We booked Ricks after reading the reviews on here and we weren't disappointed. We had already been in the UK for 2 weeks when we arrived here and I have to say that the rooms were just beautiful. Not what we expected from the outside. Ricks had the best shower than anywhere else we stayed in the 3 weeks that I was in the UK. It actually had water pressure!!

Yep, there was some noise but we have stayed in pubs before and there have always been a little noise. It didn't wake my son up and he is a light sleeper. Breakfast was beautiful and the staff couldn't do enough for us . They even made my son (3years old) pancakes even though they weren't on the everyday menu.

The staff were very friendly to us and my son. They continually talked to him and involved him in most conversations. Would we stay there again; DEFINATELY!!

We visited Edinburgh for a weekend in early July 06 and chose Rick's on the basis of a number of reviews which glowing endorsed it. We also generally love such boutique hotels.

However, our stay could be described as disasterous, at best. We arrived late on Friday night flight and when we got to Rick's only the bar staff were around and nobody was handling hotel reception. Reception was a desk tacked on to the end of a very busy bar.

Like other reviews noted, the rooms are very cool in their design but suffer from being built onto the back of a lane which is used as a short cut / toilet by revellers between bars, where bar staff come out to empty bottles into the bins at closing time and where in the early hours of the morning the garbage trucks come to empty said bins full of empty bottles. Great if you like a noisy early, early wake up on your romantic weekend away!

The worst part of our stay was the service, something I never complain about, but in this case was worse than abysmal. The problem was not so much the lack of staff, rather enough staff but too concerned with talking to each other than serving the few tables at breakfast (which is included in room rate). Everything went at ultra slow pace and took an age for anything to be done. we thought it might be us (londoners) not being used to the slower pace of life in Ednburgh - until we enjoyed the rest of Edinburgh and realised it was just Rick's.

On the Sunday morning after a second disturbed sleep it was even worse. Only 4 tables occupied for breakfast, 6-8 staff, we waited 20 mins before I walked up to bar and asked chatting staff for menus, ordered 2 x french toast, 40 mins later still no french toast and nobody had noticed/checked that no food had arrived. They were too busy talking to the staff from the night before who had popped back on their morning off to regale the others with news from the night before. Other tables looked equally annoyed with their breakfasts, which came out wrong. At this stage, I had "had enough" and asked for the manager who apologised sincerely, agreed with our story and concurred that this was entirely unacceptable. He offered to fetch us a breakfast (or lunch was offered) asap but as my blood pressure had hit record highs and it was noon already we didn't want to waste any more of our time at this nightmare experience.

All we asked was that our luggage, which we had to leave until our flight, was properly attended to rather than dumped at the end of the bar/in the doorway to the street. The manager told us it would be put in his office immediately........we came back 6 hours later, the bags had not moved an inch and the same lady who had witnessed my "rant" to the manager was oblivious to who we were.

I never complain at hotels (this was my first!) and this is the first time I've been moved to write into tripadvisor, because of the great advice others have provided to us in the past. We want to prevent people having their lovely time in beautiful Edinburgh ruined too. If this was a £20 backpackers, you would expect this type of experience, but not from a place that advertises itself as one of the premier stays in Edinburgh. Particularly at £130 per night. I hate to say it, but this hotel makes you never want to stay in a boutique hotel again.

Everything else about Edinburgh and its people were simply brilliant - we can't wait till we go back in November.......sans Rick's!

We stayed at Ricks for my hen weekend. The bar & restaurant is really young & trendy and the staff were extremely friendly and nothing was too much trouble (apart from the bouncer, see below). There was 13 of us and even though most of us were pushing 40, we had a great time! Rooms were quite funky and the Molton Brown products were a really nice touch. The breakfast was lovely as was the lunch.

There were a couple of niggles and these were constructively pointed out to the manager. Firstly, it can be noisy. A guy in the restaurant at the back of the hotel persistently empties bottles into a container... this started at 7.15am on the Saturday and 9.00am on Sunday morning. I had earplugs in and I still heard it! This really has to be sorted out as it would put us off staying at the hotel again and that is such a shame. Secondly, as residents we expected to be able to continue having a drink after the bar had closed to the public - not so, the bar closes at 1.00am and we were hassled by the bouncer to drink up at 1.15am.

All in all, the hotel is a good place to stay especially if you are a heavy sleeper! Edinburgh is a beautiful City and we hope to return soon.

Stayed at Rick's from Saturday 18th to Tuesday 21st March as a birthday surprise for my husband.

Booking with Rick's was a breeze - reception was quick to respond to my e-mails and arranged for chilled champagne to be waiting in the room on our arrival.

When we arrived the tiny receptionist helped carry our suitcases up to the room. Room was really nicely furnished - very modern and clean, well lit and with a nice little faux-balcony overlooking a very quiet side street. All the doors and a fair bit of the walls are made of rosewood which gives the room a very opulent feel. Bathroom is well appointed with Molton Brown smellies, decent size towels and a shower so powerful it will pin you to the opposite wall if you dare to turn it on full. Good facilities - mini bar, tea and coffee making bits, flat screen TV with digital channels, DVD player etc

Breakfast was fantastic. Lots of choice (full Scottish, French Toast, Continental plus others) plus you could turn up at whatever time you fancied because the restaurant is open from 7am until 10pm every day (and it's really busy with people popping in to get breakfast). The haggis in the Scottish breakfast was particularly good, as was the French Toast with a generous helping of Maple Syrup.

Service was always really good, particularly the waiting staff who recognised us when we came down for breakfast.

Location is perfect for exploring the city, though I would recommend getting the odd cab (very reasonably priced with very friendly drivers) as the city is built on 7 hills and the climb to the Old Town can be quite arduous, especially if the wind is blowing and you have just climbed the Scott monument (287 steps!).

As a restaurant and cocktail bar it is really popular - when we arrived around 5 o'clock on Saturday it was packed with young trendies. Food in the restaurant is very good, though a little inconsistent (we both had venison, but mine arrived well done while my husbands was rare). Good value, though, especially of you have a Mr and Mrs Smith card (worth buying the book for the 15% discount off a meal and the free cocktail). The cocktails are outstanding - a really wide selection and very tasty.

All in all we had a lovely stay. Everyone in Edinburgh seems to be genuinely friendly and the staff at Rick's could not be more welcoming and helpful.

The hotel is not without it's faults but these are all very minor, especially when you consider that it's £130 per night for a really lovely room in a great location with a delicious (non buffet) breakfast.

Faults: The pillows are a bit old and flat and could do with being replaced. There is no lift so it's a bit of a trek up and down stairs with luggage, especially if you're staying on the top (3rd) floor. The extractor fan to the bathroom seemed to stay on all the time, so there is always a hum in the background – you do get used to it but it might annoy some people. Finally, there were plenty of magazines in the room but no brochure about the hotel facilities (when breakfast was served, what services are available, how much items in the mini bar cost, how to work the safe). This would have been really useful.
These are just nit-picking, but if they could sort out these problems it would be a perfect hotel.

Recommendations: Urban Angel on Hanover Street for lunching and afternoon tea; Number One, Princes Street for a gourmet feast; Analogue, West Bow for cool design books and art