Based on reviews from this site, I booked a 3 night stay at the Holyrood for myself, my 10 month old daughter and my parents who were visiting us from the States (we live in Germany). After initial concerns due to a local taxi driver's comments, we were more than pleased with our experience. I think the taxi driver had perhaps only ever seen the outside of the building (a bit in need of a new coat of paint) and never gone in.
We had a 2 bedroom, 2 bath apartment on the 3rd floor. It had a nice living room/kitchen area and they had provided a nice high chair and a portacrib at my request. Both were nice and looked safe and new. The apartment itself was immaculate and had a fully stocked kitchen... even a small container of milk for coffee in the fridge. The beds were comfortable and we all slept well.
As others have mentioned, the only thing "off" about this hotel is the quite noisy plumbing. When you use water in the bathrooms or kitchen, it sounds like some kind of loud generator running. Fortunately, we only heard noise when we used water ourselves, not from other apartments, so completely predictable and controllable.
The front desk was helpful for everything and there is one computer with free internet access in the lobby.
The hotel is located one street away from the lower end of the Royal Mile (by the Palace, not the Castle). We walked or took the bus everywhere except to and from airport. There we took a taxi since it is quite a walk with luggage from Waverly Station. The taxi cost around 18 pounds.
One restuarant recommendation as well, LA FAVORITA on Leith Walk. You are best taking the bus from North Bridge to get there, but it was so worth it. It is Italian (real Italian) with delicious pizza fired in a stone oven and wonderful pastas. And they were SUPER kid friendly although it is fairly upscale. The best part was the fact that they do GLUTEN FREE pizza and pasta, Heaven for anyone with gluten intolerance/celiac disease.
Edinburgh was great and the Holyrood stay was perfect for us!








