Nira Caledonia

Lovely hotel, room bijou but perfect, disappointing that there is now no bar, it’s been incorporated into the dining room. We did not eat dinner in the hotel, as the menu seemed rather limited. We had a guest for breakfast, who was warmly welcomed when the receptionist thought she was a hotel guest arriving, but when he realised she wasn’t, he stopped being helpful. Breakfast was good, but the service was poor and slow. We have stayed at the Nira Caledonia several times in the past for up to a week, meeting friends and family in the bar, entertaining them in the restaurant, and generally making the hotel the centre of our stays in Edinburgh. Would we stay again? Probably. The Nira Caledonia used to be our goto hotel in Edinburgh, and although is in a good location for us, with no bar to meet in, and the modest dinner menu, we be looking for an alternative.

This is a beautiful hotel. The breakfast was great. Lots of choice and the staff were pleasant and helpful. My only criticism is the room we were allocated is in the building next to the main hotel. And our room was up several steep flights of stairs in the attic rooms. This could be an issue for anyone older or with poor mobility. Beautifully furnished room but a little hot with one window needing to be propped open with a water bottle as it wouldn’t stay open.

it was grwat weekend, staff very friendly

The hotel is more of a B&B, it is so over priced for a tiny room and poor quality. We booked a wee double. It was too small and both travellers were 4 ft 11 and 5ft 3. So not big people. The bathroom is so cramped you need to manoeuvre to get out of the shower. On arrival a girl is standing inside the door on check in. No welcome until I instigated questions on the area. There are NO LIFTS so avoid if you have any mobility problems. The stairs are very steep going up and down. We were on floor 2. You can't check in until 3pm on the day you arrive and also need to check out at 11am the day you leave. It was not stressed that the price only included a continental breakfast. Which was the worst I've seen presented in all my travels. A very basic selection of food. White and brown processed sliced bread for toasting. No fresh baguettes or bread rolls. A selection of 3 pastries on morning 1 & on morning 2 even though we were at breakfast for 9.20am, 1 hour before service ends, there was only cold croissants and 1 pan au chocolate left, when I asked if there was more, I was told "no don't think so". They were not fresh. The overall continental breakfast was really poorly presented. In the evening on our return from touring Edinburgh, we asked for a wine glass to take to the room. There was no personality from the person we dealt with asking us how was our day, what was our plan for tomorrow, just blank & then got the glass. Same on night 2. Asked for 2 glasses. A very uncomfortable exchange from the man on desk duty. All staff lack personality for a supposed 4 start luxury hotel. This hotel probably earns it stars as they serve evening meals but not on Mondays. It really is not worth what we paid for it. On the 2nd day touring, we were so wet and cold when we got back, I rang down to reception to say the heating was off. I was told wait 15 minutes. This was 4.45pm. We sat in our room with our hats n scarfs on. On checking out, the girl who met us on day 1 had no conversation once again. She asked how was the stay and I replied ok. She then walked off, I presumed she was gone down to the office to paper work. We waited on the seat and eventually when she came back, I asked her is that it.. no paper work. She replied no. So that is how they thank people for their stay.

Nice elegant place, good comfortable rooms, tasty breakfast with good selection to choose from. Friendly staff, good location with an easy walking distance to all major attractions. Overall recommended

No free parking at the hotel and in the surrounding area, only at weekends. On working days there is a charge of £4.40 per hour from 08.30am to 05.30pm.

Booked the jacuzzi suite for one night for £263. For that, I’d expect everything to be flawless, but unfortunately it wasn’t…. We were given room 10/9 in the building 6. The door to the room is right at the bottom of the stairs on the ground floor and upon opening said door, we found the bed within a couple of feet. As expected, when in bed, you could hear everything that happened in the communal lobby. Maybe switch the bedroom and lounge area around so there’s a bit of peace for sleeping? Then it was on to the jacuzzi (no instructions supplied). We worked out that the bath had to be filled to a certain level before it worked and pressing a few buttons got the desired effect. A few of the knobs that looked like they’d control the bath just came off when touched and we never worked out how to drain the bath either. The shower was an even less pleasurable experience. I’d be stunned if it’s more than 2 feet squared. Never been in a smaller shower. Luckily, the jacuzzi had a shower head. Unluckily, it didn’t work. Or we couldn’t get it to work. The minibar was empty. Why? At least provide a bottle of water. Other small flaws are the massive bedside cabinets, which we both manage to elbow in the middle of the night. They impinge so much near the bed that I’m surprised there’s not been a broken cheekbone or two. Instead of the massive cabinets, maybe a charging point or socket near the bed? Ah, the bed. A jacuzzi room would probably be rented by a couple, so why not have a king size bed in there, instead of two singles pushed together? Very uncomfortable. The biggest issue was the floor. Never thought I’d write a review of a hotel room floor. They must polish the floor with Pledge as it’s like an ice rink. We both slipped on the floor just by walking to the toilet. And falling hard on a hardwood floor isn’t fun. Every trip from the bedroom was taken on with great trepidation. Just very poor. At least the breakfast was very nice. And the price was reduced by about £30 as I complained about the floor. Didn’t bother mentioning much else as wasn’t really being listened to. I’d be annoyed paying for the room at all, let alone the £230 it cost me. Just terrible value.

Perfectly positioned for walking to meetings and exploring the New Town. The rooms are quiet and comfortable. Great for a business or leisure stay. Breakfasts are a highlight with an excellent buffet and generous cooked dishes.