InterContinental Edinburgh the George by IHG

Reviews

• SO

  Sarah O'Sullivan

  6 days ago
  1.0
  Avoid at all costs. Honestly shocked beyond belief at how bad this hotel was. I travel to Edinburgh often for work and have stayed here twice in the last few months but I won't stay again. Both times my room has been really bad. Loud and run down. This most recent stay the room smelled so badly of smoke that I woke at one point in the night (no doubt due to the complete lack of soundproofing) and in my midnight confusion was so convinced there must be a fire that I turned the lights on and got up to check the hallway. When I was checking in late (11pm) on my first day, my colleague had come to the desk saying his room key had stopped working and was told "well where are you going to stay then" by the FOH team. Thought this was just a bad joke at the time but my later experience was more of the same lack of sympathy and inappropriate sarcasm. After I checked out I was offered an umbrella for the rain, which I refused as I wasn't coming back to return it. The bell boy replied "you might be the first Geordie that's ever turned down the opportunity to steal an umbrella" or something to that effect, which I found unnecessarily insulting and just a really weird thing to say. Stunned, I clarified that I'm actually Irish, which then led to a string of apologies for misplacing my accent (but nothing about insulting Geordies). Sadly I left a belonging behind in the room and didn't realise until I got home. Contacted the hotel immediately, and again, and again, and again over subsequent days with no response. Eventually spoke to the front desk, who showed no sympathy that I'd lost something, no apology that I'd had so many ignored messages. Fairly poor, but not a huge deal. When I called back to chase this up however I spoke to literally the rudest person I've ever encountered at a hotel, who hung up on me after I asked for their name so I could report their really poor attitude, then pretended to not have just spoken to me when I immediately called back (unless there were two people with an extremely distinctive accent working the night shift together), told me a string of lies about hotel policies that don't exist (no manager on duty at night, hotel policy that prevents staff sharing their name over the phone, hotel policy that prevents FOH staff speaking to non resident guests) and also then tried to claim to not be on the phone to me while literally on the phone to me. Just the most utterly bizarre and frustrating experience for someone to go to so much effort to be truly unhelpful. Needless to say my lost item wasn't recovered after a week of being ghosted and the ultimate nonchalance of the front desk to make any effort to find it. In fairness the night manager did try to help, after the same rude staff member suddenly declared she was escalating to the manager because I was being unreasonable when I told her I knew she was lying to me (the manager that didn't exist just a few minutes prior according to her), and he did keep his word to come back to me the next day - both of which I appreciated and felt was more like the standard of service the hotel advertises. But it was far too little, far too late. Nowhere near the standard of room or service that the brand is known for, and really out of sync with Edinburgh generally where people are normally so friendly and helpful and nice. Letting down Edinburgh and IHG.
• SC

  Simon C

  6 days ago
  1.0
  WiFi is Unusable! Did an event at this hotel and the unbearably slow wifi caused SO many problems. No live voting, no last minute changes to presentations. It was awful. borderline ruined the event. We were tethering from our phones to upload basic documents. This is very poor from an Intercontinental brand. Staff were helpful. But don't bother coming here until this is fixed. ESPECIALLY don't host any events here.
• TD

  Taylor Dunn

  Sep 25, 2026
  5.0
  We had an excellent stay! The room was spacious with a table, comfortable bed, air conditioning, an extra fan provided, slippers, robes, a safe, and a mini fridge stocked with some complimentary waters, Diet Coke, and orange juice. The staff was super friendly and took great care of us. Breakfast was included with our stay and was pretty good! The location is amazing. It's close to lots of restaurants and a short walk to all of the historic sites. My only complaint would be the noise. The hotel also works as an event venue. On our first night, the music was so loud I couldn't sleep. The remaining nights, I still heard music but it wasn't nearly as loud. The extra fan provided was able to drown out the sound. Overall, I'd likely stay here again!
• FK

  Farhat Kassim

  Sep 25, 2026
  1.0
  We booked InterContinental Edinburgh The George for a family trip surrounding my husband's reunion. We specifically chose this hotel because their website advertised connecting rooms, which was essential traveling with our daughter and 4-year-old granddaughter. Upon arrival last evening, we were informed that connecting rooms were full and unavailable. When we asked to simply be placed in adjacent rooms, we were refused and split across two completely different wings of the hotel. Navigating to our room with luggage and a young child was an absolute nightmare—from reception, we had to take one lift up to floor 1, walk down corridors, and take a second lift back down to floor 0 just to reach our room. The issues only escalated once inside: Tiny Room: The room space is extremely cramped and uncomfortable. Bathroom Issues: The bathroom sink is clogged and drainage is backed up, the water barely runs, and the hand shower fitting is leaking everywhere. Uncomfortable Bedding: The heavy duvet was far too hot, making for an uncomfortable night's sleep. We were too exhausted after traveling to demand another room move on the spot, but after just one night, we are deeply disappointed. For a hotel claiming 5-star luxury status, the service, room condition, and layout fail to meet basic expectations. We will be checking out early to spend the rest of our stay elsewhere.
• RH

  Russell Horn

  Sep 23, 2026
  2.0
  ​A Tale of One Biscuit, 2:40 AM Pressure Washers, and a Closed Bar ​When paying upwards of $500 a night at the InterContinental in Edinburgh, one rightfully expects a superior experience. Having strayed from my usual haunt, The Malmaison, in search of exactly that, I unfortunately left with mixed feelings, severe sleep deprivation, and a rather sour taste in my mouth. ​The Good Let’s start with the positives. As you would hope from the InterContinental, the public areas are unequivocally beautiful. Furthermore, the regular, public-facing staff are fantastic; from a warm, friendly check-in to a genuinely helpful concierge, they are an absolute credit to the hotel. ​The Bad Unfortunately, the rooms - the very reason you are there and where you spend most of your time - fail to match the premium price tag. Yes, it is a historic European city, so compact rooms are to be expected, but they feel remarkably expensive for what you actually get. For instance, in a $500+ a night room explicitly booked for two guests, providing exactly one complimentary chocolate biscuit feels frankly bizarre. Did they expect us to duel for it? ​Additionally, despite holding status with the hotel, we were told there were no appropriate room upgrades available upon arrival. Curiously, a quick glance at the hotel’s own website showed Castle-view rooms being openly advertised as available for booking. ​The Truly Bizarre The true pièce de résistance occurred at 2:40 am, when we were jolted awake by the kitchen's night staff using a pressure washer to clean two cars directly below our bedroom window. A prompt, desperate call to reception was made, but the aquatic symphony and associated noise continued unabated. We were already battling jet lag, and frankly, this completely ruined much of our stay. ​To add to the frustration, we returned to the hotel on Sunday evening at around 11:40 pm with a few friends, hoping for a quiet nightcap. We were informed the bar had been closed early as it was "quiet." While we were allowed to order a drink, we were told we could not use a seat in the completely empty lobby and would instead have to squeeze our three guests into our notably small bedroom if we wanted to drink it. That failure also resulted in me forfeiting a $100 hotel credit that I had for my stay. To the hotel's credit, management did acknowledge the early-hours pressure-washing debacle by offering us some points and a bottle of Prosecco. While the gesture was appreciated, our trip to Scotland was incredibly short. Trying to navigate our mere two days in Edinburgh whilst completely exhausted entirely negated the luxury price tag. Next time, I’ll be sticking to The Malmaison.

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