This hostel does itself a major disservice by being so disgustingly filthy. Every surface of the place is dirty, floors sticky, walls & ceiling of bathroom covered in mold. The kitchen area where you eat breakfast is especially rank. One of the girl's bathrooms had three relatively new showers, but apparently the men's showers were pretty awful.

I stayed in a dorm with about 40 beds, but in general found it to be relatively easy to sleep, although the first night I was there by myself, and did feel a bit uncomfortable being a single female in what seemed like a room full of men! Each bunk bed has 2 lockers beside it (bring your own lock, or buy one at the front desk), and there's baggage storage at reception. You can also rent towels for 50p, linens are included. Free breakfast is cereal and toast. There's a piano outside the hostel bar (basically at the bottom of the main stairway), which is unfortunate for people who don't want to hear drunken piano-playing at 3am. There's also a fair bit of street noise at 3am when the bars close (although I was there during the Rugby World Cup, so there might have been more partiers than usual). The staff were pretty helpful - when my brother arrived in Edinburgh at 7am the morning after I got there, they let him check in and have breakfast even though they normally don't until after 10am. Honestly, you must have to be a saint to work in a place that dirty & gross!

The location is great, but I wouldn't stay here again if I could get another hostel. I'm usually not a complete stickler for cleanliness - I've stayed in nasty budget hotels all around Africa! - but the dirtiness of this place just permeated the whole experience. Oh, I also had a shirt stolen while I stayed here, but I try not to hold that against a hostel because visitors anywhere will do that sort of thing.

Myself and two girls from college decided to stay at the hostel cos it was cheap and had good reviews.
The Room was clean, as where bed clothes but they were fairly old, there was however a broken pain of glass on the window and a distinst smell of wee and bleach in the corridor!

Anywho We booked a Quad room and when we arrived and got into the room they had put a MAN in the room with us.
We were not happy - three 22yr old girls in a room with a strange man. We understood its a hostel and anything can go but it was the fact that it was a private room at the end of a corridor and they put a fella in with us.

The autralian girl on reception was very if not too bloody relaxed about the situation and was EVENTUALLLY helpful but she failed to see why we were so upset about the situation, (the fact that there was a strange man who could take advantage while we were asleep or whatever.) If they had put in a girl it would have been fine. So we ended up gettin a full refund and booked ourselves into a hotel.

So just some advise to girls staying here - if you book a quad room book all the beds otherwise you might end up with a fella in the room with you!!!

Won't be going back to the hostel, but will go to Edinburgh - Loverly city :)

I had a really great time staying at this place. It was incredibly student friendly. The location is great. The reception and staff were very nice, helpful, and friendly. The rooms and the bathrooms were very clean. It has a lot of facilities in the building, like the bar and TV/internet and kitchen, and the paintings on the walls are really cool. I recommend the place for all travelers.

Ok! I normally stay in hotels. If I was to base this review compared to what I normally stay in, this would come out like the black plague.

All is not lost, I tell you!

I must write an objective few point based on the needs at the time and the experience I had.

I was part of a group of 9 guys going for a stag weekend in Edinbugh. This place was absolutley perfect!

Right outside the train station (Bonus).

Downside:: 75 steps up to get to the reception.

We had a dorm of twelve beds bought out for the nine of us and it was perfect.. 24hr access. Showers in the morning which were electric. TV lounge open throughout the night. Place had some excellent art work throughout.

We needed a bed for the night and because it was a stag do, we were all together for the craic.

Would I go back::
Yes: For a weekend away with the boys.

No: If I was going away the my wife!

Good secure lodgings for the night with long stay rates.

Liked the place and there is always the exercise in climbing the stairs!

Well done there.