Ellersly House Hotel

I booked the Ellersly off the internet and, although the Tripadvisor reviews were mixed, decided that as the price seemed so good, to go ahead. I also booked a work colleague in at the same time. On the plus side, the staff were very friendly and professional. The food was very good - we had eaten at the Holiday Inn at Edinburgh Airport the day before and the Ellersly was infinitely better (and a lot cheaper!). A lot of locals were there for lunch so it clearly has a good reputation for its meals. The downside is the accomodation. Although the ban on smoking had been implemented the bedrooms and corridor smelt of cigarette smoke. As a smoker, I didn't mind but my colleague did. The rooms frankly need a complete refurbishment - you can get better B and B's than this. So pop in for lunch and a drink by all means and you shouldn't be disappointed. Yes, I know you get what you pay for but with the competition in Edinburgh I think they need major re-investment to get it up to scratch.

Although the hotel is alittle out of town, we found it a great location due to the excellent bus service. All the staff were very friendly and the restaurant meals excellent we did not want to go back out on a cold winters night so it suited us fine. We look forward to returning.

The hotel looks beautiful from the outside and its own small grounds are well kept and great for kids to run around but what lets this hotel down is the interior and shortage of staff. Our room was dismall, with small holes, scrapes and marks on the walls, stained carpets and a revolting bath that although was clean had years of grime embedded into it. The TV was akward to use and every other channel advertised pay per view sex movies, there were just the basic channels (no channel five though) although Sky was in place they obviously hadn't paid their bill. They were obviously short staffed which had an effect on service, the main problem been with the restaurant which was huge but because they only had two staff serving and taking orders, they could only accomodate a few people at a time. We booked our meal for a set time with reception only to be told when we went down to the restaurant it hadn't been booked and we'd have to wait an hour. There were around 25 free tables and even when we eventually got a table the restaurant remained virtually empty, excellent food though and the two girls serving were spot on. The sole member of bar staff disappeared at 11.30, for the night, and when we retired shortly after not one member of staff was around, not even on reception. Dubious safety issues there if you ask me. Overall the place lacked character and is well overdue for a makeover, £100 for one night which I wish we'd spent on a B&B.

The hotel is in a good setting, on a quiet road just off the main Costorphine Road, so handy for buses. The staff were very friendly and helpful in the main. The rooms a quite small and felt quite cramped, and were generally quiet apart from creaky floors and ceilings! This meant that we always aware of other people moving around, flushing toilets etc. The restaurant was relatively cheap but the food was decidedly average. They served my son chicken nuggets rather than the chicken fillet which was on the menu. The apologised and offered to bring something else when this was pointed out, but did not knock it off the bill! I have to say though the wine that we ordered was excellent and good value for money.

I stayed at the Ellersly Hotel. It's a nice boutique type hotel with great full breakfast: cereal, poached eggs, toast, saugage, tomatos, mushrooms, ham, various juices and the blood sausage. You also get a free pot of great coffee or tea. I tipped my hostness 1 GBP for service, because breakfast was free, but I didn't see anyone else do it. I mean they do bring you a pot of coffee/tea and bus your dishes so it's not all self-serve. A full breakfast really saves you a lot of money. Most of the time the food is set out in buffet, but on some days you order your breakfast from the hostess. You can tailor the breakfast and ask them not to give you beans, blood sausage, etc. The seating area where you have breakfast is beautiful. It's a nice place start your morning. The rooms are small, but it's kept very clean. They only offer a couple of channels and the rest a pay-preview movies. It's not a good hotel if you want to come home to access many cable channels. The front desk is not very helpful about which tours to take, or bus info to other cities, but they are nice. The Ellersly Hotel is in an Edinburgh only 5 minutes by bus ( 26,31, and 12) to Prince street or Waverly Bridge. There is a mix of business travellers and tourists. Buses cost as of 2004 - 80 pence/way, 2GBP & 50pence for ALL DAY bus travel within Edinburgh if you buy before 9.30AM. Buses come pretty fast. About minutes apart in the morning, and about 10-15 minutes at night.

I've never met such friendly, helpful reception staff at a hotel. And it really makes a difference! It's a nice looking place, covered in ivy with a large garden with seating at the rear. Breakfast was extremely nice and cooked to order -no greasy luke warm buffet here. We looked at some of the city centre hotels but most were of questionable quality given the high prices and parking was a problem. Both the Balmoral and the Scotsman had mixed reviews for a standard room and wanted around £20 a day extra to park your car for you. Parking is easy at the Ellersly and only a 10 min bus ride or 25 min walk into the centre. Our room was small to average sized but despite a few minor flaws was fine for a standard. We got a very good last minute deal so couldn't complain anyway. There are always very good online w/e rates about so in my opinion the most you should pay for a standard room here would be £60-£70. If you're visiting Edinburgh by car on a budget, I'd definitely recommend this place.