Edinburgh - it Stinks

Advantages: Lots to see and do, the city contains some stunning buildings
Disadvantages: The roadworks, the tramworks, the bagpipes!

...of hotels in the city offering an abundance of places to stay ranging from hostel dorms to five star luxury. The city has seen several Travelodges open recently but be warned ? everything is expensive in August and booking is essential before arriving during the festival as accommodation is at a premium then. What?s wrong with Edinburgh At this point I must apologise, dear reader, for informing you why a visit to the city is really not a good idea until some time in 2011. The biggest problem in the city right now is the roadworks. I actually have enormous sympathy for any tourist naïve enough (or should that be daft?) to take their car here right now. There are road closures aplenty as the city embarks on works for a tramline and the city centre is bearing the brunt of it. Princes Street is a deeply unpleasant place at the moment...

rosebud2001 28.07.2009 (29.07.2009) · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Edinburgh (Scotland)

Exotica in Edinburgh

Advantages: Fun day out for all the family
Disadvantages: Can be depressing to see the animals cooped up, steep hill

...- along with half of Edinburgh, as it was very busy - the joy of school holidays I suppose. Location Edinburgh Zoo is situated in Corstorphine, in the west of the city. It's on the main A8 road and is well signposted. Buses run past here fairly frequently too including Citylink coaches from Glasgow and Stirling, and Lothian Buses routes 12, 26, 31 and X48. The 26 has a particularly good frequency from the city centre. Parking is also available but costs £3.50. The car park is located on a hill and you may find yourself waiting in a queue before a space becomes available. Admission We arrived at the zoo at 11.30 am. The car park was heaving and there was a huge queue of people waiting to get into the zoo. To be fair to Edinburgh Zoo, there were plenty of staff directing people towards various queues to pay to get in. There was a far...

rosebud2001 02.07.2009 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Edinburgh Zoo, Edinburgh

Shopping @ Edinburgh Waterfront

Advantages: Free Parking, Layout,
Disadvantages: None so far

...Back in 2001 this lovely decorated card dropped through the door. "Edinburgh waterfront welcomes you to Ocean Terminal. Being curious we packed the children in to the car and headed down to ocean terminal for the first time. Sit back and enjoy my review What is Ocean Terminal Ocean Terminal is a large (half million sqft) shopping centre set on the lovely up and coming waterfront near to Leith in Edinburgh. Set over three floors, ocean terminal offers a wide variety of shops, restaurants, and bars not to forget about the 12 screen cinema. It's all under one roof at Ocean Terminal. How to get there Thanks to LRT (local bus company) Ocean terminal is served very well with buses, you will see buses leaving Ocean terminal every 5 mins at peak times. Buses will take to you princess street and other surrounding areas to...

marcellep2 01.07.2008 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Ocean Terminal (Edinburgh)

A great hotel to stay at when visiting Edinburgh

Advantages: Plenty to do and see, within walking distance
Disadvantages: None

...and partner - bargain! I always find that these hotels are clean, modern and comfortable with Continental Breakfast included in the price , you really can't go wrong. This particular hotel is situated on Ocean Drive, Leith, which is an area of Edinburgh which has benefitted from a lot of upgrading and new bars, restaurants, shops and visitor attractions in recent years. We arrived by car, and there is a car park at the hotel. It is free to park your car which is a bonus as some hotels now charge you a daily rate to park your car! It overlooks the Firth of Forth and Ocean Terminal, which is a large indoor shopping centre on the waterfront, and also where the Royal Yacht Britannia is situated. You can enjoy a meal, a drink or coffee in one of the many cafe bars/restaurants enjoying the view of the Firth of Forth, the Yacht and often naval frigates...

JEFFJEN 07.07.2009 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Holiday Inn Express, Edinburgh Leith

Victoria Centre Nottingham

Advantages: -
Disadvantages: -

...Nottingham has two large shopping centres, the Broadmarsh Centre and the Victoria Centre, situated at opposite ends of the city centre .The Victoria Centre is the bigger of the two, containing 120 shops (not counting all the various stalls in the market area.) Getting there is easy - if you drive, there's parking for over 2700 cars . If you don't drive, don't worry - almost all the Nottingham City Transport buses stop either directly outside the Victoria Centre, or within a few minutes walk of it . Other bus companies from slightly further afield, such as Trent Barton , terminate at the local coach station within the centre . If you're walking, the centre is signposted from various points in the city centre, and at the end of the day when you're weighed down with shopping, there are 2 taxi ranks directly outside the main entrance...

Thehonesttruth 02.09.2009 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Victoria Centre, Nottingham

The Galleon Centre

Advantages: Good Value for Money, Swimming Pool
Disadvantages: Some of the staff's attitude

...I have been a member of a few gyms over the past few years including a small local gym in which you felt everyone was looking at you in and also Fitness First but usually I end up not using my membership as much as I should do. In February 2005 I decided it was time to get in shape and chose the Galleon Centre, a fitness centre which was another I had previously been a member of, as the place I was going to join this time. One of the reasons that I chose the Galleon Centre was the fact that I could get discounted corporate membership through my fiancee's work at the local hospital. **SOME HISTORY** The old Kilmarnock baths which is where I had learned to swim when I was younger had been deteriorating for years and in the mid 1980's Kilmarnock Town Council decided that a replacement was needed. At this point with the Council...

killiefan 01.02.2006 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Galleon Centre

Edinburgh, with a capital E.

Advantages: Lots to do,great for tourits, shopping, eating out.
Disadvantages: Gets very busy in Summer months, weather can be dreadful

..., Marks and Spencers etc and then there are various book shops, gift shops and so on! Princes street can get extremely busy on weekends, however I think this adds to the whole experience and atmosphere. The Princes Mall, is an Indoor shopping centre, a 30 second walk from Waverly station. This is home to various fast food outlets down stairs, and many shops, such as the Body Shop, New Look, Kookai, and very many more. This is in the middle of getting re-furbished and there are rooms for various different shops! The St, James shopping centre is just off Princess Street and again is home to many more shops, this time such as Next, River Island, Quiz, Early Learning Centre and many more. There is also a Thorntons at the front door, which on hot days is heaving with people buying delicious ice creams! Edinburgh is also home to various other big...

SweetTooth93 06.06.2008 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Edinburgh in general

Job Centre fiasco

Advantages: None
Disadvantages: Too many to mention

...Very briefly as the wife of a man who was made redundant the thought of the Job Centre plus being helpful no longer exists. As a mortgage holder and family with two school age children my husband was only entitled to Job Seeks Allowance (JSA). This was paid for 26 weeks and then after still not successful in securing employment, this was stopped. Because I work more than 20 hours a week (I am still only part time) I am expected to support the family and bills. My husband has never been asked how much I earn. This assessment is merely done of the hours I work and not the take home pay coming into the home. Having never claimed any benefits at all before this (but we are in a recession as you all know) we enquired about training and extra help, but, alas, there was no entitlement apparently. As you only receive 5 minutes...

barberanna72 28.10.2009 (29.10.2009) · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Job Centre

A brilliant aparthotel in Edinburgh

Advantages: Lovely well furbished apartments in a great location.
Disadvantages: 5 star means expensive... but you do get what you paid for!

... What is the Knight Residence? The Knight Residence is a luxury aparthotel in Edinburgh. This means you have your own serviced apartments instead of your average hotel, making you feel right at home and having your own private space. The Knight Residence has a 5 star rating and in 2008 they were the top hotel for customer service according to Expedia... not just in the UK, but in the whole of Europe! The apartments are designed to suit every traveller, so if your travelling as a big family or group of friends, you will be looking for the 3 bedroom apartment or, there are also one bedroom apartments and two bedroom apartments. What's in these apartments? The Knight Residence offers 2 different types of apartments (and 2 different prices!), Superior and Comfort. In Comfort expect to find a HD LCD TV with Virgin...

GemmaC25 15.04.2009 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of The Knight Residence, Edinburgh

khushis of Edinburgh

Advantages: great food, nice atmosphere
Disadvantages: The main restaurant is shut right now

...Khushis claims to be one of the oldest existing Indian restaurants in Scotland, having opened their first restaurant in Edinburgh in 1947, and despite changes in premises has been going strong ever since. They are a Punjabi restaurant and all food is halal and mostly in the Punjabi tradition although there are some dishes from other parts of India. No alcohol is served in the restuarant but bringing along your own beer or wine is both accepted and common and there is no charge. The main restaurant was in a beautiful old Edinburgh building which had a huge, high ceilinged room inside. All was very tastefully decorated using Indian and Punjabi styles but avoiding the kitsch that is typical of many Indian restaurants. Everything was of high quality, from proper wooden furniture to the cutlery to the decoration. Generally it felt classy but...

flyingllamas 12.08.2009 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Khushis Indian Restaurant, Edinburgh