The Glasshouse, Autograph Collection

Location

Very poor WiFi connection

It was a beautiful hotel with tons of beautiful nicks and crannies in it. To a courtyard with a beautiful view to an inside bar area.

Nothing. It was exceptional

The Balvenie suite we were in was really nice, a good size and excellent bathroom. The balcony was a good size with a good view of the hustle and bustle of Edinburgh. A special mention to the concierge David who was really friendly and made a point of showing us around the garden and helping us to our room. The snug bar was nice and the cooked breakfast in the morning was one of the best I've had. It was a nice touch that 2 balvenie drams and fudge were left in the room for us on arrival. All in all a really enjoyable stay for our anniversary in a brilliant location.

There were a couple of issues I had which made me mark down my score from 10 taking into account that it is a 5 star hotel and it is pretty expensive to stay there especially in a suite. On arrival at 2pm the computer systems were down so it was unclear when our room would be ready. We were told it should be by the 3pm check in time but it was not certain. They took my mobile number and said they would phone when the room was ready. We were allowed up to the snug bar so we could have a drink and sit in the gardens as it was a really hot day. The bar has lots of different whiskeys and other alcoholic beverages. I ordered a Hendricks for my wife and a Raasay gin for me from the menu to be shocked to be told they only had flavoured Hendricks and no Raasay so we had to have alternatives which surprised me for a 5 star hotel. The gardens are nice and there are great views however dissapointed to see the lawn covered in weeds. A waiter passed a table next to us and we heard the people ask for another drink to which they were told to go to the bar which again was disappointing considering you are charged a service charge on your drinks. On ordering our drinks at the bar on seeing the service charge on the bill I did make a point in telling the barperson where we were sitting as I had the impression she would have just let me take them away myself. We decided to go somewhere else for a drink and to retrieve our bags awaiting the phone call telling us when the room was ready. The phone call never came and we ended up just returning to the hotel at 4.30pm an hr and a half after our check in time. The hotel didn't seem busy and maybe a gesture of a upgraded room to apologise for our wait and lack of phone call however this never came. The concierge David did recover the situation, was really attentive and talked up the suite we were in which as I've said above was really nice however it was the same grade of room we had paid for.

Lovely stay.

Bella struttura, camere e breakfast room un po’ datate. Posizione ottima per visitare la città a piedi e con i mezzi pubblici. Suite enorme e bel terrazzo all’ultimo piano. Top l’accoglienza con whisky e toffee locali a tema con il nome della suite. Letti comodi.

Assurde le federe aperte sul lato lungo: se durante la notte ti muovi, si apriranno e poserai la testa sull’interno del cuscino. Camerieri non adeguatamente solerti nel servizio della colazione: dopo 15 minuti sono arrivati toast freddi, spray di pulizia a vista, poca cura nel servizio. È ora di rinnovare e manutenere la struttura.

Nvt

Nvt

The location is good, across from the shopping centre and short walk down to the Royal Mile. The rooms are clean and stylish. Two out of the three breakfasts were very nice. Some of the staff were professional and courteous. The tram is literally right outside, that’s handy for going to the airport, but if you are light sleeper at the sound of the tram bell might be disturbing.

Some of the staff were basically untrained. I would expect a better standard at even a three star hotel let alone a five star. There were so many misunderstanding and miscommunications. And at breakfast there would be a missing cup one day the next day a missing teaspoon, and we’d ask for certain things and they would not come out that way. One morning the breakfast was just thrown on the plate, it was greasy and the eggs not cooked. I was offered a gluten-free muffin which is the first day I had it came on the plate. The day of the bad breakfast it was left on top of the cooked food in the plastic wrap! The other breakfasts two were very good and I was impressed with them but the third was quite poor. Maybe it was a different chef that day. Our shower leaked so every time we had a shower, the entire bathroom would flood and we’d have to use two towels to fully dry the floor. The Hotel bar isn’t an actual bar, it’s basically in the middle of a corridor and is only opened for very limited hours. It does not have any beers on tap. For the main Hotel bar it was very poor. The hotel is situated over a Wetherspoons, our room was directly over it, so it’s quite loud until around 10 pm or so. Overall taking an account the level of service, the noise, the shower, and food, I would not consider the standard to be a five star hotel at all. I would not stay here again for any future trip to Edinburgh.