I absolutely loved my stay at castle rock. I would absolutely come back every time I visit…read moreEdinburgh. It's close to Waverly station and you can get lots of places from there. The hostel is just in the shadow of Edinburgh castle (I included a photo I took from the sidewalk). Couldn't ask for a better location. The staff was kind and hospitable, and the vibe was very chill. I WILL SAY THIS. the bathrooms are not gendered, so you'll be showering/pooping (in private stalls of course) with both sexes, so if that's not your tea, be aware of that--but it didn't bother me. LOVE LOVE LOVE CASTLE ROCK!!!!!!

The location is amazing, the staff is so helpful and so kind. The rooms are fine, very small. My…read more"roommates" were extraordinarily messy so if I got up during the night I tripped over all their crap. I ended up leaving a couple days early because I hardly slept a wink. The building is old and very creaky with every step someone takes. Doors slam at all hours. I could hear someone snoring so loudly from next door the last two nights. It would be nice if halls lights dimmed at night so that when people come in at 4am it isn't so bright. Take earplugs and an eye mask. I mean, there is nothing staff can do about the many guests always coming through. It's just if you want a good night's sleep I wouldn't stay here. The showers are fine, hot water and mostly clean. There were contacts in one of the showers for four days so I don't know often they are cleaned. But I felt very safe and the location cannot be beat. Lots of great activities offered.

We stopped by the back garden area to sit outside and distance, slightly, from the throngs of…read morepeople. This was a pay at your table and have drinks brought to you. Cool vibe, nice crowd, good drinks including a non alcoholic cider.

Cant think of anything i didnt like, really. My boyfriend and I were in a six person mixed-sex…read moreroom. Most of the bathrooms are also unisex which is fine because the doors are full length. One shower had only a curtain but the rest also had doors. The water was hot and pressure was good. The food was filling and cheap. It was centered right in the middle of town, right by the castle and shops. There is laundry on site but only two washer dryers so gotta get there early. I guess it kinda sucked going up to the top floor because there was no elevator but exercise is always good. In the rooms there were lockers if you brought your own lock but i just left my stuff on the bed and it was fine. On the bottom floor there is a 1£/day luggage storage. We fit all of our bags in one. Though we wasted one pound fiddling with the lock at first haha. The card keys were a bit iffy sometimes is the only thing i found annoying i guess. But i had a somewhat negative idea of what hostels were so this was my first one and it was great!

This was one of the better hostels I've stayed in! The rooms were smaller, only 6 beds, and the…read morebeds were more comfortable than many. The downstairs room was fun. I would stay here again.

There were many things we loved about High Street…read more The location is amazing. You truly can't get better. You are right off the Royal Mile, which makes your stay quiet, but close enough to everything you want to see! The building is gorgeous. It is over 400 years old and it is beautiful with stone and rustic lodging. This makes the stay so special. There are many stairs, but you know that before booking. The wifi is great, and everything is clean! You can rent a towel for only 1 pound. The hostel offers events and breakfast, though we didn't get to try either. The staff is very friendly and helpful. The only reason I'm taking off a star is that our room was TINY. There are bigger private rooms, so I'm not sure how we got unlucky and got the small private room. Overall, I would definitely tell people to stay here!

Location: Ridiculously good. I was here for Fringe Festival in August, and I could get to all the…read morevenues in reasonable time. It's less than 20 meters from the Royal Mile, which, if you're new, is great. For me, being my second time, I was already grumpy--all these damn tourists! (And yet, I am one, I know, I know...) Vibes: Great vibes. Staff were kind. Guests generally kept to themselves but seemed nice. Amenities: Numerous. There was both a full bar and a restaurant. Whisky flights available. They seem proud of their breakfast food sourcing. Bread from this bakery; scones from that bakery; etc. I loved the scones (or "sconns", in a Scottish accent, so cute!). Staff were courteous and kind and efficient all around. Downstairs was a suitable coworking space with different configurations of seating/tables, electrical outlets, and even a few phone booths to take calls. The wifi was consistent and reliable down there and everywhere. Only limitation was the lack of a full kitchen. Microwaves only; no oven, no stove that I could see. The actual room were somewhat disappointing for me. The pod concept has its advantages. Better sound-proofing against snoring, for example, and a better sense of privacy. I just didn't like the pods didn't give me more room to store things within easy reach. Like, in a normal hostel, I would be able to store things under the bed, like shoes, and my luggage with clothes. Instead, much of it went inside a locker across the room with a combination lock, or wedged along the inside of the pod, which slimmed down the sleeping surface for me. That said, I did like that they hooks and hang bars inside each pod. Every hostel could use more hooks. Lastly, my specific pod room always smelled slightly of body odor. The cleaning staff did their job well, and I presume it had to do with one or two of the occupants, but it was a tad off-putting. Bathrooms: Well-maintained and in generally good working order.

I stayed here with a group of friends on a weekend trip to Edinburgh, and we loved this hostel! The…read morelocation was perfect, right on the Royal Mile and within walking distance of everything we wanted to do, and it was only a 10-minute walk to the Edinburgh Waverly train station. The rooms and bathrooms were clean, and the pods were comfortable. Each pod comes with a locker, hanging rack, a shelf, and USB ports. The staff were friendly, and the lobby has books and games available to borrow, as well as a variety of drinks and snacks to purchase. Breakfast is available for £6. If you are looking for a place to stay in the middle of Old Town, look no further!

Perfect location, right off the Royal Mile! The rooms had lockers (so bring a lock if you're not…read moresure who will be in your room), and our room had a bathroom and shower. The shower was kind of gross, so definitely bring flip flops. The beds had privacy curtains, which is big, because a lot of hostels don't. The breakfast is very average, but the bar is fun and has great options! I will definitely stay here again when I come bacK to Edinburgh.

Imagine this: You're a 30-something year-old solo traveler who's going on his European backpacking…read moretrip, and that trip is going to be well over three months long. You happen upon Safestay, the first of many hostels you plan to stay at, and you're a bit worried how it's the whole trip is going to shake down. Well, that poor sap was me. However, Safestay Edinburgh easily had one of the best on-site bars of any of the hostels I stayed at. The beer taps were cold, clean and delicious, the staff were attentive and polite, and their Monday night sing-a-long turned out to be one of the most happening spots throughout the entire city. The hostel itself was great, and it's conveniently located between the central part of the city, nightlife area and Holywood Park, a must-do attraction for any nature lover in Edinburgh.

I thought this hostel was pretty good. It's clean, has a modern look, and the rooms are very…read morehabitable. There's free wifi, and plenty of space downstairs to hang out, shoot pool, or cook your own meal. There's a bar too, though I didn't get anything from there. The location is pretty good, it's right in the middle of old town in the heart of the city. Easy walk from Waverly. In my room of 8 there were only 4 of us, and there are also 2 toilets and 2 showers. Nice. Oh, and towels are provided. One gripe: there are lockers in the rooms for each bed, but they don't take standard padlocks... the hole is too small. Come on now, seriously?

The Smart City Hostel is about a 10 minute walk from Princess Street and the Downtown area…read more The rooms are clean and so are the showers and bathrooms. They have have coin operated laundry which was very helpful. The free wifi was a huge help. I would defiantly stay here again.

This hotel is located in the Grassmarket area of Edinburg. It's just steps away from Old Town and…read morethe Royal Mile. Edinburg Castle is about a 15 minute walk. There is a restaurant in the hotel but there are a LOT of restaurants within walking distance. We had asked for a room with two beds thinking they would be single beds. (Our last experience with hotels in Europe was not a great one. We had a tiny room and a tiny bed,) When we got our room it was bigger than we expected. It had two beds-one was a king and the other a queen. What a nice surprise! There is no air conditioning in most hotels in Europe. With the windows open and a fan I was quite comfortable because the temp was around 60° the three nights we were there. The hubby who likes it much colder said it was bearable. The staff was friendly. The hotel was clean. I don't remember if breakfast is included in the price. There is a buffet breakfast or you can order off the menu. The last morning I ordered the smoked salmon, poached eggs, and sourdough toast off the hot menu. It was delicious. Had to have smoked salmon before I left Scotland...wish I would have ordered it sooner. Yummy. Would have given it 4 stars but with the lack of ac and having to climb several sets of stairs before you get to the elevator I'm giving it 3 stars. In all fairness, on occasion I did use the hotel ramp to get into or leave the hotel but that entailed walking through the rain. It did, however, lead you directly to the elevator.

This was the perfect hotel for a two night stay in Edinburgh. It's super centrally located and well…read morepriced. We were able to drop off our bags at 7 am and the room was ready by 12:30 pm. One of the major benefits for me is that they let you borrow a straightener from the front desk. My hair was so grateful!! The rooms are tiny but that's to be expected in Europe! The WiFi wasn't fantastic either but we really didn't need it much.

Disgusting. Put us in the wrong room, casually forgot to give us our free drink and breakfast…read morevoucher. Moved us from the 6 female only to an 18 mixed. Then refused to refund our money or even split the difference in price "the breakfast makes up for it". Musty and the showers don't drain, elevator only holds three people. I beg of you do not stay here

Never have I ever seen a more disgusting hostel. Old man plugged up the sink to wash his beard,…read morewhat a way to wake up. The beds smelled as if they had not been washed and there was hair everywhere. The showers were horrific. I took one in the middle of the day to avoid a crowd and it was covered in hair, trash, and others belonging. The water pressure for my first shower was that of a dripping faucet. The second was a flood as the drain was backed up with hair! The keys unlock every door and there is no security. I was booked for 2 nights in a 6 bed and was asked to move to a 10 bed the second night as they did not have space. I agreed but wanted my price reduced for the second night and was told my free breakfast would make up for the cost difference. Weird, didn't know that a bowl of ham, hard boiled eggs was compensation. Not to also mention that a gaggle of 30 young men swarmed the breakfast before me and left me with scraps. Genuinely would rather sleep in the park than this place. I would not even be happy if I paid $10 for it.

6 of us stayed here in 3 rooms - the rooms were clean and tidy. Small breakfast worth it but not…read morethe big breakfast. Was a bit noisy due to large group of young people staying -but over all would stay here again- was nice place to simply walk And see the sights

I wish I'd found places like this when I was backpacking this time last year! It offers "5 Star…read moreBudget Accomodation", if that's not a complete contradiction of itself, or in other words it's just a cross between a very upmarket youth hostel and an ok hotel. I even spotted a conference suite when I was here, which surely isn't something that the majority of youth hostel cientele are going to need, and instead of a bar where you can order food they have a Bistro. Is that really necessary?! In fact, it's so ridiculously high-spec as far as youth hostels go that it's hard to find much to criticise about the place. It was really clean, it was modern yet comfortable, the staff were great and it wasn't expensive. So why only 4 stars? I think to call itself "Central" is a little bit of a claim and not really that accurate. Central would be in the Grassmarket in the Old Town, or around Princes Street like most of the other hostels in the city. Not in Leith.

Location and staff were lovely. Stayed in the pods, if you're sensitive to heat and air flow I…read morewouldn't recommend them, woke up many times feeling sick from the heat.

Very clean, friendly staff, perfect location (right next to Edinburgh castle & everything), free…read morewifi, attached cafe, quiet, and best priced drinks in town in the hostel bar. Highly recommend.