Stayed in the Apex International for the weekend, ideal right beneath the castle with wonderful views. Hotel is in Grasmere which can be lively with lots of bars at night but the noise did not mar our stay, if necessary ask for a room at the back. Our room was on the 4th floor with a balcony and a castle view superb. Room was adequate size with a huge comfortable bed and seating area, widescreen TV and DVD player Shower and seperate bath all good quality toiletries bath robes etc. Spa pool and Gym.
Staff were very attentive and helpful, breakfast (Scottish) was excellent with a lot of choice. Evening meal taken in the bar and Metro restaurant though not a lot of choice was cooked fresh to order and was excellent.
Hotel was within walking distance of Castle, Holyrood House, Dynamic Earth, Mary King Close, Vaults and lots of other attractions it was really great situation for everything. We traveled from the airport in a taxi it cost £16.00 but a bus goes from there for £3.00 single and it stops about 5 mins walk from the hotel or there are mini buses that charge door to door £8 per person great if you are traveling alone.

Hotel is in a good location for the choice of restaurants and bars and is not far away from the castle, if you are looking to relax while on your stay this hotel is not really a good option, its busy and quite noisy as the bar leads off the reception and the restaurant at the front door is overlooked by the bar. The ' Heights' restaurant on the top floor gets very noisy when it is full , maybe because of the low ceiling. Also the staff in the restaurant did not have very good English which can be a problem when you order poached eggs and get fried!

Another big disappointment was how uncomfortable the beds were, probably some of the worst i have ever stayed in, they were lumpy and hard. The rooms and the hotel were clean enough but the maintenance could be improved in different places around the hotel, i think overall the hotel is ok, if they sorted there beds out and you dont mind a busy noisy hotel this should do if you get it at a good price but cant help thinking there might have been something better to stay in near by.

The Apex International Hotel is located on a charming cobblestone street in old-town Edinburgh. Its a very sleek, modern hotel -- think glass, black marble, etc. Everything was immaculately clean from the lobby to our room and bathroom. Room service for breakfast was quite tasty.

The hotel is walking distance to all tourist attractions and a 3 pound bus ride from the airport. There are a good number of cute restaurants in the immediate 5 blocks surrounding, ranging from pub fare (if you want haggis or fish/chips), as well as modern Scottish fine-dining.

This was a very nice hotel, comparable to the Metropolitan in New York City - Manhattan (for anyone who's ever stayed there), both in style, price, and comfort/amenities. This is definitely a large cut above a Holiday Inn, etc.

My daughter and I stayed at the Apex for 2 nights in Feb. I booked the hotel through a website and got an amazing deal of 80 euros a night.

The hotel is in a great location for walking and seeing Edinburgh. The tour buses and city buses stop outside the hotel - nothing could be easier. There are several pubs and restaurants right across the street. It about a 10 minute walk to Waverly but longer coming back to the hotel as its all uphill. Be sure to look for shortcuts in the form of stairways and passageways. You can't get lost.

The hotel was very nice. The room was large and roomy. Loved the little rubber duckie they leave for you. The bath items were nice as well. There was coffee, hot chocolate and bottled water in the room as well as a pack of cookies - replenished each day.

The room could have used a bit of sprucing up. There were scuff marks here and there on the walls and the caulking in the bathtub didn't really seem 4 star to me.

The staff was friendly but I didn't find them to be very inter-active. They were just sort of there. We enjoyed the pool very much. Most of the time we were there alone.

We ordered breakfast in the room the first night for 9.50 pounds. There was enough for me and my daughter. I'd advise against this, for the money. There was a small croissant and a half a pain au chocolate that were grabbed out of a bag, no doubt. It had been a long time since they had seen the inside of a bakery! The breakfast came with salmon, cheese and chorizo which I simply could not face first thing in the morning. There was no unsweet bread to eat it with anyway. The coffee was obviously a pour-through sort of brew that was barely more than colored water. My daughter had cereal and yogurt but the yogurt was more like something drinkable. This was not a 4 star hoel breakfast! For the next days, bought a loaf of bread, some cream cheese, a box of cereal and a carton of milk and put tthem outside on the window sill. This was a good enough breakfast for the next two days and we had coffee and hot chocolate provided in the room.

So, great location, loved the hotel, staff friendly but not overly so, breakfast not worth it at all.