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Reviews of Playfair House Hotel

3 out of 5
Playfair House Hotel
20 Leopold Place, London Road, Edinburgh, Scotland

Reviews

7.0

Good

Rating 10 - Excellent. 79 out of 386 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 148 out of 386 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 82 out of 386 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 46 out of 386 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 31 out of 386 reviews" "

7.0/10

Cleanliness

7.8/10

Staff & service

5.6/10

Amenities

6.4/10

Property conditions & facilities

Reviews

10/10 Excellent

Pawel

Stayed 3 nights in May 2020

2/10 Terrible

Verified traveller

Disliked: Staff & service
No response when I called to discuss check in time, no call back. Terrible service. Would like a refund
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2020

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
I accept that for £65 a night you are not going to get a lot but the state of the décor and lighting was awful. £20 worth of paint and Polyfilla is all that it would take to bring it up to acceptable level.
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2020

10/10 Excellent

pankaj

Stayed 1 night in Feb 2020

10/10 Excellent

Lee

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2020

10/10 Excellent

julie

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Family trip to theatre excellent location 5 minutes walk great stay with two little children
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2020

10/10 Excellent

junix

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
lovin it
I had the most amazing stay here! Derrick was so warm and helpful. I love my room which is walking distance to anywhere else! One of the best stays I had for a very reasonable price!
Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2020

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Travelled with partner
Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Amenities, property conditions & facilities
I booked in to stay at this hotel in January 2019 for NYE December 2019. I paid £440 for a suite with breakfast. The reviews were really good and location sounded great. When I got there i was told that it had new ownership since February 2019, they no longer did breakfast and no longer had a suite... we had been allocated a very basic double bedroom. No one had contacted me to inform me of this and to say I was disappointed is an understatement. I obviously told the man at reception I was not happy with this but it’s NYE and so finding new accommodation would have been impossible. The receptionist contacted the manager who offered me a reduced rate of £350. I had to accept as was held over a barrel having flown in from Bristol for NYE and potentially not having anywhere to stay. You wouldn’t pay anymore that £50 a night for the double room and so I’ve been seriously ripped off! I will say the location is great and the man in reception was as helpful as he could have been but overall to be have been looking forward to a luxury room for nearly 12 months and then having what I was given, for the price I paid was disgusting and I would not recommend this hotel for this reason.
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2019

6/10 Okay

Andrew

Travelled with group
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Was ok
Room was too small
Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 3 nights in Nov 2019

2/10 Terrible

Verified traveller

Stayed 2 nights in Oct 2019

2/10 Terrible

Verified traveller

Travelled with family
Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
TERRIBLY DISAPPOINTING!! WILL NEVER STAY AGAIN
HIGHLY DISAPPOINTING!!! Not a place to stay. I had booked 4 rooms (all paid and had booking reference as well) and upon arrival they just had one room booking. Manager couldn't contact the owner and couldn't decide anything. We waited for 40 min. Then they took us to some guest house which was at half an hour drive away from the city. Neither the manager nor the owner contacted me thereafter. The customer service team of Hotels.com sorted my problem and compensated well.
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2019

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Travelled with partner
Disliked: Staff & service
A beautiful Georgian town hotel in an excellent setting near the city centre and the Playhouse. The price is affordable. Unfortunately it is showing signs of under investment and neglect.
Stayed 2 nights in Oct 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 3 nights in Sep 2019

8/10 Good

Roslyn

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 4 nights in Sep 2019

8/10 Good

m

Business traveller
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in Sep 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Travelled with family
Liked: Staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
A bit dated and in need of update. Clean and comfortable, very kind and helpful reception staff, and close to nice pubs and restaurants.
Stayed 2 nights in Sep 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Staff & service
Peace and quiet yet city center. Very nice neighbourhood busy but friendly.
Stayed 3 nights in Sep 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Business traveller
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Wonderful hotel as always
Very comfortable location ..good spacious accommodation with comfortable bed and clean as usual..Highly recommend it
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2019

2/10 Terrible

Verified traveller

Travelled with family
Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Neither cheap nor good
It's a bit of a sad place in need of some TLC. Everything about the decor, bed, furnishings, bedding, etc, screams cheap. It's such a shame; it's in a fantastic location and in a lovely building. I wonder how many return visitors they get...
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2019

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Travelled with partner
Disliked: Amenities
Although we selected the Playfair for its location, there were limitations to our stay that led to a little disappointment. Our room was facing the street, which meant constant traffic noise all night long. The window couldn't be opened due to noise and that made the room uncomfortably warm and stuffy. The bed was barely adequate and fairly uncomfortable. Bath facilities were just adequate but no "creature comforts" at all. The advertised breakfast was a basket left at the door with instant oatmeal, pre-packaged sugary pasties and Capri Sun "juice" so we left it. There wan't any table to sit at to enjoy a breakfast even if we'd wanted to. The best part of the experience was the location. It was a 15 minute walk to the city center and about a 30 minute walk to the castle. For the money, we expected more.
Stayed 3 nights in Aug 2019

2/10 Terrible

Verified traveller

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2019

2/10 Terrible

Verified traveller

Travelled with family
Disliked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Very tatty, water in showers is so hot they are unusable. Breakfast should have been included but all we got was oats to add boiling water to, aldi fruit juice and a chocolate pastry (not fresh). Lock held together with sellotape. Hotel taken over since I booked. Room looked nothing like those on the website. Spoke to owner who was not interested in any of my concerns. If you are looking to stay here, book a hostel as it wil be cheaper, cleaner with usable facilities.
Stayed 4 nights in Aug 2019

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 3 nights in Aug 2019

8/10 Good

Yulia

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The host, Derek, is the best host I have ever met. Quiet and clean home hotel.
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Quite room, good size, friendly host, close to the centre whilst being away from the hustle & bustle Breakfast was a little disappointing
Stayed 3 nights in Jul 2019

8/10 Good

Maria

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Nice find
Good location for what we wanted. Strange room set-up due to bathroom being an addition to room. Slightly odd that room wasn't cleaned during our stay. That said, quiet, reasonably priced & just what we wanted for the weekend.
Stayed 2 nights in May 2019

2/10 Terrible

Pam

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Terrible
Terrible place to stay, only good thing was its location. Towels had been washed in a bleach so smell transferred to your skin, no bath mat, tiny wee bathroom, shower either boiling hot or cold. Breakfast was delivered in a basket left at your door on the floor, prepackaged plastic food!. Not what we had booked but was told there was a new owner who was cutting back on costs.
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2019

2/10 Terrible

Pam

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Give this one a miss
The only good thing I can say is the location, easy walk to town and busses virtually at the door. We had booked & paid for breakfast 2 mornings and got a basket at our door on the floor with small orange juice, packet porridge, packet croissant (don't know how many days old ), sweet bar. Not impressed but were told with the change of owners the breakfast arrangement in the restaurant was stopped. The towels had been washed in a bleach which the smell then transferred to your skin. Horrible! . Windows very difficult to open or close so it was stuffy & hot. The shower was scalding hot first night and too cold the second. The beds had a rubber type mattress on, not an innerspring mattress. Not worth the money.
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2019

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Travelled with family
Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
My room wasn’t serviced, my breakfast was never delivered, the shower barely worked- this was really a barebones (or worse) hotel.
Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2019

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
First impression of room was good , nicely decorated but there were a few things not great - no hand towel , no bath mat outside shower cubicle, second day we didnt get the tea , coffee etc in our room replaced so had to go to reception to fetch more . Theres a restaurant downstairs and this was quite noisy until about midnight . The front door slammed shut every time someone used it
Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2019

6/10 Okay

Gavin

Liked: Staff & service
Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2019

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Very clean hotel, staff friendly, poor breakfast no choice, rooms very small and basic
Stayed 3 nights in Jun 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Was only a ten minute walk, if that, to train station. Bus stops a few steps away.
Stayed 5 nights in Jun 2019

6/10 Okay

David

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Not for Business Travellers
The hotel is in a convenient position and the staff member I met was pleasant and helpful but the hotel is not really suited for a business trip. The restaurant, which I did not use, is Persian but does not provide breakfast. The 'continental breakfast' comes in a tray left outside your room. If I was on holiday it wouldn't bother me I would just go up the road and buy a cooked one.
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2019

8/10 Good

Miles

Liked: Staff & service
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2019

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Travelled with group
Disliked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Location was great, everything else was a disaster. We arrived to be told our toilet in room 9 was Out of order but we would get another room (12) to use which we agreed too but little did we know it was full of crap and 3 men were coming in and out moving things which was not nice for 4 ladies. We was told it would be clear within an hour but was still not clear when we left. We was offered a refund of £30 and discount of our next stay. We tried for more as we would not be back but they refused. There was not handles on wardrobe doors, lightening is poor and breakfast was 2 tubs of porridge and cereal bars with no spoons when there was 4 of us sharing. Tea & coffee was not filled up either. My advice would be ask to see the room before you pay.
Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2019

2/10 Terrible

Verified traveller

Disliked: Cleanliness
Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2019

8/10 Good

Sharon

Liked: Staff & service, room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Nice hotel very close to amenities and the tram line that goes right through town centre and all the way to airport . Staff friendly.
Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2019

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Liked: Staff & service
Wifi poor. Breakfast prepackaged. Rooms dark but staff very pleasant
Stayed 3 nights in Jun 2019

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Stayed 6 nights in May 2019

10/10 Excellent

Kathleen

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in May 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Really great guesthouse very well located a 15 min walk from old town. Easy access via the airport tram, which stops 7 min away in York place. Owners are very kind and helpful and I like the little breakfast basket left at your door in the morning.
Stayed 2 nights in May 2019

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Disliked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Unfortunately during our stay we had to ask staff for our room to be cleaned, fresh towels, to fill on the tea facilities, toilet roll, hairdryer and one day breakfast. The was only one light working on the bathroom and a bulb missing in a lamp on the dressing table. The continental breakfast consisted of a carton of orange, a instant pot of porridge, couple of cereal bars and a finger roll with chocolate chips in it. The staff did try to resolve issues when made a aware of them but really if it was more organised then this service could of been avoided
Stayed 4 nights in May 2019

2/10 Terrible

Verified traveller

Travelled with family
Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Arrived to Playfair at 6:30 pm @ with the fill in front desk person taking us to our room, was greeted with a disaster of a room! bed was unmade, garbage not emptied, dirty bathroom towels from previous guests on bathroom floor, The fill in front desk guy apologized and told us he would clean our room himself so we left for some dinner and after 2 hours arrived back at 8:30pm where the bed had been changed & towels & garbage cleaned up. Get ready for bed and the toilet seat was was broken and off on one hinge so it wouldn’t sit straight, no remote for TV and no extras to be found at hotel WiFi wouldn’t work and had to go to lobby to pick up any signal. The full breakfast for 2 people was actually a little basket left at the door with 1 instant oatmeal packet, 1 tiny granola bar, and 1 little prepackaged bun looking like a smashed chocolate chip Twinkie. We are not high maintenance travelers and enjoy a quaint bed and breakfast experience but this was TERRIBLe and we had prepaid for this reservation and they said they don’t do any adjustments or refunds! I have photos of everything. Traveled throughout Scotland and England and found nothing to complain about any other reservation. Do yourself a favor and don’t make our mistake!!! Couldn’t reach Travelocity Customer support!!!
Stayed 1 night in May 2019

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Travelled with group
Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Very accommodating staff & great location. Whilst we appreciate the property is undergoing refurbishment, the room and bathroom were not clean
Stayed 1 night in May 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities
Near city centre and not far from train station and Playhouse Theatre
Stayed 1 night in May 2019

8/10 Good

Ian

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in May 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Business traveller
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
It was in a great area and the staff were very helpfull
Stayed 6 nights in May 2019