Edinburgh is one of my favourite cities and I’m going there again for an early spring break. For the hotel it was a difficult toss between Sheraton Edinburgh and the W – I’ve been at the Sheraton and liked it a lot for the pool and club lounge. W however, is brand new and better located. I went with W in the end, well it would at least contribute to a new blog post ain’t it?
I read that the hotel was planned to open in 2021, but it didn’t happen until 2023 due to repeated delays. The location is excellent – just a few minutes walk from the Waverley station, next door to the St James Quarter shopping centre, and Calton Hill is around the corner.
The architecture however, is centre of a controversy. You might not notice it being close, but if you stand anywhere high enough, for example on Calton Hill, you will immediately understand what I’m talking about:
I mean, perceptions are all subjective, but how on earth did they come up with this design which very obviously is reminiscent of a pile of poo? I love Edinburgh for their medieval streets and buildings, and that doesn’t mean they can’t or shouldn’t have modern buildings – modern and ugly are two different things though.
I booked a standard twin room, and received no upgrade although Fantastic Suite with twin beds appeared to be available. This is the fifth W hotel I’ve stayed at so far, and I had unpleasant experiences with three of the them. The W brand doesn’t go well with me 🙁
The room to be fair, is decent enough for an entry-level room, but bare in mind that this is one of the most expensive hotels in Edinburgh.
I like the vibrant design concept, but the “bar” in the middle is quite strange. It is not useful and blocks the view when you want to watch TV from the bed.
The two cocktails at the bar are a generous gift.
All rooms feature a balcony. Ours however is a couple of metres away from another (big) building so mostly for decorative purpose.
The tech is good: all lights and curtains are digitally controlled, and there’s a wireless charger on the table.
Although the W hotel’s architecture choice is questionable, their interior design is very tasteful. Here’s the reception and lobby bar. Champagne and other drinks are served whilst you are waiting for check-in.
There is a “cinema” and a “presentation room” when you step inside.
You are in a wing annexed to the main building. Take the lift up and you’ll find a rather spacious gym. The hotel doesn’t have a pool.
Back to the main building. W Lounge at the 9th floor is rather fiery with a mythology theme:
But the most impressive part has to be the its rooftop terrace, which astonished me on my first visit.
The 360-degree panoramic view is awesome, and even better you don’t get to see the W hotel itself! The igloos seem quite fun.
Breakfast is served at the restaurant at floor 8, which surprisingly is a Sushi Samba. Not a fan of sushi myself but I’ve heard good things about their food in London.
No sushi for breakfast though, and it’s a full a-la-carte experience. It does feel more personal and exclusive than regular buffets, but on the other hand could be very time consuming. On the Saturday morning we arrived at about 8.40am, and it took a whole hour to finish our breakfast. Get here early if the hotel is busy.
Presentation and quality of the dishes are excellent. This is one of the best breakfast I’ve had in a hotel.
The Rabanada is lovely, but my Brazilian friend failed to recognise it so probably not that authentic 😛 The artisan coffee is quite good too.
They hotel has as many positives as negatives, and this is reflected in their average ratings on TripAdvisor and other platforms. Personally I think it’s worth coming here once for the experience, but I would probably stay elsewhere next time.
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