Hotels in Aberdeen, Scotland?
 

My husband and I are trying to plan a trip with my parents to Aberdeen (from the US). My husband is originally from Aberdeen, and his parents still live there. We will be staying with them, but are in need of a good hotel for my parents.

We think that it would be best if they stay downtown or very close to downtown. The only places we can really think of are The Royal Hotel (although we don't know what the hotel is like, just the restaurant), or The Patio (near the beach). My husband mentioned The Thistle in Cove, but that's going the opposite way from where his parents live in Torry.

Any suggestions would be awesome. I don't think they'd want to stay in a B&B.

The Royal is, frankly, a dive. The Patio is fine, but is mass produced.

Does your husband not mean the Thistle-that used to be the Caledonian- on Union Terrace. That would be a FAR better bet.

Five other options would be the Ramada Jarvis- that used to be the Douglas and before that something else- in Market Street; the Express by Holiday Inn in Rose Street (my choice); the Copthorne- that was Clark and Rose's warehouse- in Huntly Street; the Station Hotel in Guild Street; or the Travelodge in Bridge Street.

Shelia thanks for the tips!

Any thoughts on The Brentwood?

What is the Holiday Inn Express like? We had some bad experiences at the one in Glasgow.

Amelie

The Brentwood is fine. Wouldn't be my first choice, but nothing wrong with it.

I like the Express by Holiday Inn. I even like the one in Glasgow. I've recommended the Aberdeen one to Fodorites with no problem in the past.

I'd like to revisit this thread to maybe get more input.

Any thoughts on the Atholl Hotel on King's Gate? It says it's a short drive from the city centre. How far of a walk is it?
http://www.atholl-aberdeen.com/index.htm

What about the Queen's Hotel on Queen's Road. It looks nice. How far of a walk is this?
http://www.the-queens-hotel.com/home.htm

And, most of the websites list "Double Rooms". Do most hotels normally have a double bed for two people? I've seen some that list king size beds, but not that many. What's the rule of thumb for size of bed, or is it something I need to ask each hotel.

Thanks!

Not the Brentwood! The last time I stayed there the room was tiny and there was no soundproofing.Ghastly!
A nice one is Simpsons Hotel on Queens Road. Different and more classy.
Ardoe House is a bit further out, but its really beautiful.
Both available on Laterooms
The Patio can be a bit noisy too depending what room you are given.

Thanks, I'll check out Simpsons (how far a walk is this to the city centre?).

Definitely no to the Ardoe House, while it is beautiful and I love it, we need something in the city centre or within walking distance.

What about the Skene House hotels?

Ive never walked,but its only a short bus ride

Simpsons is right next to the Queen's and about the same length of walk from the town as the Atholl. Problem is, the town's kind of linear.

For slap bang town centre, you can't beat the Caledonian. The Holidy Inn Express is nearby and more affordable.

I'm not a huge fan of either the Atholl or the Queen's. The Copthorne is OK.

Skene House do serviced apartments rather than hotel stuff.

Skene House is nice for the amount of space (and they will be there 7 nights), but maybe it's too much $.

Shelia - I know you love that HI Express. I keep reading bad reviews about it on tripadvisor though (noise and hot). I'm not going to rule it out though. I know the location is great.

I think the Caledonian might be too much $$ as well. (Probably need under $200 a night). Is this hotel worth the higher prices???



I just want this trip to be perfect for them.

(My husband said the Queen's is probably a 20 min to town, with the Atholl being a little closer).

Parking around Rose Street would be bad too if you were at HI.
At least with Simpsons they have a car park and its easy to drive there from Torry.
Ive never stayed at the Atholl so I cannot comment.

Thanks, I don't think we'll be worried about a car park though. My husband and I are quite used to walking into town from Torry, or catching a bus, or a ride from his parents. It would be nice if my parents hotel is as close as possible to Union St., so that we can meet them easily.

Is the car park at Simpsons free though (and ample spaces)?

Free and yes I think you will easily get parked there.

There is the St Magnus Court Hotel which is near Union Street and the bus and rail stations. There are a lot of stairs to climb - no lift(or there never used to be -havent stayed there for a while) It is very reasonably priced.
Theres also the one on Market Street. I think its called the City Hotel now, but I am not sure.
Look on laterooms.co.uk or active hotels.com.

I don';t love the Holiday inn Express at all. I just think that's it does the job. Bog standard clean room at half the price of the classier joints.

There's a Travel Inn at the top of Bridge Street, and another of these joints in West North Street.

Aberdeen's not warm enough for "hot" to be a problem excepta few nights a year, and I'm struggling with noise. You can't be in teh town centre and avoid it completely but it's not near the pubs and clubs in Union Street or a taxi rank or anything.

I can see the Cally at about £115 per double room per night (that's the top- it's cheaper at the weekend). I've never stayed there, so no idea beyond that.

The Atholl is 20 minutes to the west end and another half hour to Markies.

The HI Express has a small amount of its own parking and is 40 feet from the Rose Street multi.

I think Market Street's(I think it's gone back to the Douglas)dodgy, myself.

The Copthorne seems to be coming in at slightly below the Cally.

The Cally is so much nicer than the Copthorne though.
Last time we stayed at the Copthorne it was really shabby and the staff werent the most helpful either. Breakfast was pretty awful.
Know what you mean about Market Street Sheila!
I vowed never to stay at the Travelodge on Bridge Street ever again as it is so noisy. I have asked for a quiet room at the back but have never been lucky enough to get one!
The city centre is pretty noisy with the drunken revellers partying till all hours. Thats why I prefer to stay out at Simpsons or the Thistle at the airport when I visit Aberdeen.

Thanks,

I'll have to keep my eye on those rates for the Cally. When I looked it was $280.

I read a review on tripadvisor saying that the HI Express does have a taxi rank outside it. Maybe that is inaccurate. And as far as the heat.... I remember staying at the HI Express in Glasgow in the winter and the room was so stuffy. That could be at any hotel though.

Are you checking Thistles own website -www.thistlehotels.com
i often find that they have better deals than their same hotels on laterooms and other websites.

Yeah I was looking on their own website (thistle). I prefer that, but I have booked London hotels on hotels.com before.

Hello Amelie,

My sister and I stayed three years ago, at Sheila's recommendation, at the Holiday Inn Express. It was fine for us-good location, a large breakfast room with a bar and plenty of places to sit and relax. Room was small, but the window opened to a lovely breeze, which
we appreciated. Worked out great.

The taxi rank is 50 yeards down teh street on the other side. It is busy on weekend nights