Nira Caledonia

This hotel is clearly not up to par. I didn't give it one star because of its location, in a very nice part of the new town. But apart from that, everything leaves A LOT to be desired. First of all, on arrival we were literally cornered in a tiny corridor with a member of the staff demanding that we pay for all nights right away, before taking us to our room or even offering us a seat. We should have left right away but didn't, and we would regret it soon afterwards... We were woken up in the middle of the first night by very loud dripping sounds at the back of the bed and couldn't sleep for the rest of the night. Turns out the staff knows very well about this problem : the badly-maintained roof is making this noise "when it rains". And guess what, it rains every night in Edinburgh ! They moved us into another room (with a ridiculously small bathroom !) but our first night's sleep was lost. We had booked another room for our kids, specificaly asking for twin beds. In reality they had a (small) double bed and a sofa with a mattress so thin that you can feel the springs just by sitting on it. So our children had to spend 3 nights sharing a small double bed. For this price, it is totallly unacceptable. Last, but not least, the cleaning service is at best patchy. They forgot to clean our children's room one morning, and then threw away our daughter's security blanket that she had had for years ! We spent quite a few days touring Scotland. This place will remain - by far - our worst experience.

When we stepped into the lobby, we encountered someone who seemed disturbed by our presence, as we were trying to check in. I have never experienced such unfriendly behaviour at a reception desk before. The man handed me an iPad on which to enter my details for checking in, including my passport information. I am a SLH member and all information should be on file. The room was ready when we returned from our trip to town. The suite was rather sticky, with mold on the shower ceiling. Renovation would help to improve the condition of the hotel. The breakfast selection was more akin to that of a one or two star hotel. Considering the cost of a room is over €500 per night, this is ridiculous. On Sunday night, we celebrated our wedding anniversary with dinner at the hotel. The menu was small and limited, but the food was very good. The hotel's location is fine, and we enjoyed our time in Edinburgh. Next time, however, we will choose a different hotel.

Some aspects of this hotel are genuinely first class but it's let down by some serious failings. It's set among the outstanding architecture of Edinburgh's New Town which has its advantages and disadvantages. The area is quite quiet even in high season but being in a conservation area they're very limited as to what changes they can make to the building. There's no air conditioning and no lifts so it's not suitable for people who struggle to get up and down stairs. To be fair, they make this very clear on their web site. Car parking is very limited and extremely expensive so the options are to walk or get a taxi from the nearest train station or bus stop. The location also means it's within about half a mile of both Rose Street and Stockbridge, two areas renowned for their restaurants. We were made very welcome and they offered to carry our luggage to our room. We were very lucky with our room. We were able to open the window enough to get some air in (it would have been impossibly hot and stuffy otherwise) and we had a great time watching baby birds being fed right outside our window. The breakfast area is small for the size of the hotel so you may need to wait for a table (they ask guests what time they want to take breakfast, but then everybody just turns up at once anyway). Hot breakfasts are cooked to order unlike some "luxury" hotels where food is left to dry out on a heated counter. Although there's very little outside noise the bedrooms and corridors all have hard floors (and noisy self closing doors) so there can be a lot of noise from inside the hotel during the day. Squeaky bathroom and cupboard doors didn't help. One big concern was that the water temperature in the shower was very difficult to control. It seemed to take several minutes to respond when I turned it up or down and on a few occasions it suddenly got much hotter or colder without warning which could have been very painful. I also found that I could turn on the bath tap but it was almost impossible to turn it off again. For some reason the stairs to our room were carpeted and decorated in very dark colours and were not very well lit. This could be a real hazard to anyone who can't see very well. To make things worse the stair carpet didn't seem to be very well fitted. The hotel is branded as a "Small Luxury Hotel". It should cost much to put right the faults I've described but until they're fixed I'm afraid it doesn't merit this description.

We stayed here during the Fringe and really enjoyed our time in Edinburgh. Our room was on one of the upper floors and was quiet, comfortable and had a large bathroom (bath and separate shower). The stairs up however were many and twisty, so was a bit of a pain with luggage and shopping bags (although I'm sure staff would have carried if requested). Breakfast was included and good quality and variety - a la carte rather than buffet for the main. The ground floor lounge was nice to sit and have a drink in before heading out for the evening. Location was slightly out of the centre, but we walked most days to all the venues we planned on visiting, using taxi's in the evenings. Would happily stay here again.

Beautiful, quaint historic hotel Walkable to many Edinburgh attractions Respectful, professional, friendly staff Can get a room with lg jacuzzi tub Delicious breakfasts Quaint, cozy restaurant and bar onsite Only drawbacks: No air conditioning due to it being historic bldg No lifts, have to be fit enough to climb stairs to room. (There were 47 steps up to ours) Lovely stay