers were rather troubled by this, so wouldn’t be surprised to see more reviews speaking to this. Otherwise, the hotel was great and a large breakfast was offered each morning.