Mr & Mrs Smith

The One Royal Circus is in a very nice location. The staff were very helpful and recommended we visit to The Royal Yacht Britannia and a restaurant called Ondine. Ondine was one of the best fish restaurants we have ever experienced.
 

Little Gem in the heart of Edinburgh. We had a large spacious bedroom on the first floor, although the view was to the back of the house. Each bedroom has a coffee machine. Only complaint is that if you wanted tea, it was a visit to the kitchen. The decor was to the highest standard. There is a lounge on the first floor with a well stocked bar of wine, beer, standard spirits and a selection of soft drinks. Breakfast was a selection of fresh fruit, breads and cereal with a number of cooked options also available. Try the full Scottish, it will set you up for the rest of the day. The staff were extremely friendly with nothing too much effort. All in all an excellent find and will certainly stay again.

After a fabulous dinner watching the sunset over Edinburgh at Oloroso, a Sunday in nearby Stock Bridge, just five minutes walk was a treat. A village feel with lots of interesting shops and pubs and then over to the fabulous botanical gardens with the tallest palm house in the world! Walk back along the river to No 1 to complete the circuit. Just great!

For pure decadence, wonderful food (and actually a very reasonable price), try the set lunch menu at The Witchery at The Castle. The decor and furnishings are beautiful, the service attentive without being intrusive and food and wine amazing! (individual fish pies recommended!)

Really enjoyed the gracious proportions of One Royal Circus. Tremendous feeling of space and well appointed in the public rooms. Comfortable and clean and fun too. Only slight problem was where to charge the phones and laptops in the bedroom – we eventually found a socket behind a sofa in the dressing room! We would probably stay again, but for some reason we haven't yet. Not sure what was missing – possibly the lack of somewhere comfortable to sit and read in the bedroom – had to perch on the bed.

We would recommend the Witchery for a great location, great food and staff that can't do enough for you. Perfect!

On the second day of our stay we ventured into the Old Town to find somewhere for lunch. Although I'd spent a long time researching restaurants on the internet prior to the stay, we came across a place called The Mussel & Steak Bar, which I'd not seen on any of the 'recommended' lists of eateries. It was great! My fiancé started with oysters and then had the seafood platter and I had the tempura fish and chips. The food was seriously fantastic, but the service was outstanding. Our waiter was relaxed and friendly – as you would hope – but it was his attention to detail that made what was going to be a quick bite to eat into a memorable, really lovely lunch. Finger bowls and hot towels appeared at exactly the right moment and for people who dine out a lot, we were especially impressed. The house wine turned out to be a delicious Chilean Merlot which at £8.95 a bottle was an added bonus.

That evening we had a table booked at The Kitchin in Leith – having seen Tom Kitchin on The Great British Menu over the last week or so, it was quite nice to actually see him in the kitchen while we dined. The food was fantastic, and, although there were a lot of staff waiting on us, they were all very good. We were especially impressed with the sommelier who was so enthusiastic about a dessert wine he'd recently discovered that my fiance tried it and is now trying to find somewhere he can buy a bottle. The puddings were truly beautiful and mouthwatering – a brilliant finish to the meal.

An amazing building, set in one of Edinburgh's beautiful crescents. We had one of the basement rooms, which was functional - if a little cold. We stayed in early March and it snowed on that particular weekend! The rest of the 'hotel' was stunning. It felt like you were staying at a wealthy uncle's house, and the feel of the place reminded me of a cross between a luxurious bed and breakfast, with a youth hostel element thrown in. (Have breakfast and you'll see what I mean! It's a good thing, honest!)

If you're looking for a quiet, exclusive getaway location whilst you tour Edinburgh, then you won't be disappointed with One Royal Circus. We loved it!

A must-visit activity at Edinburgh International Climbing Arena; book in advance to go on the aerial assault course – it is absolutely terrifyingly fantastic

We dined at Number One at the Balmoral on the Friday night and it was fantastic. Well deserving of its one star, and in our eyes should have made it onto the list for two in 2009.  My top tip for those staying at One Royal Circus is to let them know what time you are planning to arrive. We turned up and there was no one there to let us in and we had to wait outside in the cold and rain for an hour. Mr and Mrs Smith eventually helped us track down the owner though who was really apologetic. We loved this place!