16 George Street, Edinburgh (0131 270 3900; lemondehotel.co.uk)

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

A black-suited, burly bouncer with an earpiece nodded a hello as I shook my umbrella and entered this converted Georgian townhouse on chi-chi George Street. The reception is made to feel like a drawing room, with just one person on the desk, and along with my room key I was handed a ticket for a complimentary Bacardi cocktail and a VIP pass to the Shanghai nightclub in the basement. Stylish and slightly eccentric, Le Monde offers three choices of bar – Milan, close to the entrance; the grander Vienna; and Paris, a cocktail bar on the first floor. Milan was buzzing with an early-evening crowd of Edinburgh's elite. Be sure to make a note of your room number, because you won't find it on your key and the Bacardi might go to your head.

THE ROOMS

The great Georgian high ceilings and careful styling make for the sort of bedrooms you really want to hang out in. There are 18 to choose from, each named after a city and decorated accordingly. I had a peek in a few, and particularly liked the bright turquoise walls in Cairo, and the mock Louis XIV furnishings in Paris – which is a favourite for courting couples and, bizarrely, hen nights. (Apparently the girls pile in and take full advantage of the in-room hair straighteners before heading downstairs to the club). This is definitely a special-occasion hotel, and we were celebrating our engagement in Tokyo, one of its junior suites. It's a dark, moody room, with black the prevailing colour. Its huge bathroom has a sunken tub – although I gave up on my second attempt to run a bath as the water was coming out yellow and the battery had run down in the remote control for the bathroom telly. Obviously nobody has had £195 to stump up for this room for some time.

THE FOOD

I loved it: it was healthy, aromatic and reasonably priced. As it was a Sunday night, we dined in Vienna. (We could also have eaten in Milan, but the more intimate Paris brasserie is open only on Friday and Saturday nights). Vienna serves bistro-type food (not just sauerkraut and sausage, I'm glad to say) along with an innovative international tapas menu. The latter are keenly priced – "any three for £5" – so you could have the very unlikely combination of Stornaway black pudding and chorizo, Thai green curry and mini haggis parcels. We shared a steamed cod from the main menu (£11.95), which came with lemongrass butter and a very green salad of peas, sugar snaps, dill, chervil, chives, coriander and capers. They didn't bat an eyelid at us sharing, and simply suggested we might want to add a bowl of rosemary sautéed potatoes, which made the dish big enough for two. Breakfast was less exciting – we felt we would have been better off paying the £5 room service surcharge and enjoying our room a bit more before the 10.30am check-out, instead of going to the quiet and, in the early morning, soulless cafe.

THE VERDICT

Part of the appeal of this hotel is its bars, restaurants and nightclub (an intimate grown-up place with relaxed tunes), and its Sunday night deal is unbeatable – spend £120 between two on food and drink and you get a superior room for free. This lets you relax, have fun and use your room like a very posh friend's spare bedroom after a fabulous house party – although, given that the club is open until 3am, you could probably do with being allowed a lie-in.

THE RATES

Superior room from £135, executive room from £165, junior suite from £195, all including breakfast.