Edinburgh; home of the Royle Mile, Calton Hill, a castle, the National Museum of Scotland, and some seat that belonged to a chap called Arthur. Alas, I don’t return to this great country to visit historic monuments and landmarks this time. I’m strictly on business – namely my quest to find and review the best casinos in the land.

On this trip to Edinburgh, I’m calling in at the city’s Grosvenor Casino, a brand with venues in urban centres right across the UK. In my review I’ll cover everything from the venue’s history to game variety, services provided, and how to get there. I’ll spell out exactly why William Wallace died to defend your right to play here. Though I’m not truly sure of the historical facts, I’ve not even watched Braveheart.

Grosvenor Casino Edinburgh is better known by the locals as the Maybury Casino. This is after all its historical name, and relates to the venue’s location on Maybury Road. The building itself started life as a roadhouse back in 1935. As a venue it hosted live music events and parties, with its art-deco stylings being entirely contemporary of the time. While the nature of the business has changed since, many of its art deco flourishes remain and are probably even better appreciated today. These details are the sort of thing even that brand new casinos in the UK wouldn't even think to include.

The Venue

In parts, this reminds me of the Riverboat Casino in Glasgow, which was also a Grosvenor Casino venue. With the Maybury Casino, however, they haven’t gone all-in on the entirety of the décor. The building and its fixtures – namely the stairs, balconies, and statues – retain that art-deco look. But the furnishings make the Maybury look like an old game hall. It’s an unholy combination of the glamorous and unglamorous. I hate to say it, but there’s a slight feeling of bingo hall.

Location

As for location, don’t be fooled into thinking this casino is in central Edinburgh. It isn’t. The Grosvenor Maybury is very much on the city’s western outskirts. It’s not hard to reach from the central area, but you certainly won’t be walking it. 

As you can tell on approach, the casino is fairly large and there are multiple rooms that house the various different games. In what is essentially the main hall, you have six American roulette tables set up, along with several blackjack and poker tables. Some of the roulette tables are linked to the electronic terminals, and slot machine cabinets also feature here, some of which feature a £4,000 jackpot.

Now, I’ve seen that almost every casino on my journey offers American roulette only, and it’s gotten to the point of ridiculous. When presenting six tables of the same roulette variant, it smacks of laziness. This isn’t just calling out Grosvenor casinos, they all do it, and American roulette is the most unfair of the lot. It shows that casinos on the high street are not putting the interests of the players when providing roulette as a feature. Online casinos offer more variety.

Slots

The number of slot machines is limited to just 20. These are all provided by established developers like Novomatic and Blueprint Gaming – names you’ll recognise if you play at slot sites often. These games seemed incredibly popular, in fact not one slot machine was free during my visit.

Poker

For the poker players out there, the Grosvenor Casino Edinburgh does offer poker tournaments. There’s usually six a week, while a few major tournaments take place throughout the year and include the National Poker League and the UK Poker Open. Now, when at the venue, you will see plenty of advertisements for this. Do not rely on the website, as it’s not 100% perfect on news and dates for this particular Grosvenor venue. 

Sports Betting

There are TVs dotted around the casino which usually show live sporting fixtures. This can include football, rugby, boxing, and horse racing. I should remind you that the Grosvenor Casino is also available as an online service and offers sports betting. If you were a member of the Grosvenor online casino, you could place bets on any sport of interest while watching the game from this venue.

Beginners’ Packages and VIP

If you’re fresh to the scene and haven’t gambled before, the player packages offered by the casino might come of assistance. You can book ‘experiences’ at the venue via the website, including those that provide you and a group of friends with a private table and an assigned dealer, who’ll run you through all the rules and tips on how to play.

Note there’s no ‘VIP’ room or experience here. The only specialist room they have is fully committed to poker and does offer cash games to players.

If you wanted to stop over nearby, you could follow in my footsteps and stay at the Delta Hotel by Marriott, a four-star option directly over the road. There’s also an Ibis Budget a stone’s throw away – great for saving the cash for the slots. 

Grosvenor Casino Edinburgh always opens its doors at 12:00 noon and closes them at 5:00am Sunday to Thursday, and a later 6:00am Friday and Saturday. The onsite restaurant opens from 6:00pm and closes at 4:00am, which is pretty generous compared to other casinos. 

I arrived at the Grosvenor Casino in Edinburgh purposefully late. I have a bad habit of arriving at casinos as soon as the doors open and appearing far too keen about the situation. But having spent the morning and afternoon coffee-shopping my way around the city centre, I got to the Grosvenor at 8:00pm, which I figured would be peak-time. I got greeted by security staff who I wouldn’t want to see on a bad day. Admission is free and there is no membership requirement, though you’re welcome to one if you’d like. The gentleman at reception asked if I needed any assistance with the games - checking if it was my first time I assume. This is a nice touch. It shows they know who is regular, and it’s a nice welcome to make sure players are comfortable. 

Going off my 8:00pm arrival I can confirm this is indeed a busy venue, and I might add, it’s a Wednesday night. Not even the weekend. Now, I didn’t know what to expect because of the location. It seemed a bit out of the way. Certainly, no tourist would stumble across this place. But I was presently surprised.

Smoking: there are areas for smoking and vaping located outside of the building. There are also exterior balconies where you can step outside without leaving the venue. 

Cash machines and withdrawals: Now, I have to confess, that I don’t remember seeing an ATM inside of the Grosvenor. I had stockpiled my cash before arriving, so didn’t remember to look. Should you need any financial assistance, you will most likely get your answers from the casino’s cash desk. 

Food and drink: Players that have a Grosvenor One card can claim free hot and cold drinks. One of the few perks offered, but a benefit nevertheless. If you want something more substantial, then the Grosvenor Casino Edinburgh comes with a restaurant service. You’ll find the Charleston Restaurant on the upper tier of the casino. The food menu is as you might expect of an establishment. Mains consist of burgers, steaks, hotdogs, curry, fish, and pasta. Nothing groundbreaking, but decent nonetheless. Meanwhile, the drinks menu is comprehensive and there are a couple of bars across the site.

There are several blue badge parking spaces at the front of the building, as well as disabled access points, toilets, and lifts throughout. You’ll need to request the assistance of staff if using a wheelchair, as the main entrances feature a set of steps. But a suitable entranceway is available.

Land based casinos up and down the country are just as bad as each other when it comes to promotions and player bonuses. When you look at business dynamics and marketing it all makes sense why these casinos tend to be a closed book. Online, it’s a whole different ball game, and when you factor in all the perks and promos - the best payout casinos are almost always virtual.

Membership Perks

Grosvenor, though not requiring a membership card to enter and play, does offer one. This is the Grosvenor One card. This Grosvenor Casino membership also supports online gaming. It gives you an online and offline wallet with interchangeable funds. You can also gain fast-track entry into any Grosvenor Casino. Throw in some food and drink discounts, and that’s about it. Online members tend to get other benefits like welcome bonuses. But when it comes to playing at Edinburgh Grosvenor, that’s your lot. It’s better than nothing, but I’m not wowed. 

Personally, I feel more should be done for players who have committed their time to journey to a venue. If anything for the simple factor that Grosvenor online offers 100 times more games and features than inside its land based sites, including Maybury Grosvenor Casino. It would be far simpler to not leave the house and play online. Some might argue you don’t get the authentic experience. But I say it’s a two-way street. 

All this said, the Grosvenor Casino card is a step in the right direction and is offering something more than most casinos out there. 

I arrived at Grosvenor Maybury Casino in Edinburgh at 8:00pm and had had my lot by 11:00pm. The whole time I was there, the casino was busy, yet the sound levels were relatively and comfortably low. Some busy casinos can fast turn into a nightclub and all ambience goes out the window – but not here. All tables were occupied, and I couldn’t get onto any of the real money slots. This is fine, you want a casino to be doing well, but you also want a sense that more people are waiting to play, rather than waiting to be served a drink. The casino does still host events and more recently, they held an Elvis tribute act. Not my sort of thing, but it might be yours. 

While waiting for a go at the games, I took the opportunity to examine how well the equipment and the space more broadly had been looked after. Now, my attempts weren’t entirely successful, when having to dodge legs and see through the backs of people. From what I could discern, the state of the floor was very clean and there was only the most minimal signs of wear-and-tear of the games themselves.

Had I tried the food? No, this was purely down to having eaten before I arrived. The restaurant takes table orders from 6:00pm, and by the time I got in and looked around the venue, I could see that all the tables were taken up. Perhaps a good sign of their culinary service. The menu was virtually identical to other Grosvenor venues I had eaten at, and in truth I’ve never been disappointed at any of them. Nothing groundbreaking, but consistent and reliable.

⭐ Standout Moment

You’ll have to forgive me for not choosing the games, but the art-deco features at this casino are just so charming. I did enjoy exploring the building, I just wish some of the more modern additions were as tasteful. 

When I first saw the location on a map, I didn’t think this casino would be able to draw a crowd of players from the inner city. I expected it to be quiet with maybe a handful of regulars. I was totally wrong. This casino easily had more than 100 people inside. 

What I loved about the venue was that it kept many of its original features. An art-deco casino is rare and frankly, I feel the casino could have done more to play on this. Perhaps events that played on the 1920s theme. Perhaps they already do this, and I simply missed it? I hope so.

Would I recommend this place? This is a tricky one. That goes back to what benefits are there to playing at Grosvenor Casino Edinburgh that cannot be offered when playing the Grosvenor Casino online. Now I raise this with many, in fact, all casinos that offer this dual online/offline service. To date, I’ve not seen any reason why I shouldn’t stay at home in my comfies playing blackjack live. Not unless I’m really pining for a night on the town, which is rare for me these days.

What I will add is that the Grosvenor Casino in Edinburgh does provide an atmosphere, and this is the one thing even the best online casino will never be able to replicate. 

Though it’s by no means centrally located, Grosvenor Edinburgh is surprisingly easy to get to. In fact, it’s served by just about every transport option you can imagine. 

Car: You can take advantage of free onsite parking when you drive here. The casino is just off the A8 Glasgow Road close to the Gogar Roundabout. EH12 8NE is the postcode you’ll need.

Rail: Services from fellow Scottish cities like Perth and Dundee call in at Edinburgh Gateway. If you hopped off a train here, Grosvenor Edinburgh Casino is only nine minutes’ walk away, a little along Glasgow Road. 

Tram: Edinburgh Trams also call in close to the casino, and are an excellent way to get here from the city centre. The nearest stop is the terminus stop, Gyle Centre. The venue is about 12 minutes’ stroll from here, just the other side of the shopping centre. 

Bus: Plenty of services stop on the neighbouring Glasgow Road. These include the 900, which runs between Glasgow and Edinburgh’s central bus stations. There’s also the X18 and X38 express services to get you out here from the middle of the city fast.

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