Holiday Inn Express Edinburgh Waterfront

"Stayed for two nights here whilst visiting Edinburgh. Not a large room but a really large king size bed which was nice. We found the location excellent for visiting the city, the trams go from Ocean terminal regularly and we loved the fact we were in a much quieter area where we could park our car easily. We also walked over to the Britannia, well worth a visit and literally about 5 minutes from the hotel. There is a small shopping centre next to Britannia with restaurants and a small Tesco, (very handy). The hotel is in a residential area with apartments and the waterfront. The trams run all the way to the airport so I’d say it’s also great if you don’t drive. We would definitely return here if we revisit Edinburgh. (Parking was I think £10 a day but we could have parked for free across the road in the shopping carpark. They give you a code I think)."

"My wife Margaret and I have stayed several times at this hotel and have always found it satisfactory for the price. However, on this occasion (9th - 10th October) we were in a long gloomy room (221) with little natural light. There was one smallish window, in a corner, looking out over various ventilation devices. We were disturbed by the noise of early-morning deliveries, as well as noise from the adjacent lift. On entering, we were put off by dark stains on the carpet (burns?) and stains on the sofa material. All in all, not an uplifting experience and we may seek out alternative hotel accommodation in future."

"Overall, this hotel is quite good, albeit HI Express is a no-frills operation. No refrigerator and no safe in the rooms. There are two lifts, a main lift and a second one in a rather hidden location. The main lift is really weird. It has no floor indicator inside or outside the lift, and not even an up or down arrow. If you're on your floor and press the down call button, the lift will stop even if it's going up! I've been in hotels and buildings around the world and I've never seen such a low-budget lift. Speaking of low budget, my room was nice and clean when I checked in but the daily housekeeping was sub-standard. Empty cups and glasses were not removed and the toilet bowl was not even cleaned with a brush! Only the bed was made and towels replaced, but no other cleaning provided."