Brooks Hotel Edinburgh

The breakfast was a regret. We paid £15 per person for two breakfasts, then faced a chaotic dining area where staff seemed unsure what they were doing. The food selection was limited and below average, and we had to wait, with no guarantee of getting the right meal. A small buffet might make it less stressful for everyone. Our room was dusty and smelled strange, with mould in both the sleeping area and bathroom. The beds were extremely uncomfortable and didn't seem to have mattresses, and there was broken glass on the bathroom floor plus leftovers from previous guests in the shower. It was much too small for two. We only found the two men at reception friendly. I've visited Edinburgh several times, and this was the biggest disappointment of those trips.

We booked early for the Military Tattoo at the Castle, which was excellent, using the hotel's website photos and claims as our guide. The stay itself was the big letdown. We were in a standard room for three nights, and the bedroom badly needed renovation. The carpet was stained, there was one bedside cupboard and one light, the duvet was thin despite the website promising fluffy duvets, and the pillows were hard. The internet in the bedroom was slow and unreliable. The bathroom was tiny, though the shower was fine. I asked every day to have the sink unblocked and fan repaired, but nothing was done. We also requested a bath mat because the wet tiles were slippery and eventually got a small hand towel. The promised Egyptian cotton sheets weren't what we found. The city view was technically there, if you could see past blocks of flats. Staff in the dining area were polite and very good, though it's not really a restaurant. Some reception staff had very limited English. The hotel was disappointing, even though we fortunately didn't spend much time in it.

The room had more drawer and closet space than we needed for our luggage, and it was larger than we expected. My sister and I were comfortable in the twin room. The bathroom was spotless, if a little small, probably not by UK standards. We found the staff friendly and very helpful, and breakfast had plenty of options with good food. The location worked well too, with many points of interest within walking distance. We had a lovely time in Edinburgh and really enjoyed staying at the Brooks Hotel.

Breakfast was pretty good, and we liked having the lounge as a comfortable place to sit. The staff were okay, neither rude nor especially attentive. The room was adequate at best. I suspect the mattress was old because the bed was uncomfortable, and the pillows were awful. There wasn't a bedside table on one side, so one of us had to use the room's only chair. We could hear toilets flushing on the floors above.