Does The Guards Hotel offer free cancellation for a full refund?

Yes, The Guards Hotel does have fully refundable room rates available to book on our site. If you’ve booked a fully refundable room rate, this can be cancelled up to a few days before check-in depending on the property's cancellation policy. Just make sure to check this property's cancellation policy for the exact terms and conditions.

Are pets allowed at The Guards Hotel?

Sorry, pets aren't allowed, but service animals are welcome.

Is parking offered on site at The Guards Hotel?

Sorry, there's no onsite parking at The Guards Hotel.

What are the check-in and check-out times at The Guards Hotel?

Check-in start time: 2 PM; Check-in end time: 10 PM. Check-out time is 10 AM.

What's the area around The Guards Hotel like?

The Guards Hotel is in West End, a short 2-minute walk from Haymarket Tram Station and 9 minutes' walk from Princes Street.

The Guards Hotel, Edinburgh: Hotel Reviews, Rooms & Prices

10/10 Exceptional

Oct 12, 2025

Clean room, friendly staff, and an excellent location. This no-frills hotel is perfect for a night or two’s stay.

Iain, 1-night trip

8/10 Very good

Jul 27, 2025

This is an affordable hotel in Edinburgh. It is right across the street from the Haymarket Station. The rooms are small but clean and the staff is super nice and welcoming.

Kelly, 1-night trip

2/10 Poor

Aug 10, 2025

The property is shabby and needs painting. The room we had had a water stain on the ceiling. In the bathroom. Lino tiling was coming away from the wall. The bedroom was in need of decorating. It was not worth £494 for 4 nights

Sheila, 4-night trip

6/10 Good

Jul 18, 2025

Ok but the bathroom is too small, sink n shower is very small in size. There was smell in the bathroom and no fan.

Fahmida, 1-night trip

4/10 Fair

Jul 20, 2025

The room is relatively narrow and the light is not inconvenient. The shampoo bottle in the bathroom was partly broken.

Masaki, 1-night trip

8/10 Very good

Jun 3, 2025

We did not realise there was no reception, but luckily we checked in before the staff left. Helpful staff. We have to pay cash in full since their card machine was broken? Good location, but can be noisy. Good size room but not comfortable bed.

Yifei, 1-night trip

8/10 Very good

Apr 26, 2025

I loved the room. It was huge and beautiful. Just the sanitary facilities could use an update. We had fans and radiators/heaters to use. Close by (1 min walking) was the haymarket tram station. That was very useful and so we were fast in the center.

Romy, 4-night trip

8/10 Very good

Oct 24, 2024

It was central for every thing we needed

Martin, 1-night trip

8/10 Very good

Apr 21, 2025

They only take cash for Expedia bookings.

Cristian, 2-night trip

8/10 Very good

Jul 29, 2024

Affordable, safe, great location

This hotel was worth the low price. Places in Edinburgh are generally super expensive, so this a great option if you're okay with staying somewhere a little less fancy but in a great location. It's a bit out-dated but has lots of character, and it's in a safe, central location (incredibly close to st Mary's Cathedral) and about 20 mins walking from the Royal Mile and all the action. There are good affordable food options nearby as well, and it's a minute from the tram station which was nice because we were hauling around luggage.

Lauren, 2-night trip

6/10 Good

Feb 2, 2025

Guard’s Hotel review

Down for rugby. Hotel basic and a little tired in need of a facelift. Shower only warm at best. Extra heaters in room. Which were needed. Old windows bit draughty. Overall nae good and nae bad.

Mark, 1-night trip

6/10 Good

Nov 11, 2024

The shower was cold - not hot water and when we got to the room it was cold but I told the receptionist and he provided me with a heater but the hot water was not reported. No receptionist around at 6am for me to report the problem to. Room was comfy and clean. great value for a night in Edinburgh which is expensive.

Beverley, 1-night trip

2/10 Poor

Sep 8, 2025

The is no toilet paper holder The toilet seat is loose and can't be tightened by hand The fulcrum for the toilet flush is loose and need better tightening then the piece of paper currently jammed in place as it makes it incredible hard to flush and sometimes you have to stand on the toilet to pull the lever to flush The chain to the toilet is falling of as the top chain link is opening The downspout pipe from the cistern is fixed with tape. The shower cubicle is fixed with tape and the drain needs to be cleaned I found a previous guests bar soap on top of the shower One of the tap handles fell off There is missing at least 5 light bulbs, 3 in the wall lights by between the doors , 1 in the left side reading lamp by the bed and 1 by the bathroom mirror The pull string to turn on the lights by the other bathroom mirror is also missing The windows in the main room are stuck from paint, you can only open the window in the bathroom to air out the room. There missing several knobs on drawers. The daybed drawers are fixed with tape. The TV resets its settings when turned of. The kettle needs cleaning as something is burnt on the bottom The bed is very hard and needs a bed topper The top of the 4 poster bed looks like it has never been cleaned as there is a huge layer of dust The carpet is incredibly dirty and needs a thorough cleaning The lack of a credit card machine is not acceptable in this day and age. I had to get 540 pounds in cash just to get our room

Thomas, 6-night trip

10/10 Exceptional

Aug 16, 2023

An absolute bargain for August!!

For the price we paid during The Fringe Festival it was fantastic value for money. Yes the hotel is tired and in need of refurbishment but it was clean and comfortable enough and was perfect for us to lay our head down after 2 busy Festival days. Only a 15/20 minute walk from the Royal Mile and directly opposite Haymarket Train Station. Lots of shops, pubs and restaurants minutes away from the property. We were able to park 2 minutes away in Distillery Lane using Just Park app. The surrounding area seemed very safe day or night. Finally we were that happy with the hotel and its fantastic price during Fringe month we have booked again for next year already!

Craig, 2-night trip

4/10 Fair

Nov 22, 2024

Basic

We were early for check-in and it took some time to find a member of staff to take our bags for storage. Check-in was smooth and we were forewarned that the hotel were unable to take card payments. The room smelled musty and was dated (in need of modernisation). It seemed that we were in a disabled room with a wet room shower, the position of the toilet meant that only a child could sit on it properly, very little space between it and dividing wall. Apart from tea/coffee making facilities in room the hotel didn't offer anything else The mattress was springy but nonetheless comfortable, Room was a bit noisy from passers by and trams. Overall however, for a one night stay in Edinburgh the location was excellent and it did represent value for money.

Mark, 1-night trip

2/10 Poor

Sep 26, 2023

Checkin MUST be scheduled weeks in advance apparently despite the “reception” claiming to be open daily from 2-10. I stood outside in the rain with my luggage for over an hour trying to get ahold to someone or even Expedia to help me because you can’t get in without a key BUT you can’t get a key unless reception is OPEN. Just got lucky someone showed up and let me in. Both an Expedia agent and I reached out to the property a week in advance about cancelling because they now require cash payment only. They emailed me a cancellation the same afternoon I was already set to checkin and at their door. Fine once checked in because I was too exhausted from a day of travel and no sleep, the property is old and therefore poorly kept. Carpeting was stained and smelly. Bed was uncomfortable. The highlights: the location to the tram, the room was spacious, the shower was hot.

kristen, 1-night trip

4/10 Fair

Oct 30, 2025

The rooms were gross, paint peeling off the walls

Anh, 4-night trip

8/10 Very good

Aug 23, 2025

Ideally Located

Great place to stay with easy access to tramway and Haymarket Station. Found parking (albeit expensive at £26.49 for the night)) at the Distillery across the road about 200m away.

David, 1-night trip

2/10 Poor

Jul 23, 2025

Horreur à Edimbourg

La réception est ouverte de 10:00 à 12:00 et de 14:00 à 22:00. On est arrivé à 13:00, une personne nous a ouvert la porte de l'hôtel, a dit qu’elle pouvait garder nos bagages jusqu’à l’ouverture de la réception. Quand on est revenu, la réceptionniste nous a dit qu’on était obligé de régler la chambre en espèce. J’ai voulu annuler mais elle m’a menacé en disant « ce n’est pas grave, nous récupéreront notre argent depuis le site de réservation via votre carte de crédit » J’étais obligé d’aller à un distributeur, tirer de l’argent et payer comptant. La chambre qu’elle nous a donné faisait à peine 6 m2! Est-il légal de louer des chambres si petites? Je sais que je devrais faire des recherches plus approfondies avant de réserver et je m’en veut énormément mais je pense que Hotels.com n’est pas totalement innocent non plus! Obliger les gens à payer cash en 2025 et obliger 2 personnes passer la nuit dans 6m2 avec ses valises est inacceptable.

La chambre pour 2 personnes et leurs valises

david, 1-night trip

8/10 Very good

Jul 11, 2025

good value

Colin, 1-night trip

6/10 Good

May 10, 2025

Charmerende Hotel

Centralt beliggende med gode pubber og spisesteder tæt på. Hotellet er småt, der er dog alt hvad vi havde brug for. Rent og pænt indenfor. Udvendig kan der godt bruges lidt på vedligeholdelse 😍 Søde og venlige personaler, som var klar til at hjælpe. Specielt er pubben Haymarket et besøg værd. Offentlig transport perfekt stoppesteder tæt på og med gratis Sporvogn til lufthavnen. Det var muligt at opbevare kufferter efter udtjekning.

Yelva, 1-night trip

10/10 Exceptional

May 8, 2025

This property was lovely, and on our last evening we had a lovely visitor in our room upon our arrival home from dinner ... a cat! Most would be bothered by this, we saw it as a sign of good will.

Heather, 3-night trip

4/10 Fair

Apr 17, 2025

Staff was very polite. However the place was quite dirty, peanuts on the floor, plenty of hairs on the carpet, the toilet was running water during the day and night. Difficult to sleep with the constant noise. The bed was also unsteady and noisy. There was some spider webs hanging on the ceiling.

Natalia Ramirez, 3-night trip

2/10 Poor

Feb 23, 2025

Dont stay here

Looks nothing like the photos. Very dated looks really rough not very clean. Shower had part of the wall missing and was covered with a bit of black plastic and the flooring was coming up

1-night trip

6/10 Good

Jan 1, 2025

Guards hotel December 24

The front door was locked so waited over 5 mins to be answered. They asked for cash payment upon entry as they no longer deal with credit cards.water was cold for shower

Julie, 1-night trip

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Does The Guards Hotel offer free cancellation for a full refund?

Are pets allowed at The Guards Hotel?

Is parking offered on site at The Guards Hotel?

What are the check-in and check-out times at The Guards Hotel?

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The Guards Hotel Reviews

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