Just back from a weekend at The Scotsman. We arrived with high expectations and 95% of the reality lived up to them. But walking down North Bridge on Sunday, weighed down by our bags, to the car park half a mile away, it was the niggley wee things that were bugging us, niggly things that when you are paying lots of good money to stay in a 5 star hotel, you are simply entitled not to have to expect.

Great hotel, amazing building, well converted, wonderful views, fantastic ambience, superb central location. The spa underneath was a wonderful way to start each of the 2 days we stayed, lovely quiet pool. Breakfast was very good. Our room, one of the small publisher suites, was big and very comfortable indeed, lots of nice touches. It really did feel like a 5 star experience.

The one big drawback that to an extent is not the hotel's fault, is the lack of any sort of parking. Guests have to battle from wherever they can park (not easy in summer in central Edinburgh) to reach the hotel, not the best start weighed down with luggage. Basically, we expect the solution to the parking problem to be provided by the hotel (valet-parking, acquisition of a nearby parking lot, whatever), not to have to be provided by us having to lug our bags around Edinburgh and paying an additional £50 to NCP etc for parking.

The room certainly had the feel and appearance of being 5 star. However, being picky (which we're entitled to be given the cost of staying), the bath was stained with a yellow hue, the double bed was in fact two sandwiched singles appearing as a double (really, really poor - OK in Mrs MacGlumpher's B&B, but criminal in a 5 star hotel!), although there were lovely products in the bathroom, there was a lack of body lotion. In a five star hotel you certainly expect your body wash to have its accompaniment of body lotion.

These are all points that kind of dampened what was otherwise a great experience. The thing that really got us mad though, and will probably mean that we never go there again and tell the world why, was a tiny thing, of no monetary consequence whatsoever to us or the hotel. Wifi is advertised as available in all rooms. Great, we wanted to check film times, so laptop out, plugged into cable at desk (reception told us to our surprise that there was in fact no wifi) and there's a message from the hotel saying that internet connection costs £1 for each 15 minutes. Rang reception, yep, that's the case. This is a 5 star hotel - billed as Edinburgh's finest - and they have to take an extra £1 off us (in amongst the numerous hundreds of £s already and otherwise very happily being paid) to access the internet for 20 minutes. Just unbelievable, literally.

On checking out, I raised the issue with Ian at Reception (unfortunately not Neil who the previous night had been beyond excellent). A mumbled "that's hotel policy" was his only response. Being the worst complainer in the world, we handed our credit card over, turned tail and set off down North Bridge... A truly fantastic weekend and otherwise wonderful hotel experience, tainted for the sake of 1 measly pound.

Basically, wonderful hotel, but if you're in the 5 star league (which you are and should be) get a grip and understand what that means.

I was excited to stay at the Scotsman after passing by on a previous trip to Edinburgh. The hotel is prominently and conveniently located, and has character alongside quirk which was, at first, charming.

We arrived at night after a very long drive and drove in circles looking for the entrance. Turns out, the main entrance is what looks more like a side door. There is no valet parking, and parking is by the station which is very dark and not someplace I'd feel comfortable walking alone. We were told to ring the buzzer at the back door after parking and bring our own bags up that way. After checking in, the porter brought our bags up to our room. There were four of us in two rooms, one room booked on the hotel website, the other booked on another reputable internet booking site. The one booked on the hotel website was very cool and stylish. The rooms were clean, and comfortable (apart from the huge dip in the center of the mattress). The other room was pretty drab and boring, though still comfortable. Both rooms had great views.

One of the rooms was only booked for one night, and at 11:05 am reception rang asking in a very abrupt manor if we were planning on vacating our room. A minute later housekeeping was ringing the doorbell telling us to check out. This urgency annoyed me on a Sunday morning when there was availability in the hotel that night.

I moved into the other room with my friend for the next 3 days, and continually experienced frustration with some of the front desk staff's lack of personality or helpfulness. It's too bad because some of the staff, namely Gregory, a porter, are lovely.

On our final day, we asked for a porter to help bring the bags down through the maze that is the hotel to the loading zone out back. After waiting for nearly a half hour, I made 3 trips myself having to take 2 different lifts each time because of the hotel's layout. I noticed that a porter was sitting down in the lobby.This really left a bad taste in my mouth.

I was completely disappointed with the Scotsman and wouldn't bother staying there again. It is a very different hotel and has the potential to be unique and fantastic...However the service and some of the rude staff fall VERY short of the 5 star mark. Too Bad....

The good...

Central location
Chic and boutique hotel
Quirky room
Cowshed products in the bathroom
Excellent service
Vermilion restaurant
Fantastic 'Escape' spa onsite - lovely pool!

The bad (ish!)...

TV knackered (room 702)
Mini bar v pricey
Expensive
Brasserie closed for refurb
A la carte breakfast - great for leisure stays but when staying for business you just don't have time to enjoy a long leisurely breakfast unfortunately.

Would stop there again hopefully with my husband for pleasure rather than work. My colleague's room was stifling (#707) and didn't have air-con. She literally could only spend ten minutes at a time in there without pouring with sweat. A fan was provided but the aircon (which was installed) should be working more effectively.

Being a local, I recommended that my American friends stay for 6 nights at The Scotsman Hotel, What a mistake! When my friends invited me to stay with them for one night, I was shocked at the lack of service they were experiencing. A list of issues include:
No valet parking;
Extremely rude staff;
Evidently unclean rooms;
Broken elevators (over 4 days)
Limited fresh fruit for breakfast;
I raised the issues with Duty Manager at time - who told me that there had been a recent change in ownership/management.