My friend and I stayed in the AmarAgua's twin en-suite room from October 7th to October 10th, and were very happy with our stay. We can't wait to go back to Edinburgh, and will definitely stay at the AmarAgua again if we can.

We were welcomed with a big smile from Dawn-Ann when we arrived, and we felt that we were not only welcome, but that she was happy to have us there. She provided us with a map of the city when we arrived, and there were also a guidebook and a collection of brochures in our room to help us plan our stay.

The room was lovely. It looked just like the picture on their website, except the room felt bigger in person than it had looked to me in the picture. The website picture doesn't show the entryway/bathroom side of the room, nor how high the ceilings are. I had worried that the room would feel small or cramped, but that was not at all the case. There was plenty of room for both us and our luggage, and there's a closet if you need to hang anything. We felt at home in our room right away and when it came time to leave after 3 nights, we were sorry to be going.

Our beds were perfectly comfortable, with 3 pillows each (something I don't usually find in hotels), which made it comfortable to sit up in bed to read or watch TV.

The bathroom was nice and modern. The shower had an adjustable showerhead; if you are tall, you won't have a problem. Between the two of us, we always had plenty of hot water. There's a plug and a mirror on the wall next to the dresser, so I was able to dry my hair while my friend was showering. This was also nice, since the mirror is next to the window, and I was able to apply my makeup in natural daylight. The window looked out on the back garden.

The breakfast room was pleasant and comfortable. I regret that I forgot to leave a note for Tony in the guest book about how delicious the breakfasts were. I miss Tony's eggs and sausage and coffee now that I'm back at home. My friend ordered the porridge, the rolls and the croissants, and also thought the breakfast was good. Tony was very friendly. He was able to offer us advice about whether or not it was a good idea to try climbing Arthur's Seat the morning after a rainy day - we decided to go ahead, and were very glad we did. Arthur's Seat is located pretty close to the hotel; we left at about 9am and walked there, taking our time, and were back before 12:15. If you climb Arthur's Seat, I recommend going in the morning, the light was beautiful. And definitely do climb Arthur's Seat, even if you don't go all the way to the top - the views in every direction are fantastic.

We found the buses very convenient for getting into the city center and back. We never had to wait very long for a bus, and were even able to take our luggage on the buses to and from the train station without a problem. It might be more difficult if you have larger bags or are traveling at rush hour, since the luggage rack was a bit small; but we had carry-on size roller bags, and were traveling at midday, and it was fine. We stopped at the tourist information center next door to the train station when we arrived; when we told them the hotel's address, they were able to tell us which bus to take, exactly which stop to wait at, and what stop to get off at.

The only slightly negative thing we have to say is that we didn't find it completely clear whether we were expected to ask before turning on the computer in the breakfast room to use the Internet. The sign next to the computer and the information booklet in our room didn't really make that clear (I would recommend that they clarify that detail more explicitly). Tony and Dawn-Ann were both very nice when we rang the buzzer to ask a question or request help, but we would have felt more comfortable using the Internet if we didn't have to disturb them.

Sure enough, when we asked, Dawn-Ann needed to enter a password to log on to the computer. This was fine on the first night of our stay, as there is a buzzer at the breakfast room door if you need to speak to Tony or Dawn-Ann, but it was inconvenient on the third night of our stay, when they were on their way out the door as we arrived for the night, and my friend was waiting for a particular message. If we had been staying longer, we would have spoken to them to see if we could arrange something so that we would be able to use the Internet if they weren't at home.

Overall, our stay was comfortable and extremely pleasant. I will be recommending Edinburgh and the AmarAgua to all my friends, and will be back myself as soon as I can manage it.