First, the location. Situated between Edinburgh Airport and the City Centre, on a regular bus route, there is no problem with getting around by public transport. It is far enough away from the City Centre to avoid the seemingly higher room rates, but close enough to be a few minutes away by bus. And with the zoo located next-door (it is an experience waking up to the sounds of the jungle, albeit the noise isn't loud enough to be irritating - in fact, they brought an early-morning smile to our faces), it is a perfect base for a kids' trip (although the final 2 minutes' walk from the road up the driveway to the reception is a killer after a tiring day!).

The staff were friendly and courteous - helpful whenever we had a query or problem (which, thankfully, was rare).

The room was quite sizeable, perfectly equipped, tidy and clean. In fact, there's not a lot more you can reasonably ask for. We didn't particularly sample any of the hotels other features, although the childrens' play area did prove helpful at times when the parents wanted a quiet coffee break!

The breakfast was superb - both in terms of quality and quantity.

We would have no hesitation in returning to this hotel again.

Reading some of the reviews here before we went as a family I was a little concerned. But to be honest I think this hotel has maybe sufferred from the old lady from Fawlty Towers who couldn't drown a mouse in her bath. Seasoned travellers will know who I mean. If you're a business traveller or someone who has paid the full rates then I think the hotel is probably not 100% up to scratch. But it's far from the experience some people have described. It is a bit of a concrete box, but I've yet to sit outside a hotel and stare at it during a stay. If that's important to you then you'll have to give this one a miss.

The reception staff were not totally on the ball as evidenced by the info they gave my wife who doesn't travel a lot. I think it's just the fact they must be so used to business travellers who know their way around hotels in the dark. The room we had on the fifth floor was what you would have expected from a 3/4 star. We had two kids with us, and they had a single bed and the sofa made up as a bed and there was plenty of room. Maybe if you're there for a week it would be cramped, but it was more than adequate.

The bathroom was fairly standard, but I did notice that the bath was larger than a few hotels I've been in. I'm 6'2", and could easily read a novel during a good soak.

The evening carvery was good for a family with a good choice and being self service you could keep pace with the kids and their boredom threshold without waiting for your meal to be cooked. Breakfast was a good choice again, with a good selection of cooked, cereals, breads etc. Haggis was quite pleasant. The waiters were on the ball and really freindly with the children. Didn't expect the crumbs wiped from my table between courses in this level of restaurant, but they were trying their very best to make the poor decor a little classier I think. Overall, the interior hardly lives up to the Scottish theme, and has little soul. But the pool was good, with a hot tub and good sauna, and not many hotels in Edinburgh have a pool (or one as large).

We got a dinner, bed and breakfast rate for just over half the price of the normal room rate, and for this price the hotel is spot on. Don't expect the Ritz, but if you want a clean, functional and child freindly hotel with a good range of food for them then this hotel is a good choice. Don't forget it's next to the Zoo as well and they share the same car park.

This hotel is just about ok, but I am only saying that as I stayed there on business so did not have to pay. I would not choose this hotel for a personal trip as it is not worth the money. The room was ok with a very big bed, but the bathroom was very very small and had a strange smell. The main light switch in the room did not work either. A colleague of mine went to use the swimming pool but he was told that he would have to pre-book as it was school holidays and the pool would be very busy. In all of the hotels I have stayed in before in my life I have never been told that I have to book to use the pool. On the plus side the buffet breakfast was ok and there was a lot of parking. It's right next to the zoo and buses to the city centre are frequent. However I would not recommend this hotel to anyone.

Rooms are very small with hardly any space between the end of the bed and the desk. So-called family rooms are just standard rooms with a sofa bed so the small amount of space is reduced even further. No where to sit apart from the sofa bed so there is a fair degree of room rearranging come bedtime
Service is terrible. Staff badly trained and don't care about serving customers. Executive rooms that are supposed to come with 'extras' do not. Swimming pool is the size of a puddle and you have to book before you can have a swim!
Restaurant is mediocre, very expensive and the service is very poor.
Car park is small but you can park in the adjacent zoo carpark.. You need to pay but the hotel will reimburse you. Funny thing is there is no signage to this effect. When pushed the staff will tell you this.

A horrible experience.