What I liked
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Excellent city centre location
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Terrific view of the city from my room
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Super Stylish room
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Top notch breakfast
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In room Nespresso machine, luxury tea and shortbread
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Good treatment as an IHG elite
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I had one night at Intercontinental Edinburgh the George by IHG. In that short time, I liked what I saw! I would suggest to stay here for a few days, if you visit Edinburgh.
The hotel is a smart business hotel right in the centre of the city. I was lucky enough to get a room with water view, and I can definitely recommend it.
The breakfast was terrific. There was an in-room Nespresso machine, as well as luxury tea and shortbread. What’s not to like?!
This review is a detailed guide with lots of photos. Each photo can be clicked, to open out the fill slideshow.
I really enjoyed my stay at the Intercontinental Edinburgh the George by IHG.
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Edinburgh is an expensive city, there’s no getting round that. The room rates at the Intercontinental Edinburgh the George by IHG are highly seasonal. Starting at £180 during winter. Going up to £550 for the cheapest room in August.
Book your room on the hotel website here.
I stayed in October and paid £280 for one night.
This seasonality feature is very different to hotels in London (where I live). Check out my review of the JW Marriott Grosvenor House. A 5* hotel opposite Hyde Park. The hotel rates are pretty stable all year round. It’s far more expensive than the Intercontinental Edinburgh during the winter. But that flips during the summer, when the Intercontinental is more expensive.
The Intercontinental Edinburgh is located right in the centre of the city, on George Street. Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland. The hotel is walking distance to the main city attractions such as Royal Mile, Calton Hill, Edinburgh Castle and Princes Street Gardens.
On a personal level, I love Edinburgh – it’s a beautiful place. I love walking around this historical city and soaking up the atmosphere. I stayed for a short trip with my family and had a great time.
Edinburgh isn’t short of good hotels, and the Intercontinental is certainly one of them.
I reviewed the Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh. A massive and luxury hotel, with rooms overlooking Edinburgh Castle. Sadly, my room didn’t overlook the castle.
I also reviewed the Kimpton Edinburgh. Which is across the road from the Waldorf Astoria. A stylish hotel made up of 7 townhouses, a swimming pool and a spa. But I didn’t like it!
The hotel is 8 miles from the airport. The journey took me 30 minutes and I paid £40. I didn’t use Uber, as they don’t have a good reputation in Edinburgh (or anywhere!). I pre-booked my taxi. The company has a 4.9* rating on Trustpilot from over 45,000 reviews.
You can book your taxi here or use the form below.
There’s no place like Edinburgh. A city with rich history, iconic landmarks, stunning scenery, cosy pubs and great whisky. Below are some of my favourite attractions when you visit.
Edinburgh Castle dominates the skyline of Edinburgh. It’s also the most famous landmark in Edinburgh. Book you ticket here for £37. Tour is rated 4.8* from over 5,000 reviews. You’ll have a guide take you through the castle. And you’ll get the best view of the city.
You can book a full day tour of Loch Ness and the Highlands here – including a cruise. The trip costs £61, it lasts 12 hours and is rated 4.7* from over 6,000 reviews. It’s a tiring day, but the Highlands are stunning.
The Intercontinental Edinburgh is quite unassuming from the outside. You can see that from the image above. But don’t let that fool you. The hotel has 250 rooms and suites.
It’s a smart hotel with the following features:
I only stayed for on night, so I didn’t book a room with club Lounge access. Typically, a Club Lounge will serve breakfast, afternoon tea and an evening happy hour. Read my review of the Intercontinental Madrid, for an example of an Intercontinental Club Lounge.
The Fitness Centre is open 24/7. But sadly I didn’t get time to use it. It has around 10 cardio machines, 4 strength machines and some dumbbells.
The Intercontinental Edinburgh is located in a Category A listed building. The five Georgian Townhouses that form the core of the hotel are 15-25 George Street. Those buildings are listed. The architecture is very Scottish. You can only see buildings like this in Scotland or the UK.
The buildings have been there since 1780. Forming a key part of Edinburgh’s New Town UNESCO World Heritage area. The hotel was formerly the Principal Edinburgh, before being converted into the Intercontinental Edinburgh. This hotel is the only Intercontinental in Scotland.
My room was terrific. As an IHG platinum, I was upgraded to a premium room on the 6th floor (out of 7). The room had a river view of the Firth of Forth. The room was around 25 metres squares. Interestingly, the website says that premium rooms are between 18 and 50 square metres!
The cheapest rooms are the cosy rooms. Then you have the classic rooms. And the highest level of room are the premium rooms. Given that I have booked the lowest level of room, the upgrade was pretty good.
The room had the following features:
The best feature of the room was definitely the view! There are photos in the above slideshow and below. Edinburgh is a low lying city, and you can see all the way out to Portobello beach and the Firth of Forth.
The bed was large. It was so big that my daughter didn’t sleep in her rollaway bed, but in between mum and dad.
The décor of the room was simple and classy. There was a lot of light wood and neutral colours. However, the classy sofa and throw cushions added a splash of colour to the room.
There was an in room Nespresso machine. Which I think all 5* hotels should offer. But sadly they don’t! They also have a kettle, and a selection of luxury teas. And a couple of Scottish shortbread.
The below photo shows the view from the room.
There was a small bathroom with a large shower. No bath tub. The bathroom was uber stylish. With white tiles and dark grouting.
The toiletries were by Agraria. A luxury home fragrance brand founded in 1970 in San Francisco.
I liked the bathroom, although I do prefer a bath tub to a shower. But for one night, it didn’t really make a difference.
I enjoyed my breakfast at the Intercontinental Edinburgh. There was a combination of buffet items and cook to order options. The breakfast consisted of the following options:
It was a pretty good range of options – as you would expect from a 5* intercontinental.
As I’m vegetarian, I ate exclusively from the a la carte menu. I had Scotch pancakes and Porridge. The porridge was hot and fresh. The pancakes were well made although I’m not the biggest fan of scotch pancakes, which are thin and small. I prefer the American style thick buttermilk pancakes.
I tried one of my wife’s veggie sausages and it was decent. I also had a Scottish breakfast tea with my breakfast which was fine. Nothing special.
I took a look at the Scottish breakfast buffet for the benefit of this review. The bacon, sausages etc. seemed ok. The staff were replacing them frequently. One common issue at hotels is when they cook these items and leave them out for a long time. Eating cold and hard bacon is never nice!
The breakfast menu is below.
I didn’t stay at the Intercontinental Edinburgh the George by IHG for long. But it left a lasting impression. The hotel has a fantastic location. The view was excellent, and so was the breakfast.
I reviewed the Intercontinental Paris. A beautiful hotel in an amazing location – opposite Paris Opera. That being said, I didn’t like it! My room wasn’t great.