Best Western Edinburgh South Braid Hills Hotel

We stayed here on our way from Lincolnshire to the north coast of Scotland. I didn't expect the hotel to be magnificent as we didn't pay very much. The hotel room was small but well equipped. And very well decorated. The only downside was the heat! The room just wouldn't cool down, window was open but no breeze because of where the room was situated behind an outside wall. The reception staff, very helpful and polite. Breakfast the next morning was something different. The food was tasty and a decent selection. However the young girl who seated us and "looked after" us, seemed like she had been brought up by zombies. She had no personality. Overall the hotel was a pleasant experience. less

We were a small group booked in for the rugby finals. The rooms were spacious, well equipped and with fantastic views of the city. The first night / morning was fine but we came down on Saturday morning to absolute chaos. People were eating breakfast anywhere they could find a space, bar, lounge anywhere. In some ways I could understand this. But what I couldn't understand was the inadequate numbers of staff to cope with the situation . Breakfast for us took forever. Only one tray of menu items came out every 10 minutes or so. Bacon, wait for eggs, wait for tomatoes etc. etc. There did not appear to be any more staff on than the previous, relatively quite, morning. They were taking all the pressure. When the manager did finally make an appearance, his excuse was the lamest we've ever heard. 'We were caught by surprise' Does he not look at his bookings and plan 2 or 3 weeks in advance. Many of these bookings would have been made months in advance, the rest would have been made shortly after the finalists were known. Pathetic. How do they cope with the international games? Over and above this, there are some nice restaurants nearby and a bus stop, right outside the hotel, gets you into the main city. Could have been a score of 5, with a little planning and forethought by the hotel management. less

Our room had a great view of the park and you can see Edinburgh Castle from the outdoor dining area. We arrived before check in, so we had lunch in the pub-actually they allow you to eat in the hotel lobby, in nice. big chairs. The woman at the bar, Fiona was it? She suggested 2 items on the menu. We both decided to have the same-a yummy fish sandwich. I had never had lamb rump, so decided to have it for dinner. So, so good! Sticky Toffee Pudding is so good too! Had both of these more than once! Love the convenience of pressing a button and a taxi arrives a few minutes later. The room was large, with high ceilings, just lovely. less

Started off really well. Found it no problem so that was a good beginning! It sits impressively on a hill overlooking the town, approaching villages and some hills. Checked in with a really helpful receptionist who said we were on 2nd floor. Lots of stairs .... couldn't locate a lift. Still, in our 50's we are fit so it really wasn't an issue. Room was small but comfortable. Few crazy design flaws such as the telly being below head height on a bare hardboard mount on the wall with a chair below it?!?? A nice touch was a small sink by the tea/coffee station but with a water pump feeding it it was quite loud. On the subject of water ... it took a very long time to run a sink. The hot was a very long time in getting to us and even then it was little better than lukewarm. It was hot in the evening and I can only guess that this was due to time of day and amount of guests drawing on it. Comfy beds and clean linen, spotless rooms. Restaurant. Didn't use for an evening meal after an issue with the breakfast! Gave breakfast a miss the following day too. Here's the gen. We thought we had booked breakfast through the website but it hadn't come up on their records. We said we were happy to pay as we went which usually means at the end of the meal. 14 quid ish for a full English/Scottish/cooked thing or nearly 9 quid for a continental. One of each please. To be fair the choice on the cooked was okay and my hubby was satisfied but there was scant choice with no fresh fruit for the continental. So toast, couple of pastries and the last yoghurt had to suffice. To add to that before we had finished we were reminded to pay by a waitress putting the bill on the table. This was after we had previously said that we were happy to pay. Windows, although seemingly double glazed, let every bit of road noise in. Mixed review. less

Room was lovely when you finally get there. No lift in hotel with dated staircase and carpet. Shower was running for 20 mins before i could get hot water. Room size was good though. Bed was very comfotable. less