My brother took me to Scotland and we stayed at the Roxburghe for a week. He had been some years earlier and stayed at the Balmoral. His reaction was that the only difference between the two was the price!

An aside to the negative reviews, I'd like to say that our last night in Scotland was at the Holiday Inn at Glasgow airport. The servivce was deplorable, the staff was not friendly nor helpful. The bar staff in particular was exceptionally poor. To those that found fault with the Roxburghe, I'd suggest that they stay at the Hiliday Inn Glasgow airport.

Our extended stay at the Roxburghe was exceptional. By the second day our staff knew us by name. By the end of the trip they asked about our particular excussions and just displayed an honest interest in our well being. At breakfast they greeted us by name.

Breakfast was included for us at no charge and it was teriffic. Whether we ate at 7 am or 9:30 am the food was hot, fresh, delicious and the selection was extensive!

We stayed on the 3rd floor of the "new" area of the hotel and our room was warm, comfortable,well made each day and quiet.

We had need of several services from the concierge and each request was performed professionally and expediciously. My special admiration goes to Scott who really went to extremes to make sure our needs were met. Later in our stay he would come to me unprompted to as if the arrangements had been satisfactory.

The bar staff was incredible whether we took drinks in the Atrium or the bar. On our first night we introduced our bartender Cameron to 'dirty martinis' and by the end our stay they [Cameron Martinis] were the talk of the staff.

The hotel is expensive with out a doubt, but it was worth every penny of it. Any one that would find fault with it must have some unresolved issues.

For a 4 star hotel, I'd give it a 5.

For users who have bid on a hotel in Edinburgh and ended up in the Roxburghe, be aware of the following IMPORTANT things:

1. The hotel has essentially 2 wings, one very old wing and one fairly new wing. You will most likely be much happier in a room in the new wing, and the price is no different, it seems to be the luck of the draw. In two separate stays there, we got the old wing on one stay and the new wing on the other: so don't hesitate to ask for a room in the new wing.

2. We woke up and our receipt on both separate stays had incredibly inflated costs: we were charged 25GBP for breakfast which we did not eat and were charged 50GBP (!!!) per day for internet access we did not use: if you do not CHECK YOUR RECEIPT carefully before checking out, you may unwittingly pay a hundred pounds or more over what you should. Both times the front desk did not object to removing those costs, but BEWARE that they may attempt to gouge you if you do not pay close attention to your receipt.

As for the Hotel itself, its location is very convenient to Princes street, the rooms were nice (much nicer in the new wing) and the concierge was helpful.

The rooms were very good and the location excellent but the breakfast was probably the worst I have experienced. If you at not down before eight then the foods is cold and not very appetising.

I booked this hotel for a business trip to the Edinburgh International Science Festival.

I am quite surprised by the number of negative reviews this hotel received as my stay was nothing but enjoyable. Having a teamaker and shortbread every morning was a wonderful touch (one not extended often, if ever, in American hotels). My room was cleaned beautifully each day. I ordered room service several times and was never disappointed; the bookmaker steak sandwich was my favorite! I stayed in room 306 and had a nice view of the castle as well.

My nightly rate was 69-79GBP (69 during the week, 79 on weekend nights)

Two complaints:

1) I was asked if I wanted a newspaper each day, to which I said "yes," assuming it was included in the hotel charge. Wrong. I was charged $1 each day for USA Today, which frankly, was not worth it, but the version I received was a small pared down version from the actual daily version.

2) Be careful of breakfast charges. Apparently breakfast had been "included" in my room rate without me knowing. What this meant is that I was automatically charged another 12.50GBP on my hotel bill (on top of the 69/79GBP for the room), even on days I didn't have breakfast.

However, when I called this to the attention of the front desk at check out they happily and without incident, removed the charges for the days I had breakfast.

Unfortunately, I did not have a chance to check out the leisure club, but they had an indoor pool as well as a full spa amentities (for extra charges). If I had been staying for pleasure, instead of business, I definitely would have taken the time to indulge in the spa offerings.

Overall, I would highly recommend this hotel to business travelers, as well as tourists. While it might be a bit pricey for budget tourists, it really is a great location and offers great service. I can see how someone who is expecting a romantic setting might be disappointed, but that shouldn't reflect negatively on the hotel, it's just not their strong suit.