Review of Premier Inn Edinburgh Airport - Newbridge 3*

The Premier Inn Edinburgh Airport was one of the few chain hotels we tried in the UK and Ireland, and it was one of my favorite accommodations. It was very familiar for this American who has stayed in many budget chain hotels such as La Quinta and Motel 6. However, it was very much at the high end of budget in terms of features. The hotel was very clean and spacious. The bathroom (washroom) was actually completely closed off from the sleeping area, contrary to what we found in many other places in Europe. The bed was ridiculously comfortable, with multiple sheets/blankets and even multiple thicknesses of pillows for you to choose. I think there were also extra blankets available in the room. The TV (telly) was large and had a lot of choices for channels, and there was a very nice welcome packet next to the bed. Perhaps the best feature was the air conditioning, which was included for free with the room and worked very well. It made it much easier to sleep, especially on hot summer days. Downstairs, the hotel had the usual vending machines for drinks and snacks, but also one for ice cream and another for incidentals like toothbrushes. Very convenient not having to ask a concierge or leave the property. I only had two major complaints about this establishment. First, they were short on staff. There was no one at the front desk when we arrived, so we checked in with a kiosk, which was fine, but later when we came down for dinner, there was only one poor lady doing everything, and the restaurant had to be closed because one employee was injured and another had to drive her. The woman who told us all this was nonetheless very polite and helpful, but it was obvious the chain did not have enough staff to deal with issues like this. The other thing I did not like was the hotel's location. We chose it in part because it was listed (and shown on Google Maps) as being very close to the Edinburgh Airport, but we had to take a cab (very expensive) from the airport because it was too far to walk with luggage, and when we found out the restaurant was closed, our only option was to walk about 10-15 minutes to a nearby McDonald's. Not a very warm welcome for our first night in Scotland and the UK, but we made the best of it. The area around the hotel is pretty empty except for some car dealerships (and the aforementioned McDonald's), but it is not really close to anything. There is bus service right at the street, which we used to get to the rest of the city and the train station later on. All in all, a good option if you don't mind the location and the potential lack of staff.