Stayed at Rick's Hotel for one night in March. I've eaten at the hotel before, but wanted to stay to sample the rooms and overall visitor experience. Absolutely loved the rooms - great decor, really clean, good quality furnishings, and lovely touches like the free water / cakes and the huge range of toiletries and bathroom "bits". Evening mel was good quality, well prepared, and I was given a table apart from the large party / other couples eating that night. Didn't feel isolated though - the dining room / bar plays great music and the whole room is quite busy. Lighting isn't great for reading - but perfect if you want an intimate dinner.
Same room used for breakfast - with a really excellent menu including freshly perpared smoothies ( unfortunately the fresh fruit was late arriving so I had to have straight apple juice) - and had the eggs benedict with smoked salmon - really good.
Atmoshere is young / lively, with really laid back but attentive staff. Great range of cocktails and a good place to chill after a hard day. Don't have one the rooms on the top floor though - you get a really loud fan / motor noise all night which is very intrusive.

I cant recommend Ricks highly enough. i have stayed at ricks at least 5 times in the last year or so and is my FIRST choice when booking hotels in edinburgh.

I admit that there is noise from the rubbish collections but in my opinion this negative is outweighed by the many positives about ricks. over the last year i have noticed a considrable improvement in the room decor (which was lovely anyway but mow looks fresher) and i cant fault any of the staff for excellent customer service (and having been on many customer service courses i am a stickler for it!)

My main reasons for staying at ricks:

1) wonderfully comfy beds
2) soft pillows
3) great cocktail list
4) fab staff
5) good food
6) great cocktail list
7) location
8) location
9) location
10) did i mention the great cocktail list
11) having a room upstairs from a fab bar
12) saving money on ridculously exspensive edinburgh taxis

I have, ill admit, had the odd issue with ricks but anytime i bring in issue to staffs attention it has been rectified as soon as poss.

I would recommend ricks to anyone who likes a great sleep and a hearty breakfast but do wear your earplugs!

We stayed at Rick's for New Years Eve (Hogmanay) and bought the Hogmanay package. The hotel itself is super chic and modern. It was clean and an excellent location! Like other reviews I've read, yes, you hear garbage trucks dumping the glass bottles in the early hours of the morning (but I did notice they provide ear plugs in the minibar!) That was annoying but not a major disruption to our sleep. Breakfast, included in the cost, we found could be delivered to our room - which was a blessing given the late nights we had. The negatives came in when it came to the package we bought. We were supposed to get cocktails on arrival but the girl at the desk knew nothing about it. Nor did she know about how we would get the other things in the package (street party tickets, etc). Another girl did bring the tickets but she also didn't know about the cocktails. Finally got the cocktails with the New Years Eve dinner but then had to spend 10 minutes clearing our bill upon departure because they had charged us for them. They also didn't remember to give us the VIP club access that was part of the package...it was a good thing I asked for it. My husband was further disappointed when he snuck away at dinner on the 31st to ask them if they do anything for birthdays (the 31st is my b-day). They simple told him, no, we don't do anything. Disappointing. Overall, our verdict is that the hotel is beautiful, chic and modern however the management of the special package and the attention to customer service was lacking.

We'd planned a romantic break in Edinburgh and booked the room in The Borough, a boutique hotel in the university quarter... but when we arrived the room itself smelled of sick. Reception tried to help but were fully booked and could only offer a discount - which wouldn't take the subtle aroma away. One frantic call to Rick's, where I'd stayed two years before and, after some polite extrication, we'd jumped ship. The rest was along the lines of a Carlsberg ad: Rick's staff were ultra-friendly, the rooms had been measurably upgraded since my last visit (chic decor and family-size bed, as in the Waltons) and - to top it all - they offered a £50 saving on the tariff for B&B. We stopped for dinner (which maybe helped on the final bill) and joined the bar crowd later for cocktails; it was exceptional. And there's vegetarian haggis on the mixed-grill breakfast menu.
It's lovely to try different places in Edinburgh, but this side of a Malmaison budget, I know where I'll book next time I return.