NIRA CALEDONIA ^{* * * *}

I arranged for my parents to stay at the Nira Caledonia for their 50th wedding anniversary, as a surprise, when they came to visit me in Edinburgh. This was for a few reasons - first, it's super close to the city centre, and to the beautiful neighbourhood of Stockbridge, so there's lots to do; secondly, my dad has mobility issues, so I didn't want him trying to walk up the many flights of stairs to my place - their room in Nira (a Jacuzzi Suite) was only down 1 flight of stairs, which was perfect for my dad. And finally, as I live in the area myself, I was well aware of the hotel's fantastic reputation and hoped that would translate into a first-class experience for my parents. I was not disappointed!

The room was big, tastefully decorated, and had a lovely living area where I could meet and spend some time with them. The suite is broken into 3 sections. The living area is in the middle, with a huge jacuzzi and the toilet / shower room off to the left, and a very lovely bedroom to the right. The bedroom has doors that open out onto a pretty patio area that's really private.

My parents said they've never slept so well and that the bed was really comfy. They made the most of the jacuzzi, too, after long days travelling or shopping, and loved using all the bathroom products from L'Occitane!

The best thing about this hotel, though, is the service. From start to finish, the service was a dream. Everyone was so friendly and treated my parents like royalty - they loved it so much and can't wait to come back. They had breakfast in their room some days, and in the restaurant other days, but they said it was always delicious, and the staff so courteous and accommodating.

I should put a special mention for Matt - the hotel manager, who was fantastic, and who made my parents stay a special and memorable one. Thanks, Matt!

All in all, this was a dream vacation for my parents - they've not stopped talking about it since. I highly recommend you book yourself into the Nira next time you're in Edinburgh - go on, treat yourself!

Not your typical hotel - more like a glorified bed and breakfast but with prices of a 5 star hotel. It’s an old house turned into a hotel where the bedrooms were turned into rooms. The wee double room is very “wee” (tiny) not big enough for two people with medium suitcases. There is no a/c nor lifts so prepare to carry your luggage up the stairs. The warm reception we all want and expect is non existent - cold staff. Old TV with a remote that wouldn’t turn it on. Also lots of dust of top of the TV that makes you question the cleanliness overall. Breakfast was fine but there was clearly a flight between one of the servers and the chef and that is unacceptable. I had another reservation for this hotel but after my first experience, I canceled it.

Comfortable room. Very good location in Stockbridge. Vegetarian cooked breakfast very good - you might fail to eat it all like us.

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.

The place was located in a close spot to the station and the service was really good. The room though was extremely small and the door right on top of the first flight of stairs. There was a gap under the door and I could hear everyone going up and down the stairs and even the concierge talking to guests downstairs. The window was thin and you could hear people talking on the street