Modern Apartments

We thought the apartment seemed to be quite a distance from the centre of the city. There was only one bus you could get into town, but it was a frequent service. It took on average around thirty five minutes to get into the centre of Edinburgh. The apartment was relatively easy to find. The taxi driver knew the area , the block numbers are easy to see. The lockbox was easy to open. We had to use the lift due to having an elderly relative with us who struggles with stairs. The apartment was spacious and clean. We had asked for a sea view and were pleasantly surprised to see we had got what we wanted. There had been no reply to my request when I booked the apartment so we had no idea if we'd get one. We liked the huge l-shaped sofa but felt it could have benefited from a few cushions as it was very deep. Breakfast was provided by the very amiable Eddie at the Blue Harbour café just a short walk from the apartment. There was a selection of things on offer - we had some lovely thick yogurt with fresh fruit. The others had small pastries or toast and tea or coffee. The café is beautifully clean and comfortable. We tried their pasteis de natas one afternoon which were absolutely delicious! We ate at Pier House restaurant twice because it was so good. If you love your seafood then don't miss it! It's a short walk along the seafront or a very short bus journey away.

I had read that there would be a coffee machine, so I took some pods with me. I love my coffee so was very disappointed to see that there wasn't a coffee machine. There were just three coffee sachets left on the worktop along with lots of tea bags. I thought that was a bit mean considering we were there for four nights! Luckily, I was the only coffee drinker. I bought more for the rest of our stay. We ate out every day so didn't use the cooker etc but as there wasn't a tea towel or kitchen roll we had to leave our cups to drip dry. The owner should have told us to bring our own tea towels. The apartment lacks a homely feel. The walls are all a stark white. A few pictures on the walls would make it so much nicer. Our bed had a bedside lamp on either side but one of the lamps couldn't be used as there wasn't a plug socket close enough! What was the point of it then? The bed creaked terribly every time my husband moved which made sleeping difficult. The bed was comfy enough but small. Unfortunately, I woke every morning around 5am due to the curtains letting in loads of light. Blackout curtains would be useful in the summer. Our elderly relative was in the bedroom with the ensuite bathroom. I was shocked to see that the sliding door of the shower was only hanging from the top and not fixed to the bottom. I was afraid that the door would fall on her! She was very careful whilst using it. The huge window didn't have a handle to open it...surely a safety issue. Finally, the tv caused us no end of problems! For some reason we couldn't get "normal tv," We tried everything but to no avail. I messaged the owner through booking.com but didn't get a reply...just automated messages about enjoying our trip. We had to use our Netflix account to watch anything and thanks to a person called Shaun, we watched some programmes on iplayer. ( We thanked Shaun every time we watched something!

The location, plenty of space and the view was fantastic

Cleanliness could have been better. Although the apartment was generally clean, the radiators were dirty and had a layer of filth on them. And I suspect the shower drain needed unblocking as it took a while to drain. Looked like door frame was damaged / forced previously. Stain on bedroom carpet. Also window restrictors in living room was broken. It was a very hot weekend. We couldn’t open them for fear of the dog falling. I would be fearful if I had a toddler. Tv reception was dodgy.

Good layout and facility

Needed a couple of mirrors

Good sized flat. Well equipped overall. Good shower water pressure. Good location. Good continental breakfast in Blue Harbour. Very helpful and accommodating staff in the blue harbour cafe. Quiet. Good views of the harbour. Comfortable sofa.

No smart tv No mirror in second bedroom No coat pegs on door in second bedroom. No iron. Only two wine glasses. Poor lighting in main bathroom. Extractor fan not working in main bathroom or ensuite. Main window doesn’t open next to TV area. Heater in main bathroom doesn’t work. Bath towels are small. Door handle latch into lounge doesn’t work and is held in place by one screw. The door is therefore not able to be closed properly.