I stayed here at Feburary 2007 for a weekend spa break and had a lovely stay. I'm surprised that this hotel is not further up the list.

Room was clean, spacious and comfortable. Lovely fluffy, white towels and robes, and big, plump pillows! Tea and coffee making facilities and standard bathroom. We were lucky enough to have a view of the castle as well which was a bonus.

The spa was amazing: an incredibly relaxing experience. Lovely pool and gym.

The location very good: within easy walk of everything.

The service was excellent. All staff were very polite, smiley and helpful.

We didn't eat at the hotel, but had all our meals out. There is a reasonable range of restaurants, and staff were helpful with recommendations.

Drawbacks include:

-It is very expensive
-As an earlier review said: beware of "add-ons"
-Eat out - it's cheaper
-It is a large hotel so you lose the personal touch that you might get with a smaller hotel or guesthouse
-You have to pay to use the spa

I booked through the Starwood website deal, £99 per night, room only.

This hotel is very nice inside, it looks good.
The staff are very friendly and polite.
The room is well appointed, clean and comfortable.

We went to Spa, as it looked great in the literature. The spa girl was good enought to tell us that it was Kids Hour and we may want to wait until later before we used the pool. As a hotel guest, you get to use the small pool and showers. If you want the good stuff: the big pool, the steam and sauna rooms, you have to pay £20. Even though you are staying in the hotel! I believe that if you a resident, you do not pay extra to use the facilities. In the end, we did not use the spa, so I cannot comment on the facilities within.

We made a cup of tea in the room. You know how you get a wee packet of biscuits to have with your cup of tea? Not here!
I noticed that there were no biscuits, called reception who said that they do not do complimentary biscuits, but we could purchase a packet from the minibar. Scandal!
I know its a small thing, but it makes a difference.
We went to Sainsburys and bought a packet for 39p.

Location: This hotel is directly across the road from The Usher Hall, The Traverse Theatre, The Royal Lyceum Theatre. It is adjacent to The Filmhouse, and one block away from The Odeon Cinema. There is a Sainsburys Local Supermarket next to the Odeon.
There are plenty of restaurants nearby.

If you get a deal, stay here, but I prefer the Radisson.

Booked Hotel For a relaxing overnight break with some friends. Staff were very friendly, but booking for the group was difficult for some reason the receptionists kept getting the reservation wrong. In the end it was sorted out and we were even given a small gift by way of an apology.

Over all. The hotel itself is ok. Nothing outstanding, then again not too bad either. The room was about as basic as it gets small, clean, had tea and coffee making facilities.. no minibar or biscuits with your tea though! I Had a nice view of the castle from my room.

All in all, the hotel is pretty average, but it's the spa which makes the ratings soar. It's everything you see on the one spa website and more!

With that in mind though... who wants to visit Edinburgh and sit in the room all day anyway!

Stayed at the Sheraton Grand for a weekend break (Fri-Sun) and the excellent spa makes it the perfect place to unwind...along with Edinburgh's attractions and atmosphere as a city.

The Spa is first class - extremely well equipped, superb staff, clean and well maintained. Small wonder that it has been named Best City Spa by Conde Nast on more than one occasion. It helps to turn this hotel into something a bit more special.

As for the hotel itself, we had a suite on the 7th floor. A little frayed around the edges, to be honest, and with a disappointing bathroom, but no major complaints.

Location of the hotel is excellent, but rooms facing Festival Square can be noisy late at night.....sound proofing not up to scratch perhaps?

Staff at reception very efficient, and the room service breakfast/service can't be faulted.

Where it not for the spa, the Sheraton Grand itself might not score so well. But the combination is hard to beat if you're looking for a relaxing spa weekend in a city rather than rural environment.