Malmaison (bad house) is about right, but MerdeMaison is much more fitting.  I was really looking forward to spending NYE in Edinburgh and thought this hotel would round out a fun holiday.  How wrong I was.  \n\nAt first glance, the place looks impressive with quirky, fun decor. But it's all about the details, isn't it?  While the room was well furnished and large, the phone didn't work at all through the entire stay (and nobody came to fix it after maintenance made an appearance on day 1). So every time we needed anything, we had to go down to the front desk (see detail on staff attitude later in this review).  In addition, the beds were like wooden planks. \n\nAnd the breakfast was AWFUL.  Food two of the days was only partially cooked and inedible.  I'd upgraded our initial rate to include a full breakfast as part of a NYE package -- the upgrade cost about $100 US for two guests for three days.  But when we got to the cafe we were told our package only included the continental choice and we'd have to pay extra for additional items.  Seriously ... that is expensive bread and pastry (which I don't even eat).  So the desk manager (I assume that was his title), after a discussion, told me he was only upgrading our breakfast package to include meat to keep me happy (delivered in a very snide tone and smirk -- complete with eye roll).\n\nWhich brings us to the hotel staff.  Most importantly to me, about 50 percent of staff was extremely rude -- beyond the norm of European travel. I can tolerate a little bit of sassy attitude, but this was shockingly insulting.\n\nLastly, I'd paid in full two months in advance of the stay only to be presented a bill for 10 percent more at checkout. The girl at the desk could not explain it, only point to line items and shrug.  I'm still not sure why I was charged the additional fee (probably a malicious mark-up for the inedible breakfast) ... I'll probably never know.\n\nI should have followed my instincts initially and booked the Balmoral.  Much more spendy, but worth every single penny.  \n\nI will NEVER again stay at a MerdeMaison property.  But as I don't think the Malmaison brand can possibly last with this type of service, hopefully nobody will have to.