My friend and I planned to spend a day relaxing in the spa of the Carlton Hotel in Edinburgh recently. We got a 5pm deal and were looking forward to a luxurios day. We were, sadly, very disappointed. The spa area is in dire need of a refurb, it's dirty and the pool water was positively vile! There is mould over the entire ceiling above the pool and to cover this they have installed a canape!! The plaster is flaking off the walls around the pool and the loungers are dirty and some are broken.

We went for lunch, the restaurant staff seemed confused and although it wasn't busy we were still kept waiting. We were directed to the bar area by a fairly abrupt young man and left to sit there for around 10 minutes. The waitress wasn't sure which menu we were to use but eventually worked it out. We were expected to eat lunch in the bar area although the restaurant was empty. She obliged when we asked to be moved. The food was also very disappointing. The "selection of cold cuts with seasonal leaves" turned out to be a couple of bits of salami, some spam and some other highly processed fatty "meat", a bit of rocket and 2 slices of tomato. I didn't eat any of the meat and no one asked if there was a problem or if I wanted anything else.

The spa staff were very friendly as was the concierge, Mike, but the facilities need to be upgraded and they may need to consider moving the "relaxation" area away from the squash courts and the weights room as it's a fairly busy throughfare.

If you are looking for a spa day in Edinburgh, look elsewhere as the Carlton is certainly not the 4 star experience we were expecting.

My wife and I checked into the Carlton on 11th January for an overnight in the city. We booked with hotel connections and paid £100 DB&B. Upon arrival our room was upgraded free of charge which was an excellent start to our stay (Room 340). The room was spacious, well decorated and clean. The bed was very comfortable and we were not bothered once by noise from outside like other guests had previously reported. Infact we did not notice any noise at all which is quite unusual for a city centre hotel.

Food
Dinner was a 3 course meal and the selection to choose from was very good and varied. Food portion sizes were quite small however it was well presented, all tasted excellent and by the end of the meal my wife and I were both full and not feeling completely stuffed which was good.
Next Morning the breakfast buffet was great. Plenty of selection from both the hot and cold options. It was very busy however at no point were we queing or waiting for food etc.

Location
Very central in the city with good travel links (train station etc). Close to the royal mile, castle, grassmarket, edinburgh dungeon, mary kings close, princes st etc.

Facilities
Hotel offers free wi-fi for guests and there is on site leisure facilities. The leisure facilities as previously commented on by many other guests is in dire need of refurbishment. We used the pool, spa, steam room and sauna. Whilst they are all in full working order and do perform exactly as they should the setting and surroundings are dark, dingy and fall well short of the 4 star expeienced through out the rest of the hotel.

All in all it was a bonus for my wife and I that the hotel had leisure facilities as this was not the main point of our stay and this is why I have left a high overall rating for our experience. If the sole purpose of our stay was a relaxing, spa, pamper weekend our score would have been very different.

Final tip - If you are travelling to this hotel from Waverly Train station please note that there is a lift that can be accessed from Market street just under the North Bridge. This makes getting to and from the train station very easy from this hotel.

Friendly and helpful staff, lovely hotel! Very comfortable and spacious rooms with excellent room service. Mike the concierge was extremely helpful with direction to the car park. Friendly reception staff helped us with information on where best to go in the city etc. Would definitely go back to this hotel, had a great stay :)

We stayed Thursday 6th-8th jan 2013. Hotel was literally 5 min walk from the train station and round the corner from the high street/royal Mile and 5 min walk to the castle. Excellent pub The Mitre sells strong ale/porter which was great and had an artist performing on the friday night live. We had room 421 which was clean and comfortable; the only downfall was its window was small and you couldnt see out of it unless up close and the room was fairly dark without lights on.
Tried to book a pedicure but it was fully booked so i would suggest pre-booking and spa treatments in advance of your arrival.
Breakfast was brilliant: plenty of choice and hot, well prepared/cooked food. haggis was superb!!
definitely will go again as there are loads of shops within a min walk and plenty of things to do.