We have passed by The Original Raj Hotel many times and wanted to go in.  The house looks impressive, the Indian theme sounded interesting and it is in a nice bit of Edinburgh.  Looking for somewhere to rest of heads we got a good deal and went for it.

Elephant outside main door

Main Entrance Hallway

The reception area is a bit of a muddle, a door with a welcome sign on it takes you into the lounge?  The reception is actually at the end of the hallway and to a room at the side.

Second Floor Bedroom

The second floor bedroom was a bit stuffy when we arrived.  It was a hot day in Edinburgh and some fresh air in the room would have been good. The view however was amazing.

View from second floor bedroom

Decorative lighting

The decorative lighting, bed and cabinets were a good touch but the carpet had melt marks from irons and was threadbare and dirty feeling.  The bathroom had no where to hang clothes which was fun as the shower curtain didn’t contain the water!

The bed, was a lovely design, but squeaked as soon as you looked at it.  We both tried to pull the blind down to enable a sleep later but only succeeded in pulling it right off its hinges!

We advised reception of the problem and left for our evening.

Returning at midnight we were advised that the blind had not been fixed and would this be a problem – well yes, it gets light very early and we would like not to get up at 5am!  We were offered another room so had to move our things, with no help, down to the bottom floor.

Second Room

This room was larger with another two beds but again no fresh air and the heating was on full blast. Thankfully we could open the door for air and turn off the radiator – but not in the bathroom which was a hazard as it was on full.  Again musty smelling room but the outside looked nice in the morning, shame nothing to encourage you to go out.

Outside Second Room

Mould on Shower Curtain

Bathroom Tiles

As well as the million degree radiator, the tiling was sharp and not neat and the shower curtain was mouldy.

Breakfast Buffet

Breakfast Buffet

The morning “continental breakfast” consisted off coffee (no tea to  be seen), yoghurt, croissant, jam, butter, processed cheese???, bread and three kinds of cereal in bowls.  The croissant was hard and we couldn’t understand the processed cheese – does anyone eat this?

As we checked out we advised of the problems to be met with a blank look.

ah well…overall, good location and good if you get a cheap deal and are just looking for somewhere to lay your head.  However the staff aren’t too welcoming and it has more of a hostel feel than a hotel feel.