Aarajura Guest House (Hotels in Edinburgh in general)

Member Name: little_pandora

Product:	Hotels in Edinburgh in general
Date:	04/03/05 (352 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good value for money as guest house is attractive, clean and has great food, Close to the town centre, Nice and romantic for couples!

Disadvantages: If you're anything like us, you get lost trying to find it!

Name: Aarajura Guest House

Location: Gilmore Place, off Gorgie Road, Edinburgh

Star rating: **** AA rating

* MY REVIEW *

What a fabulous birthday treat I had a couple of months ago. My boyfriend's mother, who I now LOVE, by the way, booked he and I into a guest house in Edinburgh for the weekend, during which we were also lucky enough to get an aromatherapy massage. This aforementioned guest house was the Aarajura, booked only on the basis that when generous Beth typed in the search engine for guest houses, the Aarajura popped up first, what with it being in alphabetical order. I'm certainly glad it did.

With a 4 star rating from the AA guide, it seemed destined for us to enjoy our stay in this fabulous guest house. Only problem was, we had to get there first in order to reap the benefits! Driving through late in the evening due to my boyfriend's work committments, we were lucky enough to avoid the heavy Edinburgh traffic, as you have to travel through the town centre to reach the guest house. Edinburgh being the confusing labyrinth that it is, we did get lost, as our directions seemed to be aimed at people who knew the area well. After an hour and a half of futile turnings, we stumbled upon the guest house by accident! Luckily, it looked really nice from the outside, which made our effort seem worth it.

The first thing to commend about this establishment was that, despite our late arrival, the owners Lorna and Neil were waiting for us, and had been willing to leave us a key outside despite the burglary danger! It was very nice to be welcomed by the owners, who were very friendly despite being from abroad (don't ask where, I was too ashamed to admit I couldn't recognise their accents, so I kept quiet!) and so having a bit of a language barrier. After signing in, Lorna chatted to us about our plans and gave us some stellar advice on the guest house surroundings and the best mode of travel. This advice came in very handy to us, because we don't have a clue about our capital, which is terrible, I know.

The fact that Aarajura was fully booked out of season was a very good sign. I noticed every other guest house in the area had vacancies, and so I was quite impressed that the Aarajura seemed to have such a good and popular reputation.

Our room was on the first floor and was really very nice. Each room has an en-suite bathroom with a shower, television and tea and coffee facilities. Since the building is a traditional sandstone tenement, the walls were also thick enough so that we didn't have to spend the whole evening earwigging into other people's conversations (or whatever else they may have been doing!).

In the morning you are treated to either breakfast downstairs, or breakfast in bed. The standard of food was absolutely top notch, and we were extremely surpsied at the wide variety on offer. From mere cereal to scrambled eggs with smoked salmon, there was something to suit every taste or mood. The only drawback was that breakfast is only served between 7am and 9am, meaning you have to make sure you don't sleep in, but I guess you can't ask for everything!!

Travelling from the guest house turned out to be very easy and hassle-free. Taxis arrived promptly whenever we called them, but you could also walk into the busy town centre within ten minutes, and it's a nice walk. There is alternatively a bus stop a mere 300m away, but I'm afraid of buses, believe it or not, so we didn't choose that easy option!

At the end of our weekend stay, we only had to pay a measly £100 in total, which is great value, especially after tasting those breakfasts! I'd recommend this guest house to anyone staying in Edinburgh who wants a high quality accommodation, close to all ammenities. And while you're there, I'd also say pop down to the Edinburgh Floatarium, where a woman named Ailsa gives the most amazing aromoatherapy massage in the world!

Thanks for reading!

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