The Hilton has 184 rooms divided between a four-floor 1860s historic main building and a smaller town house across the street. The main building retains original elements, such as its moldings, ceilings, and ornate staircases, but interiors are largely contemporary, with minimalist furniture, dark woods, and a white, brown, and burgundy color palette. The hotel lacks a distinct personality, and its aesthetic doesn't compare favorably to the city's luxury hotels or nearby small boutique properties in the West End. Many of the public spaces, hallways, and rooms could use some renovating. The hotel has meeting rooms, so it attracts business travelers, and its convenient Haymarket location, with international restaurants and pubs, and its proximity to Old Town attractions draws tourists.

The Hilton is on Grosvenor Street in the residential Haymarket section of the fashionable West End, in an area with numerous shops, restaurants, and bars within walking distance. Haymarket Station is conveniently located about 200 yards southwest of the hotel. At the station guests can catch the T50 tram, numerous trains, and buses, including several that go east to Old Town and tourist attractions. Edinburgh International Conference Center is a five-minute walk east, and the Usher Hall concert venue is a 10-minute walk east of the hotel. One of Edinburgh's best walking areas, the scenic and charming Dean Village, is a 10-minute walk north. The western end of Princes Street is a 10-minute walk northeast. The city's major attractions – Edinburgh Castle, the Grassmarket, Old Town, and the Royal Mile, the Scott Monument, are all within about a five-minute drive and 20-minute walk east of the hotel. The Hilton is a 15-minute drive east of Edinburgh Airport. 

The 184 non-smoking rooms all come with irons, hairdryers, in-room safes, free Wi-Fi, clock radios with mp3 connections, and flat-screen TVs with satellite channels. Rooms do not have minibars or mini-fridges, and some are small. Rooms get good natural light and are quiet, but they're aesthetically bland. The color palette is a neutral white-beige-brown, and the wall art looks like it would be more at home in an office. Beds are comfortable, but the mattresses might be too soft for some. Bathrooms are clean, have good water pressure, and toiletries, but bathrooms in the smaller rooms can be cramped. This is an old hotel and floors can creak, and many of the rooms look tired, and could use a refresh to fix the peeling paint, mold, stains, broken door handles, non-working lights and sockets, and general wear and tear. Rooms do not have air-conditioning.  Room windows open, and the hotel will provide fans. Small pets are allowed for a nightly fee. 

The hotel has a restaurant and cocktail lounge. It serves a copious breakfast buffet (for a fee) with hot Scottish items, in addition to continental fare like cereal, fruit, and pastries. Lunch and dinner cuisine is locally sourced modern European and innovative Scottish dishes like duck confit cottage pie and Angus beef burgers with haggis. The bar offers a wide selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, plus barista-made coffees and light fare. The TVs show live sporting events. There are no fitness facilities, but the hotel offers discounted vouchers to a health club that's about a 15-minute walk south, and includes a fitness center, spa, swimming pool, and tennis courts. The hotel has a public computer and printer off the lobby for guests' use but lacks a full business center. Several meeting rooms with catering are on-site. The Hilton has no on-site parking, but it offers discounted vouchers to a public lot that's within a 10-minute walk.