My boyfriend and I stayed at the Halcyon Hotel over New Year. While it is not a bad hotel as such, it is terribly expensive for what it is and I would urge others to seek alternatives in central Edinburgh.

On the positive side, the hotel, which is a converted Georgian townhouse, is situated about ten minutes' walk from Princes Street and is very central. Breakfast is included in the price and is generous and hearty.

On the downside, the Halcyon Hotel is a 1* establishment and given the rather shabby state of its decoration, its old beds (whose headboards fell off...) and lack of facilities (no lift or televisions in the bedrooms) it pretty much deserves its rating. The price on the other hand outstrips its rating by far - we paid 60 GBP per person per night, and although this was the hotel's New Year rate, its low season rate is still 40 GBP per person per night!

All in all there are much better options in Edinburgh town centre, for less money, than the Halcyon Hotel.

My wife and I, along with our daughter, son-in-law, and our gand daughter had the misfortune to select the Halcyon Hotel for a visit to Edinburgh...the only central hotel with available rooms....which should have been a warning!

The hotel has grand frontage but once inside you get a strong unkept smell in the dark and dingy hall/reception. My wife and I had booked a twin room on the second floor, and our family a family room on the ground floor.

The rooms were poorly furnished and in a gneral state of disrepair. Our room had light bulbs missing, lighst that did not work, a toilet that had gave out a terrible smell of sewage and made a dreadful noise when flushed. The general decor of the rooms was tired and felt unlean. The room did not have a TV or a telephone... but did have an intercom/radio(!).... that also did not work. The wash-hand basin in the tiolet was no bigger than a mixing bowl. On the positive side, the shower was OK.

But in the family's room, the shower could not be used as the fan (which had to be ON) made a frightening noise causing our grand daughter to be scared by it. Thus they were unable to have a shower after our long journey. As it was a very warm day both rooms would have benefited from Air Conditioning .... but open windows had to do....but then traffic and other noise became a problem.

Needless to say, we did not stay to have breakfast in the morning .... but used a better hotel a short distance up the terrace..... but the Halcyon Hotel charged us the full amount (£40 per person per night).

So you have been warned!!!!