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Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh Live
National
Katie Williams

Edinburgh hotel 'sorry' after disgruntled guest labels it 'Fawlty Towers'

A hotel in Edinburgh has apologised after a guest slammed its food and branded it 'Fawlty Towers'.

Taking to Tripadvisor, the guest explained that she and her partner stayed at the Holiday Inn Express at Edinburgh Airport for just one night before flying out. She paid £96.99 for the room which she said was reasonable but the 'freezing cold' and 'dusty rooms' led her to march to reception and request another room.

The guest went on to explain, while the staff quickly helped her out, she couldn't get over the experience at the restaurant. She claimed the food was stone cold, describing her partner's steak pie as a hockey puck.

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She wrote: "When we walked into our room it was freezing cold and it looked a bit unloved. I went to turn on the television only to discover it was faulty, I tried to phone Reception to inform them about this but the dusty phone was also faulty?! My partner then noticed a big orange stain on the bed - that was quite enough.

"I marched back to reception and I asked for another room, my request was quickly fulfilled and the new room was far more satisfactory, it at least had a working television and a cleaner bed.

"For the inconvenience, the receptionist handed us a voucher for a free item from the mini bar, but we wish he had given us a voucher for the restaurant for what was to come next.

"Arriving at the restaurant downstairs we instantly noticed how cold it was, I kept my jacket on the entire time. It was already a small menu, but then we found out there was no fish and chips, no margarita pizza and no garlic dough balls, so my partner ordered the steak pie… Well he never knew he signed up for the national hockey league but apparently he did.

"His steak pie was so solid it went skyting across his plate like a hockey puck when he tried to cut into it, thankfully the stone cold mashed potatoes rescued it from falling onto the floor. I ordered the nachos which was a bowl of stale crisps with some sauce and burnt cheese, for this we were charged an eye-watering £28!

"I overheard another guest complaining about the lack of items from the menu being available and he asked where else he could get something to eat, to be told by the bar man ‘I don't know’ - appalling service!"

She fumed: "Across the road to the petrol station for a sandwich and a packet of crisps would be better than in here! At least we had our free bag of skittles from the mini bar."

The guest also added that along with the cost of the room, she was also charged £40 for the car park for four nights and would still need to use the shuttle bus to the airport.

She added: "I think we would have been better off sleeping in the car and getting use of the £40, I would not return to this hotel and I would not recommend it to anyone."

Holiday Inn quickly responded, apologising for their experience and said the review was made known the team at Edinburgh.

Holiday Inn responded: "Thanks for sharing feedback about your stay with us. We're committed to providing you with the best overall experience. However, I am sorry for what happened during your stay. Your review was made known to the team, and I'm confident improvements will be made to deliver complete guest satisfaction.

"Despite the setbacks mentioned in your review, I hope you find your way back to us should your travels bring you again to the area for a chance to make your stay better than the last."

Holiday Inn Express at Edinburgh Airport currently has a respectable four point rating on Tripadvisor with guests rating the location and cleanliness with four and a half points, and service and affordability four points.

One other guest recently wrote with a five-star rating: "Very quick check in, room facing runway excellent, room was big and very clean. Quiet and had pizza bbq chicken, it was hot and served to room. Bathroom big, refurbished since last visit. Beds very comfortable."

And another added: "Pretty good big chain hotel, friendly staff, quite spacious and comfortable room, good bathroom. Very good choice for breakfast, everything tasty. The restaurant menu is quite limited. No free parking available, the parking just outside the hotel is quite expensive."

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