Went to the Clarendon for a week-end in February with our friends. I have been to Edinburgh a few times before and stayed in very nice hotels (ie The Marriott, Dalmahoy). When I read the reviews on the Clarendon I was very apprehensive going. The hotel had been booked by our friends family as a Christmas present.

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. The hotel was extremely handy, the airport bus stops directly outside it both coming from the airport and returning to the airport. The breakfast was adequate I got everything I needed, cereal, fruitjuice, fry, toast,
tea/coffee, marmalade, jams etc. The staff were friendly and competent.

The bedroom was small but clean and the bathroom new and very clean. The walls were thin but the hotel cannot be held responsible for inconsiderate guests. I had to ask a group of girls at 3 in the morning to keep the noise down. They were outside in the corridor, but after that I did not hear a thing.

There is a nice bar in the hotel and in the mornings after breakfast the men went in there to read their papers.

All in all for value for money, for a short break to explore Edinburgh, and not just to sit in a hotel room I would recommend this hotel. The location is fantastic. I would not recommend for more than a few days as the room is too small.

I stayed in this Hotel just before christmas. I booked it online as I am living in Hong kong now, tho I am orginally from the UK. The Hotel is quite poor. The reception staff were very unhelpful.

We arrived at around 11:30am after travelling for around 20 hours from Hong kong only to be informed that check in time is at 2pm and not a minute sooner.

So we went off around Edinburgh, severly jet lagged, and returned later. We thought about checking into another hotel but as we had booked into that one we thought we ought to stay at least one night.

After we arrived back in the afternoon the staff were again very unhelpful. Not even helping my girlfriend to hold the front door open while she struggeled with her bag as I was quickly unloading the car that was parked in the bus lane outside. I was amazed that they could just sit there and watch us struggle like that!

Anyway it didnt get much better. The room was very small. I have lived in Hong Kong for many years and so I am used to small rooms. I have also stayed in Budget Hotels in Tokyo, believe me I know the meaning of small. By the time we put our bags into the room it was pretty cramped.

Well thats about it I guess, breakfast was ok, I didnt have a problem with it. We were offered another room for the same price which we were told was bigger but by this stage I just wanted to check out.

I was suprised as there was no parking at the hotel, not that this is unsual for city hotels, but the website ----- does state that there is extra parking available at a some NCP carpark a few minutes away. This would imply that the Hotel had its own parking, but no. I did point this out to the staff and they didnt agree with me.

Well apart from trying to overcharge me (slightly only) on check out for my stay thats about it. I guess if all the other hotels are fully booked, say at Festival time or Hogmanay then stay there. But if not stay at Jurys or IBIS or Frederick House, all similar priced, in fact the Clarendon is the most expensive out of those 3, well it was when i stayed there. We paid 65 pounds for a night there, at least 35 pounds too much in my opinion

I stayed here with my Grannie! in may 2005. We arrived early and couldn't check in but we were able to leave our luggage there. Was very helpful saved us walking around edinburgh with a grip bag!

We went back later on that day and checked in. We got to our room after going through a maze of doors. It was at the back of the hotel and didn't have a good view at all. A dead bird half rotted. (not to pleasant)

Room was bright and quite spacious. The bathroom was lovely. Room was quite as we were at the back of the hotel.

Breakfast was nothing special, quite a big variety of cereals etc but my Gran wanted porridge and they didn't do it. What a joke a scottish hotel not doing porridge.

We checked out, was abit of a complication but got it resolved easily. Again we could leave our bags there to collect later that day.

Recption staff wern't exactly very pleasant.

Over all very central hotel, clean and for the price we payed good calue for money £70.

I would recommend this hotel if you need a bed for a night or two. My partner and I stayed one night for Christmas shopping. The decor and fittings were basic, but the room was clean and quiet and we were able to control the temperature to our comfort. The hotel is well-located for central Edinburgh and very good value for money. The staff were pleasant and very helpful. Didn't get to try the infamous breakfast because we got up too late!!
The only real downside was that the bathroom was small, unheated and unventilated. Having said that, it was comfortable enough with a hot shower.