Assembly Rooms

Pretty cool venue in the heart of Edinburgh. I’ve both worked here and attended events and its pretty cool inside!

Inside the exterior lies a beautiful interior. It had a major refurb a couple of years back. It’s plush interiors hosts a varied range of events including shows and craft fairs. in the past it used to host ball room dances — just imagine the grandier of the occasion!
On this visit it was hosting the craft fair — full of stalls of artisian makets of craft, art and jewellery! All well laid out and great choice.
It has toilets too. and accesible to those who need to use aids tha help them.

Gorgeous building and the renovations are stunning. Came here on day 2 for Doors open day and did the tour. Again, more blingy chandeliers (win!) but also some fab history about the building. So, we all get the concept of how being poor means having no money? Well they used to charge poor people to come in, be behind a viewing gallery and watch all the gentry and posh peeps in their finery going to balls, etc. Probably the modern day equivalent of watching the red carpet arrivals arriving for the Oscar’s on the telly!
It is a stunning building and the attention to detail in the restoration is stunning. Very classical colours have been used, lots of gold leaf, heavy damask curtains and the original window shapes remain. I reckon if you were looking for a wedding venue with the wow factor, this would be it. And if you wanted to have a Hello! or OK! type wedding and needed some cash to pay for it, then you could charge the poor the money for the big arrivals and the chance to dress critique as the viewing gallery remains…

A formal event such as a graduation ball is difficult to review in a place like this for many reasons, but, I shall attempt it the rebellious soul that I am!
First of all, for me, a well organized affair like this one is like a warm, wooly blanket on a wintery December night. Nothing is more annoying than an event that’s badly organized and wastes precious limited time we have in this crazy little thing called life. From the moment we arrived suited and booted, we were ushered, in a line towards the opulent hall upstairs in a single filed line so immaculately neat, I thought I was taking part in the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. The day was a breeze without many hiccups and thus we were all left to revel in our grand surroundings.
I have not much to say about the main hall, aside from the fact that it resembles somewhere a Billionaire would host a cocktail party and perhaps invite Daniel Craig and Olga Kurylenko. So I did my best Bond impressions as I mingled in the post event Champagne and canapé session. As if the Gold chandeliers hanging from an incredibly high ceiling and the huge glass windows weren’t groovy enough. The two large walls on either side of the hall adorned some of the biggest mirrors I’ve ever seen. This feature only served to enhance the sheer size of the place.
This is a fantastic venue and I’ll plead ignorance for anything beyond that given my limited experience of Edinburgh. All I know is that the staff were impeccable and Assembly Rooms as a name doesn’t do justice to the lavish nature of this humble abode.

Had a wonderful time at todays show. This is a great Venue as far as I could tell. Went to see a comedy show today that was good clean fun. You could buy drinks downstairs and take them up to the shows. Didnt like how the building was crazy hot! Like some prankster turned up the thermostat so we could all roast. Even the comedian was complaining/​joking about it. Also felt like the staff was a little disorganized but not to a disruptive amount. Place was super packed so get to the shows early so you can get a good seat. Mens loo is downstairs and women’s is upstairs. Building is quite nice just from looking outside as well as going inside. You can get dinner to on the first floor.

Con-​tro-​ver-​sial.
Yes, the Assembly Rooms are stunning. Beyond words. They’ve recently been renovated too, and now house Jamie’s Italian as well as several halls that can be used as venues for shows.
Which they are currently doing during the Edinburgh Fringe Festivals. And therein lies the lack of stars. I’m usually a laid back customer and don’t sweat the small stuff. And I don’t mind waiting in queues (the British part of me secretly loves it). But on Saturday night, I rocked up here (late) for a Camille O’Sullivan show and there was pure chaos. Three different stewards told us three different places to go for the Music Hall, the queue ended up winding up and down stairs and got split and it turns out the front of the queue had been waiting for an hour before being let in to the venue. It was half an hour late in letting us in and starting.
Again, all of this I’m usually laid back about. And it’s the Fringe, it is mad. Camille herself was lovely, apologised, and did comment the staff are all lovely. And I’m sure they are, I wasn’t at all mad at them individually.
It would just be nice if it were a little better organised and stuff like this didn’t happen. It’s gorgeous inside, there’s a nice bar, maybe not enough space for all the punters but add in all the confusion, running up and down stairs, winding queues… if they get that sorted I can then in good conscience give it more stars.

The Assembly Rooms is a really spectacular venue, with a number of rooms where different shows take place. During the festival, it’s practically impossible to not go to a show there. This year, I had the pleasure of seeing Do We Look Like Refugees?! there, an amazingly innovative play about Georgian refugees of the state of Ossetia. Apart from the play itself, the space it was put on was really well-​suited for the show, which required subtitles (as most of it was in Georgian).
The Assembly Rooms is on various floors and is also the home of the Assembly Press Office. While I was there, I noticed some beautiful paintings (that gave me the feeling of Klimt meeting the jazz age) that were on display alongside the staircase. It’s an old building and really well-​kept and apart from the festival’s onslaught of tourists who very often go to the Assembly venues, it’s a great place.

During August, the Assembly Rooms becomes the hub of activity for the festival in George Street. Every day people are always buzzing around it trying to buy tickets and attending shows.
Indeed, this is the venue where a lot of the bigger name comedians and theatre productions take place. Last year I went to see Mark Watson here and the gig was brilliant! Inside I was quite surprised at how big the main hall is, with it being full to the rafters of people. It has high raised seating at the back of the hall, and the views to the stage are unhindered.
To get to the main hall though, you have to twist and turn through many elegant hallways and stairs. All with deep red carpets if I remember rightly. Just outside the main hall there is a bar, with some comfy sofas at the other side of the room.
A great place to visit, and a great place to experience the atmosphere of the Festival!

The Assembly Rooms is one of the grand old dames of George Street, with its prominent position on the plush shopping street and its history as a venue for prominent events and the arts. I spend the most time in the Assembly Rooms over the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, as I’m sure a lot of people do, as it’s the ever busy venue for a lot of big shows at the festival, plus The Lane bar which pops up next to the building over the festival is one of the big meet up spots for late night drinking and general fringe japery.
The Assembly Rooms opened back in 1787, and has had some important historical figures through its doors. The main annual Assembly events are the fringe, and the big Hogmanay (New Year for people peering at this wondering what I’m on about) ceilidh and party. The music hall, ballroom and supper room are all traditional and impressive venues to see or partake in any event.

Firstly, you really cant miss this place — situated on George Street, this large and extremely dominating building stands out as one of the nicest places in the area.
But enough about Architecture, lets talk about what this building is really great for.
I’ve only been here for some gigs during the Festival, so I cant comment on what this place does for the rest of the year. However, for that one month or so when the whole world decends on Edinburgh, this place is great. As a venue for stand up comics its pretty great — large nough so that you can get a ticket with relative ease for th bigger acts and yet so well designed that you could feel as though you were at an intimate and private gig, this well decorated and beautiful venue has held some really great comics in the past.
Lets hope it continues to do so.

The Assembly Rooms is easily forgotten about until Festival time which is a shame for such a grand building to go to near waste 11 months a year. But aha! it doesn’t! If you haven’t given up on George Street completely then you notice it has things like music fairs and bric and brac salerooms. I don’t know how they go about it but these dormant few months must rented out to more independent, «vintage”-orientated sellers who get the chance to use one of the most well-​known venues in Edinburgh become basically a glorified market.

the Assembly Rooms always stood out on George Street for me. The huge pillars and Georgian-​style building always intrigued me, especially when the lights were on and you could see a beautiful HUGE chandelier through the windows. The Assembly Rooms is one of the main venues for the Edinburgh Festival, and it’s easy to see why. The lavish décor just makes you feel special as soon as you walk in. there are two sweeping staircases with red velvet carpets leading you up to the first floor, where the main hall is. It is classy to the max.
Although I should point out that the festival has an entirely different appearance than what it normally does, but it’s lovely nevertheless. the main hall is big and spacious and every seat has a great view of the stage. When the festival comes, I check out Assembly Rooms first, just because it’s lovely to be in there. The Downstairs Club bar plays host to all the celebrities when they come to Edinburgh too, so get your camera out!

A beautiful venue on George Street. Many events take place here including private functions and performances. The Balcony Bar is particularly nice for a quick drink and nibbles.

The Assembly Rooms have several beautiful rooms that can be hired for events, weddings, exhibitions and performances. Most people have attended a fringe show here at least once. The large chandeliers are truly lovely. Many of the carpets were recently replaces and the place looks great. The staff are really helpful and are experienced event managers. I have run a few events there and the grandeur of the place can’t be overestimated. The venue has wireless internet access. As George Street is the centre of town, its location can’t be beaten.

The ballroom is simply one of the most stunning places to dance in Edinburgh. Unfortunately it is not used nearly enough for this purpose.
There used to be regular ceilidhs held here, for which it was perfect.

The Assembly Rooms is an Edinburgh institution and, during the summer, is home to one of the greatest Fringe venues the City has to offer.
Having only really been inside the Assembly Rooms during the festival, I’ll make my apologies now if my review is rather Fringe-​centric!
The venue itself is a beautiful Georgian hall with opulent staircases, chandeliers and dining rooms. During the festival, the Assembly Rooms become «Assembly George St» and host comedy, theatre and music in 4 or 5 converted theatres.
If you want to see big-​names and popular events then Assembly George St is really the place to come. However, because it is in the new town, it does sometimes feel like it’s not really part of the Fringe. The Gilded Balloon, Pleasance and the new E4 Udderbelly are all in close proximity to each other near the University and, as a result, there is a bit more of a buzz around that area. However, the class of shows at Assembly always seems to be that little bit better.
During the Fringe there are a number of bars and cafes on site which provide somewhat over-​priced drinks to a captive audience! However, there is a bar to cater for everyone.
If you’re a celeb-​spotter than I can recommend lurking around the club bar frequented, in recent times, by stars such as Christian Slater and Ricky Gervais. However, you may find it difficult to get through the door without a VIP pass!
For those of us who don’t mingle with the stars, the «Lane Bar» offers a nice atmosphere but can get rather busy. As the name suggests, this particular bar is situated in down one of the lanes by the side of the Assembly Rooms and is rather cramped.
If you’re wanting to grab a quick drink during a show then you best bet is the «balcony bar» which serves all manner of refreshments. When the venue isn’t too busy, the Balcony Bar also serves as a café and has free wi-​fi access.
You haven’t experienced the Fringe if you haven’t been to the Assembly Rooms.

Behind the stage and under the seats the unconcealable splendour of the old ballroom shines through, and reminds every theatre goer of the elegant figures that would have graced this enormous and magnificent room for centuries. Look up at the ceiling and be awestruck. Even getting to your seats is pleasurable and walking up the splendid staircase makes you forget your converse and carrier bag, as the imagination switches them for a glass slipper and furs.