DoubleTree by Hilton Edinburgh - Queensferry Cross

The food was good, but the service was slow and the staff missed a lot. We had to chase our beers about five minutes after ordering, and our final drinks sat on the bar for nearly 10 minutes until I went to collect them myself. Nearby tables were left with the previous guests’ plates and drinks for over 30mins. We were there for lunch before an evening event in one of the function rooms. The staff were pleasant enough, just slow and unobservant.

I left feeling humiliated and deeply disappointed. I have difficulty walking, but no one offered help. Staff kept passing my table and serving drinks elsewhere while I was left without service. I couldn’t get a clear answer when I asked whether this was self-service, and there was no sign explaining that it was. It felt unfair and discriminatory to be the only guest expected to collect a drink myself. I also saw staff laughing and looking at me with a friend, which made me feel unwelcome. After I walked over to get the glass, it slipped from my hand and broke. Only then was a new glass of wine brought to my table, and it was visibly dirty, with water droplets on the outside and stains on the bottom where it sat on the table. It looked as if it had just been washed without being dried or properly cleaned. That felt insulting, and I strongly suspect it was deliberate harassment or retaliation, not an accident. I waved to a female staff member standing with a male colleague because I wanted her to see the glass. They saw me, but nobody came over and they walked away. I felt looked down on and disrespected, and the whole experience left me extremely sad and feeling discriminated against because of my disability. Is this really the service standard at a world-class hotel brand? I’ll share what happened in a public review so the team and management know about it.

The room view was the one bright spot, along with lunch on my first day. The next morning, the sausages and bacon were very poor quality. I even heard a guest start to say “the sausages…” and the server finish with “…aren’t that great, we know.” If the staff know they’re bad, why keep serving them? I had already prepaid through a third party, but was charged for the room twice and had to call customer services repeatedly to get a refund. The previous evening, I tried room service for water and got no answer. Reception transferred me, then I waited on hold for 5-10 minutes before the call dropped. After that happened three or four times, I gave up and filled a bottle at the gym dispenser myself. Check-in was frustrating too. I arrived at 12:30 for the scheduled 15:00 check-in, had lunch in the hotel restaurant, and came back by 14:00 after reception told me to return at the set time. Guests who arrived after me were being checked in before 15:00, but when I asked about checking in early, I was told my room wasn’t ready. I sat in the lounge right in front of reception, yet nobody contacted us at 15:00. At 15:10 I went back and was told it still wasn’t ready; when I checked again at 15:20, it was. They could easily have let us know. It honestly felt like they were delaying us out of spite because I’d asked earlier. This was my first stay at a Hilton property, and apart from that lunch and the view, it was extremely disappointing. I can’t recommend it.

The room had a fridge, which was handy, but there wasn’t any complimentary water. Even tap water would have been nice. The sheets were good quality, though the pillows were flat and awful. I asked for firmer ones, and the replacements were a little better. The view was of unkept bushes, and there was a fire alarm test in the middle of the day without any advance warning. It’s a great hotel, but the name and price set a higher standard. A bit more attention to detail would help.