We stayed at Pollack Halls (part of the Edinburgh First lodgings) as the first night of our recent UK trip. I can't recommend it highly enough! For perhaps half the price of any of the decent central hotels, we stayed in a double room with ensuite bath. It's small, but clean and modern. There's a nice, hot breakfast included (all you can eat, at the dorm dining hall).

Since you're staying in a dorm, you have access to a couple large kitchens on each floor, as well as laundry facilities. There is a bar & restaurant open on the campus also. The registration desk was well-organized and friendly, with good advice. There are also internet kiosks (for a small fee) in the lobby area.

Although we feared being "far" from the Royal Mile, it only took us about 10 minutes to walk there, and there's frequent bus service you could use instead if you preferred.

We are runners, and we appreciated being able to zip out of our room in the morning and be running in trails in Holyrood Park (on/near Arthur's Seat) in minutes: Gorgeous!

I can't imagine why this isn't ranked higher on tripadvisor. It was really the bargain lodging find of our trip!

Considering everything in Edinburgh (As in the rest of the UK) is frighteningly expensive, this provides a value for money alternative. the rooms are small but clean and serviced regularly. There are laundry, canteen and library facilities and overall the place has a nice feel.

its a long walk from the city centre (15 minutes) but you can get a bus if you wish.

I would definitely recommend this to folks who are travelling on a budget.

We stayed at First at Edinburgh University during the festival in August. It was booked by someone else in our party of six and was about the only place still available that didn't hike its prices up or demand a two night minimum stay in Edinburgh in August.

It is a halls of residence and is exactly as you would expect, if not slightly better. We stayed in the Chancellor Court building which had private en-suite facilities and I believe is one of the newer / better buildings.

The room had two single beds, a desk, TV and tea/coffee making facilities. The bathroom had a shower toilet and sink but all were perfectly clean.

You have to check in at the main reception building and then make your way to whichever hall you are staying at. There was a problem with them not having a note of our booking and then one of the rooms our party were given was still being occupied by someone else. These problems were dealt with very swiftly and effeciently though, so no complaint.

There are a couple of bars on site that also sell meals and the John McIntyre building serves a buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner. Breakfast was included in our price. Others of our party had dinner there which was a three course buffet for £10 each, so very reasonable and I am told the food was OK. Breakfast was also OK. There was an impressive selection of dishes but the food could have been a little hotter.

My only real complaint is over the breakfast room. The dining hall (and that is very much what it is) was very crowded and the tables are very close together meaning that you had to squeeze between chairs carrying a tray of hot (well, actuall luke warm) food over people's heads. We also timed breakfast well but as we were leaving there was a queue which went out of the door and some poor people were queuing in the rain. It seemed to move reasonably fast though.

There were also not quite enough car parking spaces for number of guests at this very busy time but we did manage to find one and other were parking on the road.

The halls are also a good 30 minute walk to Princess Street, slightly less to the Royal Mile and this is also a downside. There are buses very close by that take you right to either the Royal Mile or Princess Street for £1 but after the Tattoo on the Saturday night we had to walk back (in the pouring rain!).

Overall this is clean, budget accommodation, slightly out of the city centre. If it was not festival time you could probably get more central accommodation for a similar price. However, at busier times this is perfectly adequate accommodation.

Due to the hustle and bustle, particularly of the dining hall, as well as the distance to the city centre, I would not particularly recommend this to people with young children.

If you are not staying with young children and are thinking of booking this accommodation then there is nothing in particular negative to put you off.

I have just returned from a three night stay at this hotel and am pretty happy.

First off, this is budget accommodation, so don't expect anything fancy. The main purpose for these rooms is as lodgings for university students, and so they are basic. You get a bed, a desk, a wardrobe, a chair. The rooms are not big but there is enough room to serve their purpose - how much time do you spend in your room when on holiday anyway? The bed was not the most comfortable I have ever slept in but it was fine and would not put me off from going again. For all this isn't posh, it was clean and the beds and towels changed daily. The staff were helpful and friendly.

We paid a little extra for an en suite and would do so again. There is a toilet, a sink and a shower. Lots of hot water and again, not big but enough space.

The location of the hotel is slightly out of the city - I would strongly recommend a taxi from the railway station if arriving by train as we did. It is a long walk and taking cases on buses is hard work. The taxi cost us £5. Once free of your cases though buses are the way to go. The stop is nearby and a day rover is only £2.50, which saved us a lot of money. A 14, 30 or 33 will take you straight to the centre of the city.

Breakfast is included which was very good. On offer were cereals, cooked food, haggis, kippers, toast, yoghurt etc etc. Really something for everyone.

Basically, if you want something luxurious, don't go to this hotel. But if you just want a clean room with good food then this is perfect. This is one of very few hotels I found that allowed for single travellers without charging them supplements, which is good. I booked through laterooms.com, three days before arrival (!) which meant I got it even cheaper. A single room was £34 a night, a double was £64 a night, down from £54 and £84 respectively. I'm glad I did this because whilst the rooms were worth what I paid, I would have more reservations about saying they were worth what they should have been.