Andrew and his brother stayed at the InterContinental Edinburgh George Hotel for the second half of their golf trip to Scotland. Here is their review of the hotel located in the heart of Edinburgh, Scotland.
About the Hotel
InterContinental Edinburgh The George has been welcoming hotel guests since 1881. The hotel occupies five listed Georgian townhouses on George Street, built in 1775 as homes for Edinburgh’s most prosperous citizens. The hotel is an ideal base from which to explore the city, shop, and dine at Edinburgh’s best restaurants. The hotel boasts elegant interiors, 8 meeting rooms, an equipped gym, the Printing Press Bar & Kitchen, and Burr & Co., their quirky coffee shop with a devoted local following.
Location
The George Hotel Edinburgh is located in the middle of the city within walking distance to just about everything. One block south of the hotel is Rose Street which is home to plenty of old pubs and shops. Two blocks south of the hotel is the Princes Street Gardens, which is the large outdoor park in the middle of the city and right next to the train station.
On the other side of the Princes Street Gardens lies the Royal Mile and famous Edinburgh Castle. The front gate of the castle is exactly half a mile from the hotel which took us about 10 minutes to get to. The only time we used our car was to leave the city for our round of golf at Gullane and to attend the Open Championship at St. Andrews. Everything else we did was within walking distance.
If you are lucky enough to get it, there is free parking in front of the hotel on George Street from evening to morning. We were lucky enough to get this two of the three nights we stayed here. There was also a designated area in front of the hotel to temporarily park cars to load and unload. The hotel also offers discounted garage parking at the St James's Place Car Park.
For those without a car, the Tram that runs from the airport through the city to the Firth of Forth has a stop on Princes street about two blocks from the hotel.
Our Room
We shared a single room and it was about the size you would expect for a hotel room in the middle of a major city. The George Hotel Edinburgh is clearly used to buddy trips because they split a King Size bed into two separate twin beds about three feet apart. While the room was a little tight, it was only because we had two large suitcases, two sets of clubs, and two golf travel bags. However, with all that, I still had enough room to move around and stretch on the floor (needed to keep my back in good shape).
The room also included the usual bathroom toiletries, a safe, small fridge, robes, slippers an ironing board, and a spare umbrella.
As far as powering all our devices, the desk had two USB ports along with two plugs (for those traveling across the pond, don’t forget your adaptors). There were also a handful of plugs around the room in case you need more.
The only downside to the bathroom was the lack of counter space. There was a granite ledge we could use but our personal items were always dangerously close to falling, including into the toilet.
Dining
There are three restaurants in the George Hotel Edinburgh including The Printing Press, Burr & Co. and the Le Petit Beefbar Steakhouse.
The original Burr and Co. is right here on Edinburgh's George Street and the hotel is proud to have this cosy yet lively coffee shop nestled within their historic hotel. Burr and Co. will offer a bistro style menu for hotel guests in the evening while a new hotel restaurant prepares to open summer 2023.
Le Petit Beefbar Steak house was founded in Monaco in 2005 by restaurateur Riccardo Giraudi, who developed the business to break away from what he thought were the classic codes of the steak restaurant.
The third restaurant, The Printing Press, is the only meal we had in the hotel, and it was breakfast our first morning. It was a warm breakfast/continental with pastries, warm food, fruit, and cereal. Check the website to see if the Printing Press is open because we were told by the staff that it was scheduled to undergo refurbishment in the near future.
Final Thoughts
We really liked the location of the InterContinental Edinburgh The George. Having never been to Edinburgh before, it was a great location to set off from and see as much as possible in one day. We walked all the way to the Edinburgh Castle, down the Royal Mile, and a few famous Harry Potter locations with ease. We even made a stop at the St. Giles Cathedral, where Queen Elizabeth lay in state after her passing in late 2022.
Also, even though it was in the middle of the city, getting outside of town going East to Gullane or north to St. Andrews was quite easy by car. Also, it was about a 25 minute drive to the airport. I would highly recommend the George Hotel Edinburgh to anyone looking to stay in Edinburgh.
