GEMMA TIPTONstays at The Caledonian Hilton, Edinburgh
WE WERE going to the Edinburgh Festival for a couple of days, and as it was a last-minute decision, lastminute.com came to mind. This website is great when you don’t know a city that well; it quickly gives you a list of what’s available, with clear prices and easy booking – but it also gives you “Top Secret Hotels”.
According to the website, “these top secret rates are so low that our hotel partners don’t even want to put their names to them. In order for us to bring you these exclusive deals, we are not allowed to tell you the name of the hotel, until you’ve completed your booking!”
Now, I love a little mystery, I love a little luxury and, these days in particular, I’m very fond of saving money, so when we were offered a five-star “luxurious hotel” in the heart of Edinburgh for about €90 each per night, how could we say no? There was also the option of a five-star “sexy hotel”, but as that was about €50 extra, and we’re just good friends, we stuck with the luxury.
The trick with secret hotels is that you pay in full, and within 24 hours they promise to e-mail you and let you know what you’ve got. Our e-mail duly arrived, and with it we were booked into the Caledonian. I remember the Caley, as it is affectionately known in Edinburgh, from previous visits, though I had never stayed there. It’s a bit of an institution, situated at the end of Princes Street, with fantastic views of the castle. Sean Connery has stayed here, as have the Gorbachevs, and on one, doubtless memorable, occasion, Roy Rogers led Trigger the wonder horse up the main staircase (they have photos to prove it).
Once we knew where we were going, I phoned the hotel to make sure we got a twin room, and got put through to a central reservations centre somewhere in the world, where an unhelpful American told me that as my booking was with lastminute.com, there wasn’t anything he could do for me. “At all,” he added.
I began to feel a little like a second-class citizen. The feeling persisted when, on arrival, we were led past scenes of soft-carpeted, chandelier-lit grandeur, and across a line (indicating an obvious “wrong side of the tracks”) at which the carpeting changed, the corridors became narrower, and the doors far closer together.
Our room was disappointing. Instead of the castle, we had a view of a car park, and it was small and a little hostel-like. Still, we reasoned, it wasn’t that expensive, and we’d be out most of the time doing festival things.
Getting back about midnight, however, our room had inexplicably become incredibly overheated. We rang down to reception, which sent someone up to plug in a fan. This stirred up dust, and sent a breeze through the heat, but wasn’t massively satisfactory. Next morning brought up a tricky issue: should we complain? I hate complaining – I’m not very good at it, and I usually apologise like mad in advance for drawing people’s attention to something that isn’t my fault.
The room was substandard – but we weren’t paying full rate. But, we reasoned, if we’d decided to book a hostel, we would have paid even less. And they had advertised it as “luxurious”, and even if they were discounting that luxury, it still should deliver what it promised. The clincher was: could we bear to spend another night in our sauna? So down we went to tell them that we weren’t a bit happy . . . and they couldn’t have been nicer. In fact, the staff at the Caley are fantastic. We didn’t rant and rave, and within a few minutes we had been shown to a room on the top floor with views of the castle.
On our second night, we slept with the windows open to experience the wonderful vista. This time our lack of sleep was our fault, as we also experienced the dawn call of swooping seagulls, but were rewarded for our early awakening with the most stunning sunrise over Edinburgh’s version of the Parthenon on Calton Hill. I’m still not convinced that the standard, or even our upgraded room at the Caley were of five-star quality, although the location is ideal, the staff are brilliant, and the bar and public areas are great.
Back home, I did a little research. We had saved more than €100 with Top Secret Hotels, and comparing lastminute.com’s non-secret Edinburgh hotels, I found booking through the website got the Missoni at €10 cheaper, the George €73 less, the Scotsman cost the same, while the Bonham was €78 more (costs over two nights).
So, all in all, what I learned was that it pays to shop around. Bargains aren’t always bargains, and no matter how little you have paid for something, if it isn’t what you thought you were buying, it definitely pays to complain.
WhereCaledonian Hilton, Edinburgh. 00-44-131-2228888, hilton.co.uk/caledonian.
WhatFive-star city centre hotel.
Rooms254 rooms, including six suites, plus presidential suite.
Best ratesFrom £132 (€140). Check online for deals.
Restaurant and barsPompadour and Chisholms restaurants, the Caley Bar and Henry J Beans.
Child-friendlinessBabysitting service, cots available, children's menu, connecting rooms.
AccessTwo wheelchair- accessible rooms available.
AmenitiesLimited free parking for guests, swimming pool, gym and spa, internet access, fantastic location.