Day 1 - we were asked to be in "our" dining room/reception room for a specific time for pre dinner drinks and then were taken to our dining room - the service was appalling! We had to wait at least 45 minutes to be served and this is simply not acceptable - I understand that part of this wait was for people who had not yet turned up, which is feel is not excuse at all. The food itself was pleasant but the waiter service was at best inadequate

Day 2 - trip to Britania - self explanatory and the rest of the day was free to do as you pleased. Dinner that evening was in a large area where all parties were served. Once again the waiter service was appalling - some people were still waiting for their main course whilst the rest of us had actually finished ours! Definitely not acceptable. It would appear than not enough waiting staff were taken on for the Christmas period, and this is certainly not my idea of how to run what is meant to be a reputable establishment! The entertainment was adequate with a piper and 2 Scottish/highland dancers. The menu stated that tablet would be served with tea/coffee, yet I had to ask for this and our table was the only one who got it!

Day 3 - Christmas lunch was due to be served at 12.30 but didn't actually happen till a bit later than that - again the service was bad, although the food itself was adequate. We were supposed to be given tea/coffee and Christmas cake whilst watching the Queen's speech, but the only cake on offer was Madeira as apparently the hotel management thought that Christmas cake would be too rich for us? Who are they to decide this? If it states Christmas cake on the itinerary then this is what should have been presented! The TV in the lounge area was so small that it simply wasn't worth watching if you were unfortunate enough not to be seated near the bar area! The "hot and cold buffet" on Christmas Day evening simply did not really exist - the hot meal consisted of a horrible looking (and tasting) beef stew and a fish stew. If you wanted a cold buffet then you had to ask for it! I think the trade descriptions act should come into this somewhere!

Day 4 - Boxing day had a walking tour round Edinburgh which I didn't participate in, but I gather that it was a good tour. However, the "ggod" bit ended there, I'm afraid. The evening meal can only be described as appalling - I had fish, which was overcooked, others at my table had lamb, which looked, and was apparently, disgusting, and others had the risotto - it would not be pleasant to describe what that looked like! Again, some people didn't get their meal till we had finished ours! At this point, management came in to our dining room and apologized for the lack of Christmas cake on the previous day with the very lame excuse as stated! We were offered mince pies, and again the menu stated that tablet would be served with tea/coffee but it did not appear.

The tour manager brought along some board games - I ask you! What about good group quizzes to get people mixing? Why were we allocated a separate dining area? If it was acceptable for everyone in the hotel to dine together on Christmas Eve, then why couldn't this have happened at every meal? There was no Christmas Spirit at all to this holiday. I felt that the tour manager was too busy "sucking up" to the hotel management and did not take any notice of the complaints coming her way - this is certainly not acceptable, Just You, and is a very poor reflection on your company. I did a Christmas break in Norwich in 2010 and had a brilliant time - included in that one was a trip to a Panto so why couldn't that have been organized? We also had live entertainment and quizzes which enabled all the guests to mingle and get to know one another.

There was also no room service on Christmas Day, unless you requested it - what did we pay our money for?

It was a pleasure to leave this miserable holiday behind and at this point I am uncertain as to whether I would use Just You again - certainly not in the near future.

I’m really sorry to hear of your experiences on this trip and have forwarded all of your comments above to our customer care team.

Kindest regards

Julia

Sadly this was the worst holiday that I have ever experienced! And it started on Day 1!

Day 1 - we were asked to be in "our" dining room/reception room for a specific time for pre dinner drinks and then were taken to our dining room - the service was appalling! We had to wait at least 45 minutes to be served and this is simply not acceptable - I understand that part of this wait was for people who had not yet turned up, which is feel is not excuse at all. The food itself was pleasant but the waiter service was at best inadequate

Day 2 - trip to Britania - self explanatory and the rest of the day was free to do as you pleased. Dinner that evening was in a large area where all parties were served. Once again the waiter service was appalling - some people were still waiting for their main course whilst the rest of us had actually finished ours! Definitely not acceptable. It would appear than not enough waiting staff were taken on for the Christmas period, and this is certainly not my idea of how to run what is meant to be a reputable establishment! The entertainment was adequate with a piper and 2 Scottish/highland dancers. The menu stated that tablet would be served with tea/coffee, yet I had to ask for this and our table was the only one who got it!

Day 3 - Christmas lunch was due to be served at 12.30 but didn't actually happen till a bit later than that - again the service was bad, although the food itself was adequate. We were supposed to be given tea/coffee and Christmas cake whilst watching the Queen's speech, but the only cake on offer was Madeira as apparently the hotel management thought that Christmas cake would be too rich for us? Who are they to decide this? If it states Christmas cake on the itinerary then this is what should have been presented! The TV in the lounge area was so small that it simply wasn't worth watching if you were unfortunate enough not to be seated near the bar area! The "hot and cold buffet" on Christmas Day evening simply did not really exist - the hot meal consisted of a horrible looking (and tasting) beef stew and a fish stew. If you wanted a cold buffet then you had to ask for it! I think the trade descriptions act should come into this somewhere!

Day 4 - Boxing day had a walking tour round Edinburgh which I didn't participate in, but I gather that it was a good tour. However, the "ggod" bit ended there, I'm afraid. The evening meal can only be described as appalling - I had fish, which was overcooked, others at my table had lamb, which looked, and was apparently, disgusting, and others had the risotto - it would not be pleasant to describe what that looked like! Again, some people didn't get their meal till we had finished ours! At this point, management came in to our dining room and apologized for the lack of Christmas cake on the previous day with the very lame excuse as stated! We were offered mince pies, and again the menu stated that tablet would be served with tea/coffee but it did not appear.

The tour manager brought along some board games - I ask you! What about good group quizzes to get people mixing? Why were we allocated a separate dining area? If it was acceptable for everyone in the hotel to dine together on Christmas Eve, then why couldn't this have happened at every meal? There was no Christmas Spirit at all to this holiday. I felt that the tour manager was too busy "sucking up" to the hotel management and did not take any notice of the complaints coming her way - this is certainly not acceptable, Just You, and is a very poor reflection on your company. I did a Christmas break in Norwich in 2010 and had a brilliant time - included in that one was a trip to a Panto so why couldn't that have been organized? We also had live entertainment and quizzes which enabled all the guests to mingle and get to know one another.

There was also no room service on Christmas Day, unless you requested it - what did we pay our money for?

It was a pleasure to leave this miserable holiday behind and at this point I am uncertain as to whether I would use Just You again - certainly not in the near future.

Hi Ann

Sorry to hear you had such a miserable time in Edinburgh. Not a good advert for our national capital! Hope this does not put you off going on another JY holiday.

Lesley

I received an email from the survey team that you use, and they got back to me saying it would be looked into. I noted that someone else had commented unfavourably on that survey too, but could only see the beginning of their comments as when I went to "read more" it wouldn't let me see anything. Therefore, I don't know if their comments were similar to mine, but would assume that there would be a common thread within it. To be honest, if the train station had been open on boxing day, with trains running, I would have gone then - I'm only sorry that I didn't do that on Christmas Eve! It's sad that I had to post this review, but if people don't post on any bad reviews, then Just You wouldn't have the opportunity to rectify things. I note from the new brochure that this hotel isn't being used on the City Breaks tour, so hopefully the one chosen will be much better. Also, a gentleman I was sitting next to on the last evening had looked at Tripadvisor after booking this break, and the reviews were anything but good on it! I think the hotel has been taken over by a different chain and if this is then they need to look at what they do - or in this case are not doing.

Anne

Hi Anniethenurse,

I’m really sorry to hear of your experiences on this trip and have forwarded all of your comments above to our customer care team.

Kindest regards

Julia

I went on this Holidays last year and had a lovely time but the things you describe regarding service in the dining room and the food were an issue last year and there were a lot of complaints from guests in our party as well as other people at the hotel.

Kind regards

Many thanks for your comments - I did respond to Julia, but as yet it hasn't appeared on the site. I actually went down to the train station on Boxing day but it was closed and there were no trains running that day, otherwise I would have come home. It really is sad to say that our Capitol let us down - not a good advert for us Scottish lot, is it?

Take care

Anne

When I passed on your original comments to the customer care team - I was told that another review with similar comments had come in via our survey (possibly the one that you also came across) and they would be looking into them.

Kindest regards,

Julia

Kind regards

Anne

Sadly this was the worst holiday that I have ever experienced! And it started on Day 1!

Day 1 - we were asked to be in "our" dining room/reception room for a specific time for pre dinner drinks and then were taken to our dining room - the service was appalling! We had to wait at least 45 minutes to be served and this is simply not acceptable - I understand that part of this wait was for people who had not yet turned up, which is feel is not excuse at all. The food itself was pleasant but the waiter service was at best inadequate

Day 2 - trip to Britania - self explanatory and the rest of the day was free to do as you pleased. Dinner that evening was in a large area where all parties were served. Once again the waiter service was appalling - some people were still waiting for their main course whilst the rest of us had actually finished ours! Definitely not acceptable. It would appear than not enough waiting staff were taken on for the Christmas period, and this is certainly not my idea of how to run what is meant to be a reputable establishment! The entertainment was adequate with a piper and 2 Scottish/highland dancers. The menu stated that tablet would be served with tea/coffee, yet I had to ask for this and our table was the only one who got it!

Day 3 - Christmas lunch was due to be served at 12.30 but didn't actually happen till a bit later than that - again the service was bad, although the food itself was adequate. We were supposed to be given tea/coffee and Christmas cake whilst watching the Queen's speech, but the only cake on offer was Madeira as apparently the hotel management thought that Christmas cake would be too rich for us? Who are they to decide this? If it states Christmas cake on the itinerary then this is what should have been presented! The TV in the lounge area was so small that it simply wasn't worth watching if you were unfortunate enough not to be seated near the bar area! The "hot and cold buffet" on Christmas Day evening simply did not really exist - the hot meal consisted of a horrible looking (and tasting) beef stew and a fish stew. If you wanted a cold buffet then you had to ask for it! I think the trade descriptions act should come into this somewhere!

Day 4 - Boxing day had a walking tour round Edinburgh which I didn't participate in, but I gather that it was a good tour. However, the "ggod" bit ended there, I'm afraid. The evening meal can only be described as appalling - I had fish, which was overcooked, others at my table had lamb, which looked, and was apparently, disgusting, and others had the risotto - it would not be pleasant to describe what that looked like! Again, some people didn't get their meal till we had finished ours! At this point, management came in to our dining room and apologized for the lack of Christmas cake on the previous day with the very lame excuse as stated! We were offered mince pies, and again the menu stated that tablet would be served with tea/coffee but it did not appear.

The tour manager brought along some board games - I ask you! What about good group quizzes to get people mixing? Why were we allocated a separate dining area? If it was acceptable for everyone in the hotel to dine together on Christmas Eve, then why couldn't this have happened at every meal? There was no Christmas Spirit at all to this holiday. I felt that the tour manager was too busy "sucking up" to the hotel management and did not take any notice of the complaints coming her way - this is certainly not acceptable, Just You, and is a very poor reflection on your company. I did a Christmas break in Norwich in 2010 and had a brilliant time - included in that one was a trip to a Panto so why couldn't that have been organized? We also had live entertainment and quizzes which enabled all the guests to mingle and get to know one another.

There was also no room service on Christmas Day, unless you requested it - what did we pay our money for?

It was a pleasure to leave this miserable holiday behind and at this point I am uncertain as to whether I would use Just You again - certainly not in the near future.

Hi, Annie

Disappointed to read your comments about your hotel in Edinburgh, but not very surprised. I see that Just You have now changed the hotel that they use in the new Brochure, which I have just received.

I was an industry member of the VisitScotland Committee that oversaw all aspects of the Quality Grading Scheme. We were always very keen for customers, who had a complaint, to write in and let VS know. They have a very strict protocol as to how they deal with a complaint - the hotel must reply back to the complainer.

Can I suggest that you write to (see below) and let them know.

"To register a complaint about any aspect of VisitScotland.com and/or its services:

Email info@visitscotland.com or write to VisitScotland.com, Ocean Point One, 94 Ocean Drive, Edinburgh EH6 6JH."

Douglas.

(An Edinburgh resident).

:)

Hi Douglas,

Many thanks for this and I will write to them later today

Kind regards

Anne

Sadly this was the worst holiday that I have ever experienced! And it started on Day 1!

Day 1 - we were asked to be in "our" dining room/reception room for a specific time for pre dinner drinks and then were taken to our dining room - the service was appalling! We had to wait at least 45 minutes to be served and this is simply not acceptable - I understand that part of this wait was for people who had not yet turned up, which is feel is not excuse at all. The food itself was pleasant but the waiter service was at best inadequate

Day 2 - trip to Britania - self explanatory and the rest of the day was free to do as you pleased. Dinner that evening was in a large area where all parties were served. Once again the waiter service was appalling - some people were still waiting for their main course whilst the rest of us had actually finished ours! Definitely not acceptable. It would appear than not enough waiting staff were taken on for the Christmas period, and this is certainly not my idea of how to run what is meant to be a reputable establishment! The entertainment was adequate with a piper and 2 Scottish/highland dancers. The menu stated that tablet would be served with tea/coffee, yet I had to ask for this and our table was the only one who got it!

Day 3 - Christmas lunch was due to be served at 12.30 but didn't actually happen till a bit later than that - again the service was bad, although the food itself was adequate. We were supposed to be given tea/coffee and Christmas cake whilst watching the Queen's speech, but the only cake on offer was Madeira as apparently the hotel management thought that Christmas cake would be too rich for us? Who are they to decide this? If it states Christmas cake on the itinerary then this is what should have been presented! The TV in the lounge area was so small that it simply wasn't worth watching if you were unfortunate enough not to be seated near the bar area! The "hot and cold buffet" on Christmas Day evening simply did not really exist - the hot meal consisted of a horrible looking (and tasting) beef stew and a fish stew. If you wanted a cold buffet then you had to ask for it! I think the trade descriptions act should come into this somewhere!

Day 4 - Boxing day had a walking tour round Edinburgh which I didn't participate in, but I gather that it was a good tour. However, the "ggod" bit ended there, I'm afraid. The evening meal can only be described as appalling - I had fish, which was overcooked, others at my table had lamb, which looked, and was apparently, disgusting, and others had the risotto - it would not be pleasant to describe what that looked like! Again, some people didn't get their meal till we had finished ours! At this point, management came in to our dining room and apologized for the lack of Christmas cake on the previous day with the very lame excuse as stated! We were offered mince pies, and again the menu stated that tablet would be served with tea/coffee but it did not appear.

The tour manager brought along some board games - I ask you! What about good group quizzes to get people mixing? Why were we allocated a separate dining area? If it was acceptable for everyone in the hotel to dine together on Christmas Eve, then why couldn't this have happened at every meal? There was no Christmas Spirit at all to this holiday. I felt that the tour manager was too busy "sucking up" to the hotel management and did not take any notice of the complaints coming her way - this is certainly not acceptable, Just You, and is a very poor reflection on your company. I did a Christmas break in Norwich in 2010 and had a brilliant time - included in that one was a trip to a Panto so why couldn't that have been organized? We also had live entertainment and quizzes which enabled all the guests to mingle and get to know one another.

There was also no room service on Christmas Day, unless you requested it - what did we pay our money for?

It was a pleasure to leave this miserable holiday behind and at this point I am uncertain as to whether I would use Just You again - certainly not in the near future.

Hi, Annie

Disappointed to read your comments about your hotel in Edinburgh, but not very surprised. I see that Just You have now changed the hotel that they use in the new Brochure, which I have just received.

I was an industry member of the VisitScotland Committee that oversaw all aspects of the Quality Grading Scheme. We were always very keen for customers, who had a complaint, to write in and let VS know. They have a very strict protocol as to how they deal with a complaint - the hotel must reply back to the complainer.

Can I suggest that you write to (see below) and let them know.

"To register a complaint about any aspect of VisitScotland.com and/or its services:

Email info@visitscotland.com or write to VisitScotland.com, Ocean Point One, 94 Ocean Drive, Edinburgh EH6 6JH."

Douglas.

(An Edinburgh resident).

:)

Hi Douglas,

Many thanks for this and I will write to them later today

Kind regards

Anne

Hi Anne

If you do not get a response from the Quality Assurance Customer Service Department at VisitScotland post another reply here.

I know some of the senior staff in that department, but it is better for you to go first through normal channels.

Douglas.;)

Have done as you advised and sent an e-mail off to them describing the service we received and have asked for a reply from them. Will let you know what they say and, once again, thanks for this piece of advice

Kind regards

Anne

I promised you feedback from info Scotland, which I have now had - they didn't waste any time in getting back to me - I'm impressed! This hotel chain isn't on their list of approved hotels, but that didn't mean that they've done nothing about it - with my permission, they have passed on all the details to Trading Standards and they will keep my e-mail on file should this chain/hotel apply to be on the approved list. They have also sent a copy of the same e-mail to the manager of the hotel.

Many thanks again for pointing me in the right direction here.

Best wishes

Anne

Have JY completed looking into my complaints, and that of the other person who complained via Feefo, regarding Christmas in Edinburgh? I did write to visitscotland with my complaints and they got back to me, and also forwarded my complaints to the manager of the Carlton. They said that JY were "dealing with this and that JY would be in contact with me" (in, I have to say, a not very nice manner! so no surprises there, then!). However, time is marching on and I feel that I should have had some correspondence from you by now.

Kind regards

Anne

I'll look into this and get back to you.

Kindest regards,

Julia

I've just been informed that something was issued at the end of last week and you should hear from the team in the next day or so.

Kindest regards,

Julia

Will let you know if I don't hear anything by the end of this week

Kind regards

Anne

Just a quickie to say many thanks to the customer services team re my recent complaint about my Christmas break in Edinburgh. I'm happy to hear that the hotel have admitted that more could have been done to make our stay more enjoyable. It's also good to know that JY actually do act upon this type of feedback and not just ignore it. Also, many thanks for the voucher, and I'm sure I'll use it at some point in the future

Best wishes

Anne