Whoever chooses to come to this hotel should take into account that after he closes a deal and they give him the price, it's not over yet! When leaving, you are unexpectedly charged for a service and other extras (I remember it costing me about 200 pounds sterling).
This hotel was known for most of its life as The North British hotel. A distinctive name, as I know of no other North British hotels anywhere in the world. I know that the invented name Balmoral may be thought to appeal to visitors as having some kind of royal connection. However, to anyone who knows, every seaside resort in the UK has a cheap bed and breakfast called "The Balmoral". It is a shame that the distinctive North British name was junked in favor of a junk name like The Balmoral. Other Forte hotels such as the Amigo in Brussels and the Astoria in St Petersburg have continued to operate with their classic names - but sadly, not here. North British RIP.
Very interesting.. didn't know that about The Balmoral name. I cut this out of the script because Google removed the incorrect listing and it wasn't really relevant anymore: "The hotel is called 'The Balmoral'. When we arrived at Edinburgh airport, the dispatcher at the taxi stand asked where we were going. I said 'The Balmoral Hotel'. She entered that into a kiosk, which passed the address on to the taxi driver automatically. All fair enough. However, Google had an extra listing for 'Balmoral Hotel' which was on Greenside Row. The taxi dropped us off on Leith Street which seemed close enough, and we presumed was behind the hotel. Long story short, we ended up schlepping our bags about half a kilometer to the real hotel. I reported the business listing to Google as being erroneous and now it seems to have disappeared from Maps, but it might still be sitting in another nav database that uses Google’s data. So if you're traveling by taxi or a ride share app, double check that you’re heading to 'The Balmoral' on Princes Street, and not a back alley behind the Edinburgh Playhouse." Maybe there was another "Balmoral Hotel" that existed there, or perhaps it was just a Maps error? It had one 5-star review at the time.
North Britain was a term widely used until the late 19th century to refer either to Scotland or the very north of England and Scotland. It came about at the peak of support for the Union. As a child in Scotland I had a very ancient and very posh piano teacher who once sent me a postcard from Italy with my address concluding N.B. and not Scotland or U.K! The North British Railway Hotel was the grand hotel of the NBR, North British Railway Company, who owned Waverley Station and operated the trains. All railway companies operated grand hotels at their central stations and most of them survive. I agree with you about the bane change. My family lived in Edinburgh for generations, sadly no longer. As children we all knew the click of the North British Hotel ran 5 minutes fast so passengers would be prompt and not miss their trains.
Loved the review of the hotel; putting it on our list for our next trip to Edinburgh this coming August! Our first return to Europe in seven years, now that we can travel safely once more.
Wow, I had to check that this was really the Balmoral Edinburgh or another hotel…suite looks VERY different from website…not as nice as website at all 😮. Thank you
