Clean and party atmosphere but a bit noisy, March 22, 2004
Reviewer:
Nico - Italy
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I have stayed in this hostel at the beginning of March. I stayed at one room with 6 beds, 4 of whom were occupied by irish drunk guys who arrived late at night and started to make noise.Apart from this,the rooms (most of which keep well separated men and women) are clean and so the beds and the bathroom.It's very well located in the center immediately below the castle.The price is reasonable and there is a very big and cosy living room to meet the other guests. Actually there is a very big comunity of young people who live there and seem to be in the hostel for long time.The guys of the reception are friendly and helpful.I recommend you only if you can sleep deeply without hearing the noise.
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(Review ID: 4767)
Nice location, but...., July 12, 2003
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Anonymous
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(3)
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(3)
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(3)
Okay, so the hostel is right next to the castle and is open 24 hours. it has great murals on the walls, pretty friendly staff, and silly names for your beds. the bathrooms and showers are kept clean. the beds suck, i couldn't sleep because i thought i was going to kill the girl sleeping on the bunk underneath me. the bed did not feel secure. it wasn't comfortable, either.a second time i stayed there, i roomed with a bunch of absolutely rude girls who played drums and guitars while i tried to nap. it's very loud at this hostel.the rooms do not lock and you have to bring any valuables upstairs to be kept at the desk if you want to try and keep them safe. i did this only because i did not like the other people that were staying in my room for the first time in my life of traveling and staying at hostels.
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(Review ID: 4768)
Great facilities, great price, June 27, 2003
Reviewer:
Northern girl
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I stayed in Castle Rock for four nights in June 2003. I liked lots of things about this place. The facilities are good - internet access, games room, lounge - this tends to be busy and lively, 'posh' lounge' which is mainly very quiet and where people go to read, and guest kitchen. Breakfast is optional - £1.90 gets you juice, cereal and a croissant or scone or roll, or you can purchase the items seperately. The reception sells soft drinks, sweets, tioletries etc. You can join the Macbackpackers tours from here, and the hostel runs day tours. There are are also evening activities- a video is shown every evening at 9pm and there are other social events arranged as and when. The hostel is clean and well decorated. Reception is open 24 hours and there is no curfew or lockout. In addition, you cannot beat the central location, opposite the castle at the bottom end of the royal mile, within walking distance of everythign in the city centre. The dorms are single sex. Each room has a name, and each bed is named according to that theme. There are paintings on the walls. The dorms are clean, spacious and the bunks are solid. However, they are not comfortable, with lumpy foam mattresses that are too thin to provide much cushioning fromthe wooden base. The bathrooms are clean and mixed sex, though there are not that many of them and I had to queue for ages for showers. However, the water is always hot. The staff are a mixed bag of international people. Some are really friendly - I was reallly impressed that one guy remembered my name, though the hostel was really busy. Another girl however was like she just didn't have time for hostel guests at reception.On the downside, the hostel can be quite noisy, though I guess this can only be expected when it is just of the Royal Mile on a main street and near the Cowgate with all its bars and clubs. Sleeping was not easy on weekend nights. However, I cannot blame hostel management for the behaviour of the local and visiting drunks outside. I would also have liked a bar, as I tend to feel more comfortable going to hostel bars on my own. However, there is a bar next door. On the whole, I strongly recommend this place and would happily stay here again. The facilities are great for such a low price of only £12 per night. This place is good for lone travellers.
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(Review ID: 4769)
great atmosphere and character, June 26, 2003
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Anonymous
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(4)
Excellent location...right next to the castle on the Royal Mile. There are long termers, but there are enough hostelers, that you still meet a ton of people. The hostel has great common areas and an amazing kitchen. The beds are comfortable, but can be squeaky. They all have names, which adds to the character. The rooms look like something from a storybook: big posts on the wooden bunkbeds and a huge amount of space. The windows overlook the castle...what more could you want? A super friendly staff and hostel sponsored events: like free movies on a big screen everynight that pack in a bunch of people and wednesday night drinking contest at a pub in town. Fun, fun. Bathrooms are pretty clean. No complaints really.
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(Review ID: 4770)
Better second time around, June 23, 2003
Reviewer:
Graham
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(4)
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(4)
I wrote a review of this hostel last year, and said it was a real "mixed bag". Well I decided to give it a second chance and used it again at the end of May this year. I'm glad that I returned because, on the whole, this is a very good hostel. All the good points are still good, and the "areas for improvement" were fewer this time. The booking system was explained properly, and the staff were all very helpful indeed. Even the eggshell mattresses weren't as bad as I remembered! The movie night is a great idea, and the free tea, coffee and hot chocolate were appreciated too.
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(Review ID: 4771)
A Great Time, February 17, 2003
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Anonymous
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Maintenance
(5)
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(5)
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(5)
Atmosphere
(5)
At first you might think that Castle Rock is a bit intimidating, but once you get through the initial bumps, it can one of the most enjoyable experiences you'll ever have.Firstly, there are tons of long-termers (travelors working and living) in Castle Rock. They all seem to congregate together in their own areas, which is a bit intimidating for the average 1-5 day travelor. Just relax and talk to those that are by themselves or in other groups. Don't bother trying to get in with the long-termers unless you're planning on staying a while. The staff are your best resources for information.The four lounges and huge rooms are awesome. The location is excellent (right behind the castle) and the hostel is clean. I wholy recommend this hostel.
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(Review ID: 4772)
A real mixed-bag of a hostel, October 21, 2002
Reviewer:
Graham
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Maintenance
(3)
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(3)
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OK, I'll start with the good points. The location is literally right next to the castle at the top of the Royal Mile. The building itself is incredible, with historic murals all over the place and an intriguing method of naming the rooms and beds with individual themes. There are loads of places to either sit and chat, or quietly read, depending on your mood at the time. First impressions are so important, and this place doesn't fail on that score.The bad points? Well, the eggshell foam matresses have already been mentioned in another review, and they are not the most comfortable. That was not the biggest problem though. The system for booking and reserving beds was not explained clearly to me and my travelling companion, which led us to return to the hostel after a day trip to find our beds had been taken and their were no spaces left. Not only that, we had to hunt high and low because nobody seemed to know where our rucsacks had been moved to... If the members of staff couldn't explain things clearly to someone from the UK, how would non-English speakers cope? I managed to eventually get a couple of beds in another hostel, but we almost missed the show we had booked to see because of the unexpected hunt for our new hostel. This was an unhappy end to what promised to be a good stay in a good hostel.
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(Review ID: 4773)
Great location, cheap, well organised, May 7, 2002
Reviewer:
Ali
( ali_gone@hotmail.com)
from New Zealand
Pros:
n/a
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n/a
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Maintenance
(5)
Cleanliness
(5)
Facilities
(5)
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(5)
Really is next to the proverbial Edinburgh Castle, handy to all the old bits of town, lots of cute pubs etc etc. Well organised hostel, even though it was very busy and full there were always hot showers, places to sit and chat (divided into smoking and non-smoking sections), in-house internet etc. Good setup for laundry too - hand them a sack of grubby laundry: it comes back next morning all nicely folded, for half the price of doing it yourself in a laundrette.
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(Review ID: 4774)
yes, however...., September 11, 2001
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Anonymous
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(1)
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(1)
It's a good hostel, good facilities, however, I didn't like the staff at all, they are very rude, and seem to get worse the longer you stay there! And the mattresses (or rather, bit off foam) are very uncomfortable. Some dorms are very noisey too.
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(Review ID: 4775)
Excellent, August 11, 2001
Reviewer:
kait
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Maintenance
(5)
Cleanliness
(5)
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(5)
Atmosphere
(5)
The Castle Rock Hostel was great -- spacious, bright rooms and an incredible location with almost everything in Old Edinburgh in easy walking distance (I spent the first morning wandering without a guide book or map, just to check out the immediate vicinity), and an easygoing atmosphere. The people staying there were a nice international mix -- some in town all summer, some just rolling through with the MacBackpackers Bus Tours affiliated with the hostel. Definitely a good crowd if you're traveling alone and would like to make friends to go pubbing after a day of touring. Only possible complaint is the not-terribly-cushy "mattresses" (eggshell mattress pads rolled up), but with their prices and atmosphere I had such a good time I would've gladly slept on the floor.
