Apex International

If you are coming from a warm country to this hotel, be sure to bring your own space heater & electric blanket. The rooms have no heat source. The "hot" water is lukewarm at best, and the rooms are extremely outdated. The hallways are dark, and unsafe. The staff throughout the hotel are rude and stuck up, and don't give a hoot about your well being. Front desk does not answer your calls. There is no soundproofing to block the noise outside. Bring your ear plugs if you're planning on sleeping at night, as there is a lot of loud noise from the drunks screaming, and the police cars wailing all night. Do yourself a favour, and look elsewhere.....

The Grassmarket area was lively with pubs and restaurants across from the hotel. A little like Bourbon Street at night with lots of people and lots of noise until 2 a.m. most nights. Spectacular view of the Edinburgh Castle from our room. On the down side, one of the full-length windows in the room was off its hinges and in need of repair. No sense of urgency about getting that done. The maid constantly left the window open each day making security a little questionable, but, since there was no air conditioning it helped. Compared to rooms we've had in other European countries, it was very good, especially the bathroom size.

Terrible checkout queues. Terrible food for a hotel of this standard. Unlocatable stairs. Perpetually full lifts (only 2 lifts). Unruly guests, loud and uncontrollable. If in a room facing the street (I stayed in both a room facing the street and a room facing the carpark), drunks clearly heard at all hours of the night through closed windows. Absolute disgrace. Litter all over corridors outside room. Noise from other guests including screaming and normal conversation clearly heard. Good parking (free). Nicely decorated bathroom but poor shower pressure. Good quality toiletries provided. Iron and ironing board provided which is a nice touch. Television channels limited to BBC, ITV, Five and Channel 4 only. Very poor for a hotel of this standard. Disappointing. Will never stay here again.

Right in a heart of Grassmarket! good price for the hotel and experience

The price we paid did not include breakfast,and the meals in the hotel were very over priced.we dined at the local pubs.The room was very clean and tidy but not much room for clothing and no draw space.

Great location, perfect to be able to walk everywhere and lovely views from the breakfast room, bedrooms on the back have a car park view and are a bit small. Breakfast was hit and miss with getting served, there was no way of them knowing when you arrived, I waited 40 mins before complaining day 1 then got served within 2 mins Day 2. Overall a decent weekend break hotel but certainly not mind blowing

First off, this is a really nice looking hotel set in a great location and the view of the castle is really nice but our stay was let down by a few small things. The iron in the room did not work. We asked at the front desk for it to be replaced during the day while we were out but it wasn't, so we had to ask them again that night. A small issue. The heights restaurant on the top floor has a stunning view of the castle. Unfortunately we were seated right in front of a pillar so we couldn't see the castle. An argument took place between staff and some guests which was also a bit strange. From my reading of the situation I believe this was the guest being difficult, not the staff. The staff were really nice to us and the food was absolutely amazing. So again a small issue. Check out time is 12 but our free wifi access in the room was cut off well before this due to us booking with a travel agents. To re-enable the room wifi we were told we would have to book another night. This was at 9:30, 2 and a half hours before check out time. I don't think this is acceptable. Staff came to clean our room at 9am on the first 2 mornings until we put the "Do Not Disturb" sign out. This is very early when on holiday. Calling at 10 or 11 to clean the room is surely sufficient. Minor issue though. Also, our room was located at the end of a corridor right beside a supply closet and we were woken every morning to the sound of staff opening and closing the door to this closet. It got frustrating but again a small issue. I'm sure if we were placed in a different hotel room or at a different table in the restaurant I would have been delighted with this hotel but there were just too many small things, that when added together, annoyed me. You expect a top level experience at a 4 star hotel which is why you pay extra, but I don't think we got this.

I was disappointed with this Hotel. All areas of the Hotel looked very tired indeed. Whilst the room had plenty of room for three of us and the beds were comfortable, it was very warm with no air con. I would hate to think what it would be like in the summer. The public areas were not inviting and the bar looked better in the night than it did in the day- very grubby However the staff were so friendly, efficient and so helpful, it was refreshing. I did not consider it value for money . Location was not great , would have preferred to be more central with buses passing by. Fantastic views of the Castle though.

We arrived late on Saturday night and were given a room looking out at Edinburgh Castle and facing Grassmarket. Evidently Friday and Saturday nights are wild at the pubs -- with so much noise that we could not sleep until after 2 AM, even with the windows closed. The next day the staff was happy to move us to another side of the building where it was much quieter. After that, our stay was just fine. The location is excellent for touring the Old Town section of Edinburgh. Just avoid rooms looking out on Grassmarket ST. on Friday and Saturday nights.

Staff was friendly and helpful. Rooms were good size and clean. View from hotel restaurant of Edinburgh Castle was fantastic. Locations was excellent for walking to the High Street and other locations. Excellent restaurants close to the Hotel.