A hotel reviewer was desperate to leave Edinburgh's 'worst-rated' hotel after making a couple of grim discoveries during her visit.
At the start of this month Britannia made history by being named the UK's worst hotel chain for a tenth year in a row.
Winning just two stars across every category, the 60 establishment group was described as “tired and tatty” with a “rough and ready” feel by Which? respondents.
It was with similarly damning criticism in mind that Edinburgh Live's reporter Sian Traynor decided to test Edinburgh's Britannia, which has a reputation as being the worst rated in the city.
In December 2021 she visited the hotel, and was not overly impressed.
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"Not much seems to have changed at the Britannia since its 90s heyday initial days, with the building itself looking tired when I arrived," she wrote about arriving at the Britannia.
"Location-wise, the hotel could not be in a better place, sitting at the bottom of Palmerston Place, just a few steps away from the National Galleries and Dean Village.
"Entering the reception, it is easy to forget that your next to such an historic and iconic location, with the block stone building not giving off much pizazz."
Sian decided to approach the hotel with an open mind and not "initial appearances deceive" her, having stayed in far worse-looking hotels before and having good stays.
She had forked out £55 for the room on a weekday, an affordable price compared to the £140 rooms can go for on certain weekends.
"When I arrived at reception, a rather sullen member of staff started to get my room keys ready, which gave me a chance to have a first glimpse around," Sian continued.
"The reception looks on over to the bar area, which was very quiet, and although pretty tired looking, appeared to be relatively clean and tidy."
After getting hold of her room keys the intrepid reviewer headed to the "slightly alarming looking" lifts.
"Covered in all white chipboard, the four lifts each had their own individual carvings presumably provided by hotel guests who had scratched their names, football chants and some questionable symbols into the walls," she wrote.
"Stepping out onto my floor everything was quiet, which made the hotel feel eerie but was preferable to the barrage of noise previous guests had warned me about.
"One thing I can tell you is that the walls are most definitely thin, as I was able to hear a few conversations as I sought out my room.
"Finally, I found the number I had been looking for, I took a deep breath and headed in."
On first glance the room seemed to be okay, despite the mismatched nature of the furniture.
On closer inspection, Sian began to realise why the hotel has gained "a bit of a reputation."
"The first thing I noticed after taking a few steps in was the unusual and very obvious white stains that adorned the tired blue carpet next to the bed," she continued.
"I put my bag down and for my own peace of mind, wiped down the surfaces in the bedroom with antibacterial wipes that I had brought.
"Although, the desk and small chest of drawers did appear have been wiped down previously, you can never be too careful."
When she went into the bathroom Sian was greeted with a number of small, dark and wiry hairs sitting in the sink.
"Despite knowing they most likely did not come from someone's head, I tried again to not give too much thought as to their origin, and decided not to drink by the white plastic cups sitting nearby," she wrote.
"The flooring in the toilet was tired, grotty and darkened in some places, with the bath and shower also looking poorly maintained with a yellowing rubber bath mat.
"The skirting was warped and a bit rotted in places, and the room felt like it had needed a good scrub for a while.
"After noticing a small room which led into an adjoining room that I hadn't booked, I scalped my hand on a tiny but furiously hot radiator."
Sian found the pillows to be "hard as a rock" but provided a seat of sorts for her to watch Masterchef on the little TV.
Midway through she noticed that there was only one plug socket that was nowhere near the bed and was located on the other side of the room.
"Come the morning I did have a bit of a stiff neck from the pillow, but the solid hours of sleep I did get definitely helped my mood," she said.
Breakfast was not all that bad, the reporter concluded.
Despite her slight disappointment at there being no coffee machine and the eggs being slightly unappetising, Sian "was able to fill a plate with some nice looking sausage, tattie scones, beans, tomato and mushrooms.
"I also grabbed some toast and in all honesty, the meal wasn't bad at all. The mushrooms were a bit cold and it was no five-star dining, but for £7 it did the job.
"Then just like that I was off, keys handed in and in all honesty, I was glad to be out.
"It's probably fair to say the Britannia lives up to its reputation, and we would definitely encourage bringing some cleaning wipes if you're planning on staying the night.
"For £55 a night it's manageable, but if you've coughed up £140 we can guarantee you're going to be disappointed."
