My family of seven will be visiting Edinburgh this Thanksgiving and we booked a self-catered apartment using the Edlets self-catered apartments website, only to learn - the hard way - that their deposit and refund policies are really draconian and their staff inflexible. I booked the "Large Georgian Apartment" in August and then contacted Edlets in September to ask if our stay could be extended. Edlets could not accommodate us, so I canceled the reservation and booked another apartment. Edlets has refused to refund my $237 deposit, despite a two-month lead time on the cancellation. This policy was not on the confirmation I received from Edlets, and the "Hire Agreement" I signed stated that a refund would be given if the apartment were successfully rebooked. (After some digging, I was finally able to find "no refunds" under terms and conditions on their website.) Edlets staff have not only been uncompromising, they appear to be inexperienced with international guests - during the dispute I received a phone call at 6:30am on a Saturday morning! Definitely an unpleasant experience with Edlets self-catered apartments prior to our Scotland holiday.
