Grosvenor Gardens Hotel

The location was good, and the room and breakfast were okay. But when I arrived to check in, they offered me a more expensive room and I disagreed. My granny later told me the owner had entered the room, and I couldn't understand why they would do that. I don't think I'd recommend this hotel to anyone visiting me in Edinburgh.

The only good thing about our stay was the location near the railway station. The breakfast was poor, with no proper service, just cereal, and they only gave us tea after we asked. We left early because the manager made us so uncomfortable. We wouldn't recommend this guest house. We stayed two nights, but at our 12 pm check-in the room wasn't ready and they asked us to wait while it was hurriedly cleaned. Later, we were shown a different, more expensive room even though we wanted the one we had booked. The next day they entered our room while we were out without telling us, despite their policy saying cleaning is only done for stays of three nights or more. When we raised it, the manager got angry and blamed us for damage to a table, although we'd apologized. Before checkout, she insisted we meet her “like a boss” and inspected the room while taking photos, including in the bathroom. She said the floor might be damaged because the washbasin was small and water splashed easily. She insulted our nationality and demanded £100–£150 for “polish damage,” then took £40 after bargaining. It was one of the worst travel experiences we've had.

Our previous hotel cancelled on us when we arrived late in the evening because it was overbooked. She welcomed us in the middle of the night and offered this room for ~440 pounds for two nights. It wasn't cheap, but that was expected. The room was spacious, with loooots of natural light, and the neighborhood was very quiet. It's right next to Haymarket Station, which was so convenient. The lady was extremely friendly and helpful. I'd read reviews calling her a bit "invasive," and I get why they said that, but to me she was just like an Asian auntie who wants to take care of everything. It felt worth it if it's in your budget.

The guesthouse is in a good location, but you can hear every sound and voice in the hallway. Mrs Chan seemed oblivious to that, since she woke us before 8am while chatting. The way she runs the place made it feel more like boot camp than a welcoming, relaxing stay. We were rushed at breakfast. We didn't like having to ask for hot drinks, the cooked breakfast was extremely poor, and there was almost no continental breakfast. Breakfast was only from 8:30-9:30. At 10:35, Mrs Chan knocked to hurry us out because checkout was at 10:30. No one had told us, and we assumed it would be at least 11am. We'd never stayed in a hotel with checkout before 11. Mrs Chan seems lovely, but passive aggressive at heart. After our extremely late check-in due to unforeseen circumstances, she asked us to move from a large room to a smaller one after two nights. We agreed, since she had been accommodating. But she wanted to reuse the same bedsheets and towels, even though we'd already slept on them and used them. She threw a tantrum when we wouldn't accept that instead of fresh bedding and towels. I couldn't believe we were even having that conversation. In response to Mrs Chan's reply, I want future guests to know that she's lying. My objection to changing rooms was solely about her wanting to reuse our dirty towels, bedsheets, and pillowcases in the new room. We had car trouble, so I kept updating her and apologizing whenever we were delayed. She kept ignoring us, and until the last minute we didn't know if we'd be able to get in or have to spend the night in the car. Further addendum: her response is total and utter lies. The argument was about her wanting to reuse our dirty towels and bedsheets after the room swap. My partner witnessed it.