~Why Edinburgh?~

Last year my sister and I went for an overnight in Blackpool. We had intended on going there again this year but decided against the long journey and three train changes! We still wanted to get away so opted for the capital city of Scotland - Edinburgh! We are a 45 minute train journey from the city. We were planning on participating in various ghost tours and doing a little shopping.

When it came to choosing a hotel, we were spoiled for choice but had to keep to a budget. We wanted somewhere central (ie near the shops!) and fairly cheap as it was only for one night. We checked out the Holiday Inn, nearby Premier Inns and local guesthouses. Many were either too far from the city centre or over the £100.00 mark as we were booking for a Friday night in June. Very expensive but typical for the city.

~Travelodge Princes Street - Booking and Location!~

Meuse Lane
off Princes Street
Edinburgh
EH2 2BY

0871 559 1855

There are several Travelodges in the city centre. I visited their website www.travelodge.co.uk and carried out a search. The newly opened Princes Street hotel appeared to be our best option. Booking online was very simple as the website is easy to navigate. I was given the option of a twin, double and family room which I appreciated. We paid just short of £60.00 which was a non-refundable saver rate. The original price was nearly £80.00. It is worth waiting for the special offers where you can sometimes book for just £19.00 per night. The price is per room which is fantastic. My card was charged right away and I received an email invoice and confirmation.

Location wise, this hotel is just off Princes Street. It occupies the space above Topshop and is directly across from Waverley Train Station which was perfect for us! There is no on-site parking but an NCP car park is nearby (charges apply). Princes Street is a total mess at the moment and various parts are closed off. The hotel can be located down an alley which is very dark and not accessible by cars. I found this a little nerving when returning late at night. The location is perfect if you are arriving my train and is walking distance of Princes Gardens and various shops including Jenners department store. It is very central.

The hotel is set across 7 floors with 2 lifts present. Some of the rooms overlook Princes Street and Edinburgh Castle whilst others overlook the office buildings at the rear of the hotel. The hotel is nearly all on the flat and has disabled toilets on the ground floor.

~Check In/Out and Layout~

The reception area of the hotel is located on the ground floor and is fairly spacious. A vending machine stocks crisps, small toiletrie sets, juice and chocolate. There are self-check in units. Check in time is from 3pm but we arrived just after 2pm and our room was ready. The lady in reception was very friendly and gave us our key card and informed us where to go. I only had to show my invoice - it was an incredibly simple process and very professional. We were informed the main doors locked at 10pm but we could use our key card to get in and also to enter the main hotel area. Check out is 12pm which is later than most hotels and excellent if you fancy a long lie! We checked out at 11am and this was a case of handing our card in. The same lady asked if everything had been ok for us and we had nothing worth reporting. Late check out can be paid for too.

The various floors of the hotel can be accessed by stairs or lift. The lifts are very spacious and clean. We were located on the 5th floor and were surprised by how clean and fresh the landings were. They were neatly carpeted and neutrally decorated. The landings are well sign posted and whilst I didn't count how many rooms there were, they were numbered 501-516 etc on each floor. There is nothing else to say about the layout of the hotel except that it is a little bit of a walk to some of the rooms! It was clean and modern overall so I cannot fault that aspect. The key card worked perfectly well during our stay including the main entrance when we returned at midnight.

~Our Room~

Our room was no 516 and was the further from the lifts on the 5th floor! Due to there not being a great deal of windows in the landing areas, we had no idea which side of the building we would be facing out of until we got to our room! We had booked a family room to give us plenty of space! Unfortuantely, our room ended up being at the back of the hotel and facing out onto the alley and office blocks.

This was my first Travelodge stay and I was amazed at the size of the hotel room! To the far end, we had a huge window with sliding panels. There was a ledge and some old style, panelled windows which couldn't be opened without climbing up on the ledge - I didn't attempt it! The sliding windows do keep the draft out which was essential given the cold and rainy weather we experienced during our stay. The heavy curtains kept the light out too.

The room was incredibly spacious and suited to a family of 2 adults and 2 children -it was a L shape. We had a kingsize bed with individual lights across and within the headboard. We also had a sofa bed with a pull out mattress underneath. There were no bedside cabinets or chest of drawers - only a simple rail with 4 coat hangers. Not idea if you plan on staying for more than a few nights though there is sufficient room to live out a suitcase comfortably! We also had a small desk and chair, tea and coffee making bits and bobs and a large mirror. A wall mounted television was also present but only had 22 channels and none were particularly exciting.

The room itself was spotless and modern yet basic. The walls were fresh and neutral and the bed sheets/pillows crisp and clean. My bed was spacious and comfortably though the duvet was a little on the thin side. I slept very well. My sister was given the sofa bed which wasn't the biggest and is definitely more suited for children and teenagers! She didn't sleep as well and commented that the bed was a little on the hard side. She did benefit from two duvets though. Additional pillows are available from reception. There is no telephone available in the rooms. The room did have a radiator and kept one side of the room warm but took a while to filter around! There was enough lighting in the room with individual switches which was ideal as my sister wanted to read before bed and I was exhausted!

Our bathroom wasn't massive but spacious enough for even us larger ladies to move around freely! It was clean throughout and well stocked with toilet roll and a small bar of soap. There was a huge, well lit mirror and shaving point as well as a spacious ledge for toiltetries and a small pedal bin. We had a bath and shower which with a clean shower curtain. We had an overhead shower which was powerful, easy to operate and beautifully warm. The bath wasn't a full size bath so don't expect any Radox evenings in there! The bathroom had a lovely red tiled wall and was very neat, modern and compact. We were given a few large bath towels and a hand towel - they were lovely and soft. I expect more would be given for a room with a high occupancy.

We slept well and didn't have any issues with the room or bathroom. We did hear our 'neighbours' arriving home at 1am but once in their rooms, we heard nothing through the walls which was ideal. It was warm enough at night too. The rooms are basic but very functional and would suit a family or business person. They suited us fine - we didn't expect luxury and didn't receive it. The cleaners were busy sorting vacant rooms as we left. WI-FI is available at a charge but we did not use this as we were able to get a good internet signal on our mobiles anyway. The hotel is fully non smoking.

~Food?~

Whilst some Travelodges may have restaurants/cafes attatched, this particular Travelodge doesn't. We were planning on eating out anyway as there is plenty of choice in the local area. If you could figure out how to cross the closed off road, a McDonalds and KFC were located directly across from the alley way. My sister went over to McDonalds at 10am on the Saturday morning and brought back some breakfast to eat in our room. We disposed off the rubbish in the little bin in our room.

There are several restaurants in the area including a Chinese buffet on the Waverley Bridge and several options in the Omni Centre a short walk from the hotel. The hotel does offer Breakfast packs which include cereal, milk, a drink and croissant for under £5.00. This hotel also offers a room service option for panninis and burgers. I believe they order them in and they are reasonably priced at £3.00. We did opt for some munchies from the vending machine at midnight. £1.00 for a large pack of Walkers, 80p for a Twirl and £1.60 for a bottle of fizzy pop - not the cheapest but not extortionate either.

~Conclusion~

I cannot really fault this Travelodge. The service is minimal - not many staff wandering about. It is clean, tidy and incredibly spacious. It isn't ideal to stand in the alley way for a cigarette or at night and this would be the only issue I have with this hotel. We were very pleased with our stay as it is central and a friendly hotel. It is perfect for overnight or short stays in the city centre but definitely book in advance as the prices go up!

Thanks for reading :)

Originally posted on ciao 19/06/12.