Passports at the ready and be prepared for take off at the Le Monde hotel Edinburgh.

Upon completing my booking through a third party agent I contacted the hotel to find out we where going to be staying, I was told that we had been upgraded (ooh I thought) to a junior suite. However, you know that feeling when you are told something then turn up to find something different, you are disappointed? Well that was the case at the Le Monde. Booking a room here is like booking an allocation on arrival holiday with a travel agent you never know where you may end up staying - in Le Monde's case this could be anywhere in the world!

After a bumpy check in, we entered our flight to the world of Dublin.

First impressions were good, clean bed linen nice view and great bathroom. Coffee left behind in the percolator by the last guest and it had not been topped up - oops a slight oversight here.

Relaxing into our flight we decided to push the call button and call reception for milk and some ice. The in-flight movie was good while we waited, 45 minutes later and no hostess with a smile appeared. Thus we decided to head out for dinner.

Hang on a minute I shouted towards the lift, "the door won't lock,” “what do you mean the door won't lock?” The lock appeared to be broken, so another call to the cabin crew downstairs. This time they decided to come to our needs more quickly and told us the door was locked, push down the handle and you were inside Dublin, strange eh?

We escaped down the emergency exit chute out of the plane and headed out to dinner with the knowledge we would be moved rooms upon our return.

When we returned we were handed a new passport this time to St Petersberg. Wow Ireland to Russia in two hours that is fast. This is the same standard of room to Dublin we were told.

Upon arrival in St Petersberg we found all our belongings had been moved and not lost in transit, phew! The room was smaller with a much smaller bed than in Dublin and not as welcoming as Dublin. Cupboard doors wouldn’t shut and there was a window from beside the bath through into the bedroom! Dressing room where was that? Oh that is the room in which the bath is in with the window going through to the bedroom! This room was only a superior room we later found out and not an executive room as was booked.

Boom, Boom, Boom went the big bass drum and so did the noise in this room. The nightclub in the basement was very noisy and we didn't get to sleep until after 3am it was that loud.

The breakfast was nice in a very nice surrounding with a good choice from the menu. Check out was slow and again a bumpy ride to touch us back down to the streets of Edinburgh.

With some work on the customer service and the allocation upon arrival and being moved to a lower category of room each time and less noise this noise this hotel would make a pleasant stay. At present it is a quirky hotel, club 18-30's style!

We stayed at Le Monde in December 2006 and had a really good time, so we decided to repeat the experience this year as part of our Christmas present to our two daughters who stayed with us. What a disappointment!

I really can't understand how a hotel can deteriorate so quickly. Let's start with our room - Milan. A really nice room except that there was no door between the bedroom and the bathroom, so that when you are sitting on the throne, so to speak, you are in full view and earshot of your partner. Our complaint was met with indifference and we were advised that, because the hotel was fully booked, no other options were available. Eventually, we were offered a £20 per night reduction (equivalent to a 10% discount - big deal!)

Our daughters fared no better. On returning to their room in the early hours they were met with a constant humming. They invited the Duty Manager to listen to the problem, but he admitted that he had no idea where it was coming from. They had two sleepless nights. They also both suffered from insect bites during their stay in Reyjkavik (the name of the room).

Now the in-room food service. Our breakfasts arrived late and were tepid on arrival. Unacceptable in a hotel that claims to be amongst the best in this glorious city.

Finally, the bar staff. I have never met such an unfriendly bunch of people. We stood at the bar for nearly 15 minutes trying to take advantage of the complementary drink vouchers that we received on arrival. We've still got them because we just gave up trying to attract their attention!

Please come to Edinburgh - its a truly magical place whatever the time of year - but DON'T stay at Le Monde. If its fun you want, book into Tiger Lilly. If its sumptuousness you're looking for, stay at Prestonfields. Oh and eat at Olorosso - its superb!

This was the second visit we had made to Le Monde, having had an absolutely brilliant time on our previous visit, when we stayed in the London room.
On this occasion we were staying for two nights, chosing the Paris room for one night, and Barcelona for the other.
Paris was a resounding success - a fabulous room, beautiful in every way. We had a great night of drinking downstairs in the bar, having dinner in Edinburgh's The Tower restuarant (a must) and back to the room for a sound night's sleep.
The second night - a Sunday - was spent in Barcelona. On the second floor of the hotel, it is advertised as a quiet room with views of Rose Street, one of Edinburgh's prettiest thoroughfares....... oh dear. Barcelona as a room was fine (not as good as Paris, but this reflects its slightly cheaper rate) but the view was not quite as advertised. Instead of pretty old Edinburgh, we had the view of a back alley (where drunks chose to come to urinate through the course of the night), some very exposed office windows and the hotel's bins. OK, we thought, never mind, we'll keep the blinds closed to block out the less than pretty surroundings, have a few cocktails, a bit of dinner and bed down for the night.
At 3am the hotel decided to empty its bottles into the bins. It literally sounded like gunshot. They repeated the trick twice more, by which point there was no chance of sleep.
Officially the worst night sleep we have ever had in a hotel - I know, you come to a city, you should expect some noise, but this room was advertised as quiet and pretty!
When complaining to reception the next day, the very pleasant assistant said she would check with her manager, but the hotel had never had complaints about the noise from that room. Hmmmm! When checking out, and settling the bill, the manager refused to come to speak to us, and said it was not the hotel's problem. We had at this point spent well over £600 in Le Monde over the course of 2 nights drinking, sleeping and dining. A token gesture would have done - but they just refused to entertain anything of the sort.
This is seriously shoddy for a hotel of this class which charges these prices. Neither I or my partner are moaners without cause, but paying £150 to sleep in a noisy room over a back alley where drunks come to finish off their night (to put it politely) is really not on.
Le Monde, you've really let us down - and we loved you so much as well!

We spent 5 nights at Le Monde. The hotel is very trendy and has all the latest gadgets and is not for those seeking an old world Edinburgh experience. We loved our room and the giant plasma TV. Also, the bathroom was terrific! The staff was great and helped us in so many ways - even with a 2:30AM wake-up call and a 3:30AM taxi. There are 4 nightclubs in this hotel and they can get noisy at night, so ask for a room in the back of the hotel. The location is perfect - walking distance to everywhere.