Cosy stay in Edinburgh
4
4
Date of visit: October 2025
I am a disabled person. I have experience of challenges around: accessing toilets and moving around.
I use or have experience of: disabled toilet, wheelchair
Overall Rating
Good
This Premier Inn is located in the heart of Edinburgh and it is close to many transport options. They have a number of accessible rooms on different floors, some with wet rooms and some with lowered baths. I've stayed in both types of rooms and found them to be comfortable and peaceful. I wasn’t disturbed by noises either from other people in the hotel or from outside, which was nice. I also liked the range of lighting styles available in the room. I like a bit of gentle mood lighting when I’m reading before bed to help me wind down! As with most hotel rooms, I found the doors for my room very heavy and I did struggle to get them open on my own. The sliding doors to the bathrooms were also a bit heavy and one in particular seemed like it needed some maintenance as it seemed to stick in one spot that made it really difficult to open. The hotel had a restaurant and bar on the ground floor which was also where they served breakfast. I really liked this hotel, the staff were lovely and I would definitely recommend it and stay here again myself.
Disabled Access In and Around
The main entrance to the hotel has two sets of automatic sliding doors. In between the two sets of doors the flooring is absorbent carpet to stop the floors in the hotel from becoming slippery. Once into the main reception area, the flooring is smooth tiling. Straight ahead there is the main reception area. At peak times, such as check-in and check-out there seemed to always be staff here. At quieter times, staff may be found in the bar and restaurant area instead. There were two check-in machines where you could check-in without needing a member of staff. I found this easy to use even from my wheelchair. If you didn’t want to use these screens, or were struggling to use them, there was a buzzer on the side of the screen to call for someone. To the left of the entrance were toilets, including an accessible toilet. And to the right, was the bar and restaurant area. Once checked in, there was clear signage to the rooms and lift. As you approached the lifts the flooring became carpeted. It wasn’t too difficult to push my wheelchair across, but there was a little bit of resistance. This carpet continued throughout the rest of the hotel. There were two small lifts which took you to all the floors of the hotel. There are accessible rooms on the ground floor and the first floor, as I stayed on both of these floors. There may be more on the other floors too. The doors into the hotel rooms were all quite heavy and I struggled sometimes to swipe my card, open the door and then get myself inside. Both of the rooms I stayed in had the same format. Opposite the main door was the sliding door to the bathroom. These doors were also a bit tricky sometimes, it felt like they needed some maintenance. The bathrooms had a toilet with space for a right-side transfer with a grab rail that could be raised or lowered as needed. There was a lowered counter with the sink and the counter extended to the left so there was space to put toiletries or other belongings. Some of the rooms had a lowered bath with a shower overhead and some had wet rooms. Both setups worked well with sturdy grab rails, controls that were simple and easy to use and felt safe. The main bedroom area was always to the right as you came through the door. On the right-hand side as you entered were some lowered coat hooks and a vanity mirror with a hairdryer plugged in. The large bed was straight ahead and was a good height. Although the base of the bed went all the way to the floor so there wouldn’t have been space for a hoist. On the left was a desk area with a TV, plug sockets and a kettle with tea and coffee options. In the far corner was a small wardrobe area which had some hanging space. There was also an armchair in both of the rooms. I actually found the armchair got in the way of me being able to get around and into the bed. So I had to move it into a corner so that I was able to get alongside the bed and it was quite heavy to move. There were a decent number of plug sockets in various locations around the room. Some by the bed for my phone and smaller devices and some by the desk and vanity mirror for things like charging my power attachment or using the hairdryer.
Accessible facilities: Lift to all areas, Step-free entrance, Step-free access to most areas
Parking & Transport
Good
I travelled to this place by walk or wheel
Edinburgh Waverley train station is approximately 650 metres from the hotel. If you are walking from the hotel to the train station, there are some routes that have a steep incline. This is just something to note if you struggle with steep hills. I found it manageable both in my manual wheelchair on its own and with a power attachment. There are certain routes to the station where the incline isn’t as steep and they are only marginally longer. Just 210 metres from the hotel is the Picardy Place tram stop which has regular tram services. These trams continue to Edinburgh airport in one direction, and Newhaven in the other. Directly outside the entrance of the hotel is the York Place bus stop where you can get the buses 10 and 11 heading east. The alternative York Place stop for the same buses, but in the other direction, is 170 metres from the hotel. Just around the corner are the two Broughton Street bus stops (one on either side of the road). From these stops you can get the number 8 bus. There aren’t any parking facilities available at this hotel.
Staff
Excellent
All the staff were friendly and warm whenever I interacted with them. They were happy to help when I had a query and I found it was always easy to find someone if I needed something.
