The customer stayed at the Holiday Inn Express Edinburgh Leith Waterfront and was left raging about the quality of his room.
15:12, 11 Dec 2025
The Holiday Inn Express in Leith(Image: Google)
The manager of a hotel in Leith has apologised to a guest who wrote a frustrated review on TripAdvisor, slamming the establishment for a 'disturbing' experience. The customer stayed at the Holiday Inn Express Edinburgh Leith Waterfront and was left raging about the quality of his room.
Voicing his discontent on the hotel, which boasts 1,989 reviews with a 4.1-star average rating, the guest said: "My wife and I have stayed several times at this hotel and have always found it satisfactory for the price. However, on this occasion we were in a long, gloomy room with little natural light.
"There was one smallish window, in a corner, looking out over various ventilation devices. We were disturbed by the noise of early-morning deliveries, as well as noise from the adjacent lift.
"On entering, we were put off by dark stains on the carpet (burns?) and stains on the sofa material. All in all, not an uplifting experience and we may seek out alternative hotel accommodation in future."
Hotel management have since apologised to the guest, saying they "regret" the conditions of the room. The reply read: "We’re glad you have stayed with us previously and found your visits satisfactory, though we’re very sorry this stay did not meet your expectations.
"We understand the room environment and noise issues were disappointing, and we regret the condition of the carpet and sofa impacted your experience.
"Our team are always available during a stay to help with any concerns, and we hope to have the opportunity to provide a more positive stay in the future."
The hotel has a total of 709 five-star reviews as well as 878 four-star reviews on TripAdvisor. One satisfied guest said: "Major shout out to Holiday Inn Leith Waterfront. We are in town right now and granddaughter is ill. [A member of staff] has gone way over and above to help me out find everything needed to take care of this situation to make sure our visit is successful. I highly recommend this hotel if you are traveling. Great with kids even the older ones."
Another shared: "Major shout out to Holiday Inn Leith Waterfront. Kirsty, Lucas, Dylan at the reception went way over and above to help us out find everything needed to take care of every situation concerned. They made sure our visit was welcoming informative and enjoyable. I highly recommend this hotel if you are traveling."
A third happy customer penned: "We stayed 3 nights and are so glad we chose this inn just a little out of the City. We are currently touring the UK and spending the majority of our accommodation in Holiday inn Express. This one was the best so far."