We decided to spend Hogmanay in Edinburgh in 2005 and moved to the Caledonian Hilton from the Sheraton Grand and Spa on the 1st January. We stayed until the 3rd. In comparison to the Sheraton, the Hilton hotel is far more modern. We were on the first floor and the colours were a wonderful baby blue. The room was very stylish, decorated to a high standard in muted browns and cream. The bathroom was small, but clean and in a modern design too.
We ate both nights at the restaurant (as we were too lazy to go out). The food was excellent and the set menu good value (3 courses for under £20). Although our waitress on both nights was exceedingly rude, she was still professional (strange contrast, I know), and we tried not to let her sour face spoil our evening.
The only complaint I would have other than the waitress service was the health club. The standard fell far below par. The club did not have top-range equipment, the sauna was tiny and the pool was inundated with small children.
However, location-wise it was perfect and as we only paid £104 per night (B&B directly via the hotel), it is hard to find many faults with the Caledonian Hilton.
On the last day we decided to visit the Glasshouse and were blown away. What a beautiful hotel! If you want modern, uber-stylish and something a little exquisite, I would definitely recommend the Glasshouse first. The only downside is that there is no Spa at the Glasshouse. (On a side note - if you want a great Spa, you cannot beat the Sheraton Grand and Spa. Though you might have to pay £20 for use if you stay in a standard room).

I was a wedding guest who stayed at the Hotel for 2 nights and our stay was nothing short of perfect. It's one of the best weddings I have ever attended. Every member of staff we encountered was friendly and professional and went out of their way to make us feel welcome. We chose a deluxe room which has recently been refurbished and although it was beautiful it was slightly out of keeping with the traditional character of the Hotel. It's well worth splashing out for a meal in the fine dining Pompadour Restaurant especially if you can get a table overlooking Edinburgh Castle - the views are breathtaking. Would definitely revisit if back in Edinburgh.

My wife and I stayed at the Caledonian for 3 nights from the 16th - 19th December 2005. We found the hotel's location to be excellent as it was 10 mins walk from the Castle and less than 10 mins walk from the Theatre and the Cinema. The hotel was also opposite Princes Street (The main shopping street in Edinburgh). The staff were nothing less than charming during our whole stay, and everyone we dealt with was very helpful. We stayed in a deluxe room at the back of the hotel and the view was quite poor, but the room itself was very well funished and clean. The front of the hotel faces the Castle and has very good views (however, the cemetary where Burke & Hare did their grave robbing is also opposite - so watch out!). We had room service during our stay, and were on a bed and breakfast rate, and we found the food to be excellent. We have stayed at many 5 star hotels in the UK & US and felt that the Caledonian was at least on a par if not better than many of those hotels.

We stayed in the hotel for a special birthday and was made to feel very welcome and looked after. The staff were friendly and helpful, and the food delicious. The comments we had read on the tripadvisor site worried us, but soon realised that we had nothing to fear after seeing our beautiful room overlooking the castle.