Grand Central Hotel, The Regent

Ultra convenient location with the main shopping street nearby, car rental is 4 min walk away. If you're arriving on a late train, the direct entrance to the hotel lobby from the station is closed and you have to walk out of the station. Interiors of the hotel are quite modern. Breakfast is basic but had all the classic items to make a full Scottish breakfast. Special shout-out to Dylan who went above and beyond when my train (Caledonian sleeper) was cancelled 3 hours before departure and I had to find last minute accommodation. He was very empathetic and made me feel better about the circumstances.

The room was big, although a little strangely laid out, but nice and clean. Importantly, there was no minibar/empty mini fridge (we always put water or other drinks in the fridge so we missed this). The real issues were with service: we had many small issues that accumulated. Staff were usually really friendly, but were incredibly slow to answer on the phone (if they answered at all). The first 3 days we were there, we got breakfast to the room and all 3 times things were missing. We are diamond elite members of IHG and had the option to have breakfast included, which we chose. Despite this, we were repeatedly asked to pay for breakfast. We had to tell them to check that we had indeed had breakfast included each time, only after the first time this happened did we got an apology, none after. We called reception the last night (getting an answer very late) asking for some bowls and cutlery (specifically forks, knives and spoons). It took almost 20 minutes and a second call for anything to arrive, despite our room being near storage for housekeeping (which also meant a lot of noise especially quite early in the morning; something to consider if you’re a light sleeper). In the end, they forgot the spoons, but at that point, we felt it was too late to ask for some (fearing as well that we would have to wait another 20 minutes and perhaps have to give another call as well). The location is very central and very convenient especially if you come into central station and the rooms are comfortable, but the many small issues which had accumulated had a noticeable impact on the quality of our stay which unfortunately was also affected by repairs and technical malfunctions throughout: we weren’t sure if the AC was working properly (with constant flashing having to be covered up so that we could sleep), the lifts were often out of service and for half of our stay there were repairs/cleaning being done to chandeliers overlooking the stairwell which meant a large area being cordoned off, a tarp covering most of the chandelier, and a bit of a smell in that area. Overall, comfortable room, but the rest was lacking severely.