Really Great HotelPosted: Tue, Jan 30 2007Location:
4Rooms:
3.8Service:
2.3Value:
4The Cumberland Hotel offers a really pleasant stay in Edinburgh at a comparatively reasonable price. We were a family of four and stayed in a huge, beautiful room with high ceilings. The full Scottish breakfast was delicious and filling, with a good variety of foods. The hotel was very clean, room housekeeping was excellent, and the hotel bar/common room was really nice with convenient hours. The hotel's parking was much appreciated, too. We had only only two minor complaints of the hotel. First, the heating was not great, but the hotel staff provided us with an electric space heater to augment the radiator heat, making the room much more comfortable at night. Second, the staff, while very pleasant and wanting to be helpful, was not very familiar with the city and couldn't provide much guidance about how to get around. They did try, though, and were always very nice and did what they could to help.
Although the walk into Princes Street and the city's tourist attractions was not bad (about 1.5 miles), it was too much for children to do twice per day. Luckily there was a bus stop right out in front of the hotel. The buses were easy to use, and we rarely had to wait more that 5 minutes for a bus to or from downtown. There were several restaurants and a couple pubs just a short walk away near Haymarket Station. Many looked nice, but we only ate at one, an Italian restaurant called "Il Tricolore" on Dalry Rd. It was great! We saw only a couple convenience stores nearby, though, and no supermarket.
Overall, we were very pleased with our stay at the Cumberland. Hotels in Edinburgh are expensive. Compared to other cities, even elsewhere in northern Europe, the Cumberland seems pricey, but, from what we could see in Edinburgh, it was a good value there.