The hotel is advertised as "Recently refurbished". It should read "work in progress". Saw one handyman during our stay, he really had his hands full.
We booked two rooms - a twin and a double. Both rooms had a single and a double bed (2 singles pushed together). Our room had the dirtiest net curtains I've ever seen and wooden shutters that couldn't be closed completely. Our room overlooked Argylle Street, which was noisy all night (our window was jammed open). We went for a drink in the bar,which also overlooked Argylle Street. After a few minutes of people -watching,we discovered that we were in the red light district, and trade was steady!
Breakfast was the one redeeming feature,plenty of choice.
Met up with the handyman as I went to help my Mum with her luggage,almost tripped over his painting materials, which were adjacent to my Mum's room, as I stated before - work in progress.
Would not recommend this hotel.

Stayed in room 410 (family room) 1 night only & pleased it was just one night due to the noise.
The location is great if you want to access all the centre clubs, bars, sights etc. but not appropriate for a family with children due to the noise outside - party revelers, police sirens, car alarms, singing/shouting from clubbers making their way home until at least 4.30am.
If you want a lively noisy hotel then this is defiantly for you, if not, stay clear if you require a good nights sleep!
Positives -location, full Scottish breakfast in with the price, reasonable room rates, clean bedding & towels
Negatives -not for families with children, noisy, very basic rooms in desperate need of some TLC & upgrade, no hairdryer as stated, no views (derelict boarded up buildings directly across) no hotel parking had to park 2 blocks away (7 pounds for the night) no toiletries i.e shampoo etc.
Probably wouldn't return to this hotel

Oh dear, one of the worst hotels I have ever stayed in.
The immediate surroundings are dire and grim.
The hotel is a once-upon-a-time glorious Edwardian (or Victorian) edifice which has been very, very shabbily patched-up/repainted - the word 're-decorated' does not seem to really apply. Our room had high ceilings, tall windows, plastic and plywood cupboards, 50's style disparate table/chair/dressing table.... all vaguely worn, cheap and tatty. We had the choice of aither a room onto the busy street or a quiet room looking out on a piece of wasteland bordered by a broken wooden fence....
The television started smoking when we switched it on and then, when the receptionist came to check it out, the door lock jammed and we were all locked in the room until after several fruitless attempts at reparation, the handyman had to literally break the door down....
And all of this at the same price for a real three star hotel in Edinburgh! Awful.

Recently stayed 2 nights at the Alexander Thomson. I was presently surprised by the quality of the stay. Room was more than adequate; clean, and well kept. I found the beds to be a bit hard but have no real complaints as this was what I expected from a budget hotel. The breakfast both mornings was excellent with several hot choices to include fried eggs, sausage, toast, beans, cereals, and juices. The best thing about the hotel is its location just a block from the central train station and within walking distance of the city center. I would definitely stay here again. The one big negative was that even though they claimed to have wireless internet access I was never able to get a solid signal and could not make a connection. All things considered, the location of the hotel off-set the minor problems with the stay and it was just what I expected for the price.