Seeing as my 2 day trip to Edinburgh was very last minute, I wanted to find a bed as central as possible to make the most of the city as opposed to trekking back and forth to my bed!
So when I came across Haggis Hostels – very aptly named for the city I was visiting – it was perfectly positioned in this stunning city.
If, like me, you arrive by bus at St Andrews Square Bus Station, the hostel can be found in less than 2 minutes (just don’t go in the opposite direction like I did to start with!).
Arriving via train? Again, in less than 3 minutes you’ll come out of Waverly Station towards Balmoral Hotel, and the hostel is directly opposite over Princes St.
As the hostel is one of the most recent to the city, everything is brand spanking new and extremely clean – all music to my ears!
In fact it was one of the cleanest hostels I’ve been too, and I can see they certainly plan to keep it that way – I was a very impressed backpacker!
Bed wise, my bed was very comfy and the dorm was pretty spacious so a good nights sleep was always had.
For some reason I picked bottom bunk – bad idea for someone who is 6ft tall – as I found the beds a little too low for my liking so almost impossible to sit on without feeling very squashed! But, at the end of the day, it’s the sleep that’s most important and aside from the extreme heat (freak heat wave in autumn – gotta love Scottish weather!), I had two nights of perfect sleep.
I also love that the hostel provides a locker – free of charge – in your dorm for any personal valuables that you don’t want to leave lying around. I’ve stayed in my fair share of hostels, and not that many have this, so it’s nice to have that sense of security when you leave your dorm for an entire day.
All staff I met were very helpful and always smiling. There are also plenty of amenities available; washer, dryer and iron plus a nice clean kitchen including free tea and coffee. Everyone loves free tea and coffee!
From this hostel, everything is accessible by foot. Shops, food, entertainment, bars, and all the main attractions your looking for. Just be prepared though, after all that walking you’ve done, there are 3 flights of stairs to take to the hostel door!
Highly recommended – and good value too with dorms from £18 per night – I’ll definitely be back!
Atmosphere – 3/5
Cleanliness – 5/5
Facilities – 5/5
Value – 4/5
You can find out more about Haggis Hostel via their site – www.haggishostels.co.uk – or by following their twitter feed – @HaggisHostels
Kez received a complimentary stay at Haggis Hostel – but rest assured all opinions are honest and her own.
