We just came back from a lovely long weekend stay here for the Edinburgh Fringe.

I picked it because of the location on the Grasmarket which turned out to be a good move given the quality of restaurants within a 3 minute walk of the hotel. If all the outlets on the Grasmarket are full, take a walk up Victoria Street for more fab restaurants.

We got a really big (not sure if that's only because it was a disabled access room) room which had no view but thankfully faced the car park - so no problems with noise. It did not have air-conditioning which we found really surprising, although it was not really necessary in August.

There is a lovely swimming pool and sauna. The gym was also very nice with air-conditioning and tellys in front of the running & ski machines. We also enjoyed drinks in the hotel bar which was a welcome respite from the hustle and bustle of the Festival... one that was not too pricey! Breakfast in The View (5th floor) was ok; not worth the £12 if you purchased it seperately but ours was included in our room rate. The view was everything you'd expect, except for the morning when it was foggy and you could barely see the Castle! If I had to find a complaint about breakfast, it would be that the pastries (Danish, crossaint, pan au choc) were rock solid and I had to pass on them even though they are generally my favourite breakfast item/ indulgence.

We payed quite a lot for the room (B&B) as it was during the festival. We booked it from gtahotels although easyjetrooms had it slightly cheaper. I wonder if you would be able to negotiate cheap rates directly from the hotel for the duration of the festival, as suggested by a previous reviewer.

Having said that, I am very happy with the stay. The staff were friendly and professional; and I loved the toileteries. Only minor problems were that they kept on leaving only one set of towels out ('spare' set was in the cupboard even though there were blatently two of us staying there); also, the soap and shampoo dispenser in the shower cubicle kept on jamming. I left a message out for it to be replaced and I came back to find the dispenser mechanism working but the straw part had detached itself from the dispenser. Pity to a lovely bathroom spoiled by a cheap, nasty dispenser. Thankfully though, they did supply some small bottles of the stuff as well.

The final matter of complaint would be that there are loads of tour groups which use this hotel. I had a run in with a rep from one of the companies who had no concept of queuing. The staff in this instant did nothing to intervene which was a bit of a disappointment.

I am of course, splitting hairs. My husband and myself really enjoyed our stay here and we are planning to come back again and again. I would recommend this to anyone who would like a bit of luxury... and if you are coming for the Fringe, this hotel is an oasis of calm amidst the chaos of the Fringe.

My wife and I stayed at the apex international hotel on14th of August 2006 and cannot recommend this hotel highly enough.

All staff that we encountered were efficient, professional and polite at all times. We had a room on the fourth floor which had a balcony with views of the Castle and the pubs and restaurants located along the grassmarket.
The room itself was spotless, modern and very well equipped.

This hotel also benefits from a small pool and sauna to help relax the muscles after long day taking in the fantastic sights of Edinburgh.

The Apex is also in an excellent location, literally moments from the busy pubs/restaurants in the grassmarket, about 5-10 mins walk from the castle and approx 15 mins to Princess street.
We would most certainly stay at this hotel again.

Ruth /Mike 15.08.06

Unbelievably noisy until 3 a.m. because of all the bars and kebab vans in Grassmarket, plus locals driving up and down in cars with modified exhausts. The location and view of the castle are fantastic, and maybe the screaming and shouting is the price you pay - but we had never been to Edinburgh and didn't know Grassmarket would be so noisy. Now you do.

Like many people who've already written reviews about this hotel, I was surprised at how negative some of the others are. Overall our stay was a good experience. The hotel is in a great location not far from big attractions like Princes Street, the new Scottish Parliament and the Museum of Scotland. We arrived by car and left it in the hotel car park for the whole 5 days we were there and walked and bussed it everywhere. The bedroom was modern and VERYclean. Our room was at the back and I'm glad it was because as other people have commented, the Grassmarket is very noisy on some nights of the week. Even at the back, if you have the windows open (as we did on two warm nights) you could hear the noise on the Saturday evening but the rest of the week was quiet enough. The hotel was very trendy and clean, altho the paintwork in a few of the corridoors could perhaps do with refreshing a little. The staff on reception and in the bar/bistro were VERY helpful and friendly throughout our stay. We had breakfast at the hotel on just one of the 5 days because we did feel that £11 each was very pricey. But there are plenty of cafes within 5-10 minutes walk offering good breakfast-type food at much cheaper rates. The cafe/sandwich bar opposite the hotel was fine. In the evening we ate at the hotel bistro once (good value set meals in the bistro and the hotel restaurant) and had a very nice meal. We tried a lot of the local restaurants as well and they were all very good. We looked out for the "Eat Scotland" logo in the windows and that pretty much guaranteed a great meal. As far as value for money, I think this hotel is a little overpriced but I think the location accounts for that. But I would stay here again if I came to Edinburgh again.