Review: the ‘extended stay’ Residence Inn Edinburgh hotel (Part 2)

This is Part 2 of our review of Marriott’s Residence Inn extended stay hotel in Edinburgh.

Part 1 of our Residence Inn Edinburgh review is here.

The hotel website is here if you want to learn more.

The bedroom

The bedroom is smaller than you would normally find in a hotel since you also have a large living room (Rob found the same when he toured Residence Inn Kensington recently):

You also get a TV, Mirror and mini ledge-desk-thingy with stool. To the right of the queen size bed is a large wardrobe with plenty of storage – more than I have at home, to be honest.

Connectivity is good, although there are only plugs and USB sockets on the right hand side of the bed.

Interestingly, the suite doesn’t seem to have air conditioning. Instead, you can manually adjust the radiators in each room. This makes a lot of sense, I think – especially when you consider the weather in Scotland.

Bathroom

An interesting approach has been taken to the bathroom. Instead of having the shower / bath, toilet and sink in a separate room, only the bath and toilet are separated, with the sink open to the hallway:

I’m not sure why this was done, but I equally can’t particularly see a reason why not. The mirror above the sink conceals a large cupboard for storing toiletries etc – another nice touch for an extended stay hotel.

Toiletries are mint-scented by Essential Elements and make you feel like you are showering with a Kendal mint cake! This is the standard brand across Residence Inn.

The kitchen and living room

The largest room in the suite, by far, is the kitchen-living room. This is the size of both the bedroom and bathroom combined:

It looks like you can connect more than one suite as well, judging by the door in the photo above.

As you can see, there is a ‘proper’ desk as well as a fairly large sofa and armchair with laptop stand. The kitchen hugs the back wall:

…. and comes equipped with half-size fridge, half-size oven and full-size dishwasher.

Residence Inn is designed for longer, partly self-catered stays, and so supplies all the basics you might require:

and

You won’t be winning Masterchef any time soon but it’s enough to be able to look after yourself.

All Residence Inn hotels have a free shopping service. You can give the hotel staff your grocery list and they will buy it for you from a local shop and deliver it to your fridge.

(To be perfectly honest, Residence Inn should consider partnering with Hello Fresh or similar meal subscription services – it’s exactly the sort of thing that would work well here.)

You also get some basic tea making facilities, although don’t expect anything other than instant coffee, as there isn’t a coffee machine:

Breakfast

Whilst there’s no restaurant, the hotel offers a free breakfast. In normal times this includes a hot and cold selection served in the hotel lobby.

Right now, the Residence Inn Edinburgh is only serving its grab and go bag. All you do is fill out an order form the night before. You can choose from a range of pastries, yoghurt, cereal, fruit, marmalade / cheese and tea, coffee or juices.

This is what I opted for:

The pastries are baked freshly on site each morning – mine was still warm.

Conclusion

Whilst not designed for short city breaks – although you are free to just stay for one night if you wish – the Residence Inn Edinburgh is a great option if you need to stay close to the university.

It also makes a lot of sense if you have children. The additional space afforded by the Residence Inn, and a separated living and sleeping area, should appeal to families.

My only complaint – and this is completely out of the hotel’s control – was the noisy builders who, on my first morning, decided it was a great idea to do what sounded like pile driving on the university building next door at 7am.

Rates currently start from £70 per night for a studio or £100 for a suite for Marriott Bonvoy members although current pricing is not necessary typical. In September you are looking at £145 – £175 per night.

(To be frank, £100 for a one bedroom suite here is exceptionally good value for money if you are heading to Edinburgh soon.)

The Residence Inn Edinburgh is a Category 5 hotel, which means you’ll need 30,000 to 40,000 Bonvoy points per night. Given our standard value of 0.5p per Bonvoy point, cash is currently the better option.

You can find out more, and book, on the hotel website here.

Thanks to Marriott for hosting me. As usual, HfP paid for all of its other costs including my flight to Edinburgh.

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How to earn Marriott Bonvoy points and status from UK credit cards (April 2024)

There are various ways of earning Marriott Bonvoy points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

The official Marriott Bonvoy American Express card comes with 20,000 points for signing up, 2 points for every £1 you spend and 15 elite night credits per year.

You can apply here.

You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points by converting American Express Membership Rewards points at the rate of 2:3.

Do you know that holders of The Platinum Card from American Express receive FREE Marriott Bonvoy Gold status for as long as they hold the card?  It also comes with Hilton Honors Gold, Radisson Rewards Premium and MeliaRewards Gold status.  We reviewed American Express Platinum in detail here and you can apply here.

You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points indirectly:

• American Express Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
• American Express Rewards Credit Card (10,000 bonus Amex points)

and for small business owners:

• American Express Business Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
• American Express Business Platinum (40,000 bonus Amex points)

The conversion rate from American Express to Marriott Bonvoy points is 2:3.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which can be used to earn Marriott Bonvoy points. 

(Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from the major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.)