W Edinburgh Hotel (by Marriott): Bottom Line Review

The W Edinburgh is a hotel that can be thankful for the old cliché that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. That’s because the developers bizarrely went with such a modern design as to very clearly evoke comparisons to a certain type of emoji (for anyone who has ever used emojis), but the experience of staying at this hotel couldn’t be further from the first image that may come to mind.

W Edinburgh Bottom Line Review

The W Edinburgh is well-located and very classy (so long as your vision of “classy” doesn’t clash with “modern”, which is a possibility in a city so steeped in history). Service was warm and professional at every step during our stay and the breakfast benefit is very generous for Platinum members and above. Elite recognition was oddly inconsistent, with my wife (who has Gold status) getting an “upgrade” and welcome amenity while I have Platinum status and got neither (we had two rooms). Still, this was a great use of 85K free night certificates and put us within walking distance of both easy train transport and Edinburgh’s major tourist sites and the complimentary breakfast with Platinum status was excellent. Furthermore, it was possible to get a “standard” room that accommodated a family of four (a rarity in Europe). I’d certainly consider staying again if I returned to Edinburgh.

• Price: We had two rooms and had a mix of paid and award nights, paying between 79,000 and 98,500 points for award nights. Points weren’t necessarily an amazing value against the cash rate (which varied between about $600 and $800 per night during our dates), but we had four 85K free night certificates to use and I was very happy for the value we got with them. We paid one night in cash given a AAA rate of around $420 on that specific night (points wouldn’t have been a good value). I’ll note that on 3/4 nights, one room with 2 double beds officially accommodated 2 adults and 2 children, which is rare in Europe (oddly, when I later added a paid night to our reservation, the same room type said it could only accommodate two guests).
• Value: As noted above, the value for points varied. When I originally booked, award nights were available for 79K and cash rates were around $600, which is slightly below our Reasonable Redemption Value for Marriott points but still provided excellent value for 85K free night certificates from our Ritz Carlton credit cards. On the other hand, if you’re a family of four and you’re able to book a room with 2 doubles and allowed to occupy it with four people, that might increase the value of booking here versus most other hotels that will require two rooms.
• Location: Excellent if not the best in Edinburgh. The Hilton Edinburgh Carlton and the Radisson Blu are arguably even better-located, but the W is still an easy enough ~5 minute walk to Waverly Station (central train station, from which you can easily get trains to other major cities) and also the St Andrew’s Square tram stop (which made for easy transportation from the airport) and a ~15-minute walk from the National Museum of Scotland (highly recommended) and Edinburgh Castle. Furthermore, the W is immediately next to a shopping center with some convenient fast food options (including Five Guys) and about a 5-minute walk from Edinburgh Street Food (ESF) at the OMNi Centre (which was good for an easy bite).
• Room: We had both a “Wonderful Twin” room with 2 doubles and a “Wonderful King” with 1 king bed. We were told that the room with 2 doubles was upgraded. It felt spacious, but was still just a room with 2 doubles. The King room was sort of an odd layout, but furniture and fixtures were all excellent. Wireless charging next to the bed (on one side) was a nice surprise, as was the presence of a steamer in addition to the expected iron and hair dryer.
• Parking: We didn’t have a car, so I didn’t inquire about parking.
• Resort/Destination Fee: None.
• Internet: Coverage was excellent — we didn’t have a problem getting a signal anywhere in the hotel. Speed was fine, but not as fast as I’d expect. Using Speedtest, I was getting around 30 Mbps up and down — which, again, is fine but not as fast as I’d have expected.
• Service: Excellent. Everyone was warm and friendly, from the check-in agent to Umang, who helped us to our room and explained features of the hotel, to the doormen who made conversation and gave us recommendations. I wrote most of this post while sitting in the “W Lounge” bar on the 11th floor and a couple of people came in after last call and the bartender told them that the bar was closed but that they would see what they could do for them and it didn’t surprise me that the response was “let me see what I can do” instead of “no, we’re closed”. Service at breakfast was similarly warm and happy to accommodate special requests.
• Turndown service: Offered nightly and consisted of bottles of water placed by the bed as well as a mat and slippers on either side. There were no chocolates given as part of turndown service. I’ll note that there very frequently was a housekeeping presence in the hallway throughout the day, so if we needed anything during the day I’m sure it would have been accommodated.
• Dining:
  • Sushisamba (Breakfast from 6:30am to 10:30am): While Sushisamba is a restaurant open for breakfast and dinner, we only went for breakfast — but if breakfast was any indication, dinner is probably excellent. Breakfast is menu style and includes unlimited “continental” options (which were things like an Acai Bowl, Housemade Granola, Meats and Cheeses, Scottish Oatmeal, etc) and one hot dish along with coffee and juice. It would have been 25 pounds for adults or 12.50 for kids, but this was complimentary for 2 adults and 2 kids registered in my room as a Platinum member (and this was noted in their log, so all we had to do was give our room number and there was no bill to sign or charge to pay).
  • W Lounge (Bar) / Roof Top Deck: There is a modern lounge (bar) on the 11th floor and an open rooftop and bar area (with some “bubble” seating) on the 12th floor. Blankets were available on the roof and there were fire pits. Note that this is not a complimentary lounge — it’s called the W Lounge, but it’s just a bar where you pay per drink. Service was as good as it was elsewhere. I had a glass of wine and it came with assorted nuts and they proactively refilled my water glass a few times (even after closing time).

• Spa: There is a spa, but we didn’t make use of it.
• Fitness Room: Good for a city-center hotel. There were treadmills, steppers, a rowing machine, free weights, exercise bikes, and even a heavy bag (and boxing gloves!). The fridge is stocked with bottled water.
• Marriott Platinum Benefits: 
  • Room Upgrade: None given or requested (and the hotel was totally sold out on arrival, so that wasn’t surprising). Oddly, my wife is a Gold member and at check-in I was told that they upgraded her room based on her Gold status. It didn’t actually seem upgraded, but I found it odd that they made mention of hers being upgraded based on her Gold status whereas my room wasn’t upgraded (though I had booked the King room in my name, so maybe there was an upgraded 2 twin room available but not an upgraded 1 king room?).
  • Free Breakfast: Excellent. Based on our post about Which Marriott Elite Benefits Apply, I expected to have to make a welcome amenity choice for breakfast, but at check-in I was told that as a Platinum member I would automatically get complimentary breakfast and 1,000 points. Breakfast was menu-style in Sushisamba restaurant, with unlimited choices from the “Continental” menu and 1 hot menu item per person, plus coffee and juice. See menu pictures below — on one morning, I only ordered “continental” items and we had no problem ordering multiple continental items for one person.
  • Club Lounge: None. Note that there is a bar called the “W Lounge”, but it isn’t a club lounge.
  • Late Checkout: A 4pm late checkout was proactively offered, but not necessary.
  • Welcome Amenity: Oddly, I did not receive a welcome amenity as a Platinum member, but my wife (who is a Gold member) received some Scottish truffles (which were delicious). That said, every room gets some free local alcohol, so everyone sort of gets a welcome amenity.
• Would I stay again?  Absolutely with free night certificates, though I might otherwise have a hard time parting with the cash or using points to what is often a marginal value given other options in the area that cost significantly less.

W Edinburgh Pros

• Modern / “new” feel
• Terrific panoramic views of Edinburgh from the breakfast restaurant and rooftop bar
• Very good location
• Excellent service
• Excellent Marriott Platinum breakfast benefit
• Possible to book a standard room (if you get one with 2 double beds) to accommodate a while family

W Edinburgh Cons

• Odd hotel appearance
• Rarely an excellent use of points (though a pretty good use of a free night certificate given cash rates)

Image Gallery

The Room (Wonderful King)

Breakfast

Fitness room

W Lounge and rooftop bar

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