BUG review
This hostel is a former block of flats and has a bathroom and small kitchen for each two rooms. It is a freshly painted place with a small TV lounge and new furnishings.
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This hostel was visited by one of BUG's team of hostel inspectors who write independent reviews and assess a star rating based on an objective assessment criteria.
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Price Dorm bed £11-14 Twin room £44 Prices are in British pounds and are inclusive of all taxes.
Just to set the record straight. The old review at the top is from the older version of this hostel. It is now in two buildings, with the old one being for long-term and when they are really full.The main building is great. First of all the staff are super friendly and very helpful. Give you maps and directions to anywhere you need to go. Very well managed. You need to show your pass to get in to the hostel, which is operated by the reception people. All the dorm rooms have key card access and sometimes the doors do beep if you don't close them properly - not a big deal. Beds are comfy with good pillows and comforters and there are individual lamps and little shelves above each bed as well as big lockers to fit your pack in. Have your own lock or get one from reception. There is laundry at the hostel with ironing board for £2 only. There are 5 kitchens all around the hostel some with tv's and good facilities. There is a games room with pool table and tv, a common room with tons of couches and tables to relax in with great views, and internet in the lobby, as well as baggage storage to fit almost anything and a bike storage room. Tons of bathrooms same-sex and mixed with hair dryers and nice big proper showers. Very professional and well run place with friendly people, right in the middle of where everything is going on.The whole place feels like brand new. Book ahead to stay here though as it is super popular.I've stayed in many hostels in town and this is by far the best in every sense!!!!If there is any downside at all it's that the cowgate and grassmarket area are really BUSY and therefore can be quite noisy from thurdsday night to sunday night, but if it bothers you then go out and join them. The hostel also does pub crawls and gives city tours that sound like fun and a good way to meet other people.
3 of
10 people found this review helpful
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Mike Tate
England
Quality location, price & facilities! Can't go wrong! 28 February 2006
Pros:
n/a
Cons:
n/a
Mike Tate
saw things this way
Maintenance
(5)
Cleanliness
(5)
Facilities
(5)
Atmosphere
(5)
(Review ID: 4743)
This place was great! It's in a brilliant location next to the Royal Mile. You're a stones throw from most things. It's brightly decorated with awesome pictures all over the place. The rooms are comfortable, had a good nights sleep on both nights I was there. You get a big locker to store your stuff. It's safe, you have to get buzzed in so you won't get randoms walking about and you get a key card for your room. You have access to a kitchen, lounge with massive TV, games room and really good showers. For hanging out, chilling out and seeing Edinburgh, this has got everything you need and it was only £11 a night, bargain.
3 of
12 people found this review helpful
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rachel
australia
excellent location, annoying beeping doors 17 November 2005
Pros:
n/a
Cons:
n/a
rachel
saw things this way
Maintenance
(4)
Cleanliness
(4)
Facilities
(4)
Atmosphere
(4)
(Review ID: 4744)
stayed in september 2005. you couldn't find a better location (i think!), right in the old town, near the castle, over the hill from the gallery, a few blocks from the museum, and just around the corner from the elephant house, where jk rowling started writing harry potter!!! mixed sex bathrooms weren't a hassle (although what is with the horseshoe symbols on the doors?!), and for those who need to dry their hair, an electric hairdryer is built-in! it could be noisy, but it wasn't too bad. the staff could have been a little bit more helpful (or less hungover)...
1 of
8 people found this review helpful
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Anonymous
Germany
Nightlife around the corner 25 September 2005
Pros:
n/a
Cons:
n/a
Anonymous
saw things this way
Maintenance
(4)
Cleanliness
(4)
Facilities
(4)
Atmosphere
(4)
(Review ID: 4745)
We stayed there a weekend two weeks ago and it was great. We were upgraded from a 8 bed dorm to a 4 bed dorm for free, with a kitchen and a bathroom for two rooms. It reminded us to a small apartment, very well located. Yes, it is loud by night (but you can sleep quiet good there), because cowgate and the area around is full of pubs, bars and clubs but, if you are in Edinburgh, go out and have fun and watch the people.
7 of
8 people found this review helpful
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Helen McGinley
England
Bad bed and hard to get in 27 August 2005
Pros:
n/a
Cons:
n/a
Helen McGinley
saw things this way
Maintenance
(2)
Cleanliness
(2)
Facilities
(2)
Atmosphere
(2)
(Review ID: 4746)
We arrived at 10 am and I had told them this was the time we'd arrive. We had to leave our stuff and come back at 12. At 12 we are told to come back at 1 which quickly changes to 2 and then half past. tired from travelling and cold, this was less than what we hoped.Once in the guy said check out was 11 and left us to it. The room was dark and pokey and the beds were the worst I ever slept on.After an uncomfortable night we had a knock on the door from the hostel manager who'd let us in yesterday telling us we had to check out because it was 10am... the times just keep changing.
5 of
6 people found this review helpful
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Ivania
Portugal
Right in the city centre 26 August 2005
Pros:
n/a
Cons:
n/a
Ivania
saw things this way
Maintenance
(3)
Cleanliness
(3)
Facilities
(3)
Atmosphere
(3)
(Review ID: 4747)
I stayed in this hostel in June 2005. The hostel is located right where all the pus and nightlife is. The staff is friendly and the rooms are reasonably clean. There are several kitchens along the corridors where you can prepare your meals and also several showers and toilets. The only con was the noise coming from outside until late, but it will not be a problem if you join the crowd!
1 of
8 people found this review helpful
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Anonymous
Boston, Massachusetts USA
Good place to stay in tight budget! 25 July 2005
Pros:
n/a
Cons:
n/a
Anonymous
saw things this way
Maintenance
(4)
Cleanliness
(4)
Facilities
(4)
Atmosphere
(4)
(Review ID: 4748)
We just stayed here for a night in July '05, but would definitely go back there! The staff are very friendly & courteous and were able to answer most of our questions about the area. We had a private twin which was quite spacious, clean & comfortable (they gave us clean linen at the front desk). We even had a view of the castle & the spire of the Tron Kirk church from our window (though no other part of "the view" was worth seeing!). The bathrooms & kitchen were also quite clean (though the women's shower on our floor was leaking, which they did mop up regularly.) The showers were a little cramped, but the water temperature & pressure was ok. The bright colours do help liven the space up a lot!The hostel is located at about a 10-15 minute walk from Princes street & is about 5 minutes away from the Royal Mile. (which means that it's about 10-15 min. from the Waverly train station & about 20 min. from the Edinburgh St. Andrews bus station). There are quite a few restaurants & pubs very near the hostel & it's pretty safe to walk around at night on the Victoria street side of things.The cons - It was a little noisy till about 3am in the morning since people were yelling on the streets all the time. Also, the luggage lockers in the room were basically closets that we couldn't really lock! The lighting in our room was pretty poor, but that didn't matter since we had sunlight till about 10:30!All in all, it was great place to stay in & we'd a fun time there.
7 of
8 people found this review helpful
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Peter Odlaug
Maplewood, Minnesota USA
Good location 2 April 2005
Pros:
n/a
Cons:
n/a
Peter Odlaug
saw things this way
Maintenance
(3)
Cleanliness
(3)
Facilities
(3)
Atmosphere
(3)
(Review ID: 4749)
Right off the street that inspired Diagon Alley, this hostel is a nice place to hang your hat. The front desk is very helpful.The rooms have tall ceilings and are relativly large and the beds are comfortable with LED reading lights. The outside street can be a little loud but earplugs fix that.There are a lot of kitchens in this hostel and all have a little tv and modern equipment. Very nice place to cook.There are also a lot of bathrooms. Most are co-ed but you can find single sex if you look. The showers are cramped as are the toilets but the water pressure is strong and the temp. is nice and hot.There is a large common room on the top floor with nice comfy couches and a plasma tv. There is breakfast available for a fee and internet as well.All in all, a good place to stay and explore the city.
