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The Carlton Hotel is right off North Bridge when you get out of Waverly station (apparently there is also a "secret" entrance from the station directly to the hotel but we did not find it). It's a grand old building located in the "old town" of Edinburgh and centrally located to everything (Edinburgh is a very walkable city).The reception desk staff was extremely helpful and was friendly, diligent, and attentive to all our questions and needs (and there were quite a few throughout our stay!). The reception desk staff was able to juggle all our issues despite also handling the hoards of tourist groups that seemed to gather daily in the lobby. Extra points for that alone! The hotel seems to be a very popular tourist group destination and this makes sense as it is conveniently located and has lots of room.The hotel is located on a block with a handful of restaurants (most convenient is a patisserie with take-away food), a bodega across the street, and a bank with several outside 24 hour cash machines down at the other end of the block. Because it is located just down from North Bridge, it can become quite busy during rush hours and packed with people and motor traffic. This also added to the ambient noise in the room, especially during the early morning. There seemed to be an endless supply of taxis milling around, which was helpful to get to destinations outside of Edinburgh.The room was standard European fare. Nothing fancy, nothing terrible, clean, but a bit worn. It was comfortable enough and suited our needs just fine.We enjoyed the breakfasts in the morning but go early as the dining hall fills up very quickly! When tourists groups are there, the place becomes a madhouse in a matter of minutes. Our strategy became: "get there as early as possible and get out as quickly as possible!" The selection was broad and satisfactory. We did not have any other meals there nor did we make use of their other amenities.Overall, the Carlton Hotel was definitely a nice place to be.High points:1. Well located, just off North Bridge, in the old part of town, one block from Waverly station.2. Extra attentive, helpful staff.3. Several restaurants and cash machines nearby.Low points:1. Gets quite busy throughout the day.2. Can be a bit noisy from road traffic due to location.

Me and my mum came here for a spa day on Tuesday 15th May and was disappointed to say the least!! The spa area is old fashioned and looks run down. If this has been recently refurbished as mentioned in response to a previous review then they wasted there money!! Dirty dusty fake plants decorate the area we sat in which wasn't pleasant! The spa pool wasn't working and we were told by a regular guest that it had been broken for at least 4weeks. There was no mention of this before the booking!! Changing rooms again are old and run down, not up to 4* standard!The spa receptionist was unenthusiastic and unhelpful. We had tried to book treatments days before we arrived via telephone but had to give up and the girl I spoke to was useless!!!Now for the afternoon tea!! The food was ok but the surroundings were not!! There were crumbs all over the floor around the table they put us on. The staff didn't smile and looked like they did not want to be there! My tea cup was cracked which I know sounds petty but when you're having afternoon tea, nice teacups add to the experience!!! We were also surrounded by a large group of people who had obviously just come out of a conference so we couldn't hear ourselves speak!!! Not the relaxing afternoon tea we were hoping for!!! Would never go back here again!!

Myself and 6 friends bought the early bird Spa package and were extremely dissapointed.Heres a list of the issues that we experiences:1 freezing cold pool2 jacuzzi not working with no prior warning3 steam room was filthy and had a strong smell of sweat which made the experience unbearable4 had to share one locker between two people5 decor is horrific and very dated6 treatments were 10 minutes late therefore 15 minutes of spa time was wasted in a cold uncomfortable reception area with foreign staff speaking to one another in a different language around you - very intimidating7 lunch was included in the price - waited 40 minutes on 7 cold starters and 60 minutes on mains after starters had been cleared from table = hungry8 the risotto tasted like rice pudding/sand/baby food - freezing cold and had to wait 15 mins after other people had been served their mains to get mine. Sent it back and asked for something else. Got a baked potato which was ok.9 the *spa* had no shampoo or conditioner - to even borrow or purchase.10 the only positive feedback i have is that Shiela the beauty therapist is lovely and made the visit worthwhile as she was really friendly.Although the package included use of the leisure facilities, 2 treatments and lunch and only cos a meer ¿¿35 i still would never return as a visitor of the spa or a hotel guest! I will never reccomend this place to anyone. This experience at the *spa* ruined my birthday

We were staying in edinburgh for a theatre visit ( at a dif hotel) and my daughter had pre-purchased 3 course dinner for us. On arriving we waited at reception for a query and when the receptionist was dealing with the party in front of us who were enquiring about the restaurant she replied to a query of "is it Scottish food" or some variation therof "that the restaurant did not do typical Scottish food the restaurant does nice food"!!!! So we are in edinburgh, she is working in a Scottish hotel and implies that Scottish food is not nice!!!! NOT GOOD!!! We had our dinner which was at best average, I did not eat my chicken as it was pink in the middle but when the waitress took it away she didn't even ask if there was a problem! I felt bad for my daughter as she had bought this as a wee treat. Needless to say, especially after the comment, we will not be rushing back!!

We stayed 2 nights at this hotel and found it to be perfectly situated in the City Center, within walking distance to museums and the Edinburgh Castle. The hotel itself is in a historic structure and the rooms are well appointed with nice views of the City. The only issue we found was with the ventilation in the rooms. There are no air conditioning units within the rooms themselves so to get fresh air, you have to open up the window (which only opens a few inches). Another nice advantage to this property was the health club/pool & spa in the basement of the hotel. The workout facilities are actually a health club that people living in the City can visit as well (it is not exclusive to the hotel). Overall, I would recommend this hotel to leisure travelers who want to spend a few days in Edinburgh.