Four Points by Sheraton Edinburgh

The hotel has been remodelled recently, and the reception and room service staff were warm and helpful. It’s also handy for getting around, with the tram two minutes away on foot and Princes Street about a ten-minute walk. Breakfast was the letdown: we arrived 15 minutes before it ended, and the restaurant staff looked annoyed. The food was only slightly warm, and the welcome wasn’t warm at all. I’d still love to come back.

We barely slept because a loud heat-generator thing was right outside our closed window, and the view was onto the bin recess. That really spoiled the stay. The location was handy, the room was clean, the bed comfortable, and check-in was fine with reasonably friendly staff. The bathroom sink was badly cracked. Breakfast was okay, though I wouldn’t recommend the hot option, and getting a hot cup of tea was surprisingly difficult. Not the best place we’ve stayed.

I was in hospital trying to come to terms with being diagnosed with leukaemia the day before my stay, so making another booking was the last thing on my mind. But when I explained what had happened and asked to cancel on compassionate grounds, despite the non-refundable booking, the hotel said they’d only cancel if I first booked another stay. They offered no voucher or other goodwill gesture, and showed no empathy at all. Other providers I contacted were kind and helped straight away, which made this response feel even colder. It was distressing during an already traumatic time. Based on how I was treated, I wouldn’t recommend this hotel or the chain.

The room itself was nice enough, but we won’t be back. The booking and sales team had been really helpful in arranging our Edinburgh trip, including asking the hotel to hold our large suitcases while we went on a Highlands coach tour, on the understanding we’d return and spend the rest of our time in the city there. Yet both times we checked in, Four Points couldn’t find our booking, even with the confirmation number. The receptionist was rude and cruel, made us feel stupid, and kept saying our written booking information was wrong. We’d have left if we hadn’t already paid. When we returned from the tour, the booking still wasn’t in the system despite having been confirmed only days earlier, and our bags had been misplaced. It took over an hour to find them. Reception never apologized for the stress and inconvenience. I had to email the manager proof of the booking; they did apologize for making us prove it and for the inconvenience involving the amenities. At checkout, another receptionist tried to charge us for drinks we’d already paid for on a different card, saying my partner’s card had failed and the drinks would go on the room. The receipt only mysteriously appeared in the system after he showed the charge had come out of his account. The online team was helpful on both occasions, but the hotel experience was very disappointing.