Castle Rock Hostel

Excellent location just next to the Edinburgh Castle. Despite the busy neighbourhood rooms are quiet, washrooms are clean, no lines to the shower. Excellent common rooms on the main floor available also after the he checkout till the end of the day. Access to the kitchen with all utensils. Free tee and coffee. Staff is nice and helpful, atmosphere is good. We stayed there for two days on the way to the Highlands and enjoyed this very much!

Castle rock is such a wonderful hostel!! Perfect location, quiet but just outside of the busy street with pubs & shops. The kitchen was well equipped with loads of pots/pans and utensils and even communal spices and oil for everyone to use. There was free hot chocolate/tea/coffee 24/7 and a ‘free table’ for all your left over toiletries and food items. Such a great idea to reduce waste and help budget travellers. Their free spaces were fantastic - lots of seating, quiet and loud areas, and lots of info about events going on. Though my partner and I didn’t take partake in any of the events they seemed well organized and very fun! The movie theatre room was a great perk for a quiet and relaxing nightly getaway. The themed bedrooms were fun, big and came with lockers (locks provided). The free separate luggage storage was a life saver for all our big baggage as well. Washrooms were tidy and ample showers for everyone. Finally, the staff were amazing! Always friendly and provided local recommendations. They were great with communication prior to our trip, and when we asked to extend our stay last minute, they were able to accommodate us, working diligently to move things around 😊 *Bonus points for the sparkly toilet 😍

This was unfortunately the worst hostel experience I’ve ever had. And I’ve stayed in a number of hostels. I booked for 5 nights but left after night one. Here were the main issues: - The first two people I met at reception were quite rude and unprofessional. They were more concerned with dancing and singing to each other than checking people in. - The room and bed. The room was cramped and stuffy, even with the window open. The beds are short and your feet will hang off if you’re tall. There is also no privacy curtain for the beds and I felt very exposed in my sleep. I had a very loud, snoring roommate as well and having a curtain/cubby style bed would have helped with the noise. - The bathrooms. They are dirty and smell terrible. Additionally, my floor only had one shared gender washroom with two toilets and two showers. All three times I walked into the bathroom, there was a different man in there, peeing in the toilet with the door open. This isn’t the hostel’s fault but certainly made my stay worse. - There is no lift available and I was on the very top floor. Being that this is an old building in Scotland, this one wasn’t too surprising. However it’s a major annoyance when coming and going. - One pro is they have affordable laundry services. I paid 5£ and they washed, dried and folded my clothes before I left. This hostel is old and run down, lacking the basic amenities and cleanliness that a hostel should offer. If they can take better care of the rooms and bathroom along with more professional staff, it would be worth staying here. It’s in a good location.

My partner and I thoroughly enjoyed our weekend stay at Castle Rock Hostel in Edinburgh! We stayed in a four-bed mixed dorm and the room and beds were super comfy and cozy. The beds were already made for us, which is always nice, and each bed has its own little light, charging ports, and lockable locker. The room had a window which we were able to keep open for fresh air. There are plenty of communal toilets and showers on each floor and they seemed to be kept very clean. The hostel itself is really charming and cool (it honestly feels like it used to be a small castle back in the day!), and it’s got a great location in the old town! Would highly recommend staying here.

I absolutely loved this hostel. Reasonably clean and very comfortable beds and quilt. So much space and many rooms to chill and relax. I loved the cinema room! The idea to have movies playing every night was genius. Loved it! The only downside were the showers. They were not very clean, they smelled bad and they desperately need an upgrade. I also didn’t like that the shower room was unisex making me feel a little uncomfortable at times. Other than that, amazing and I had an overall comfortable stay. The staff were also very friendly and helpful.

I stayed in a 12 female room. The rooms don’t have A/C and they have carpet so they smell pretty musty. The experience was okay. Breakfast was not great, check what it is before you purchase. The location was amazing! The price was great for the location. The bathrooms are clean and the staff is amazing. During hot weather it’s slightly less enjoyable but I’m sure during the off season it’s pretty good.

Castle Rock Hostel offers a very affordable place to stay right in the heart of Edinburgh’s Old Town, just steps from the castle. The staff were friendly and helpful, and the common areas were fine for a budget traveller. However, while I don’t expect luxury at this price point, basic cleanliness should always be a given — and unfortunately, that was not the case in our room. The carpet was, without exaggeration, the dirtiest I’ve ever seen in any accommodation. It didn’t feel safe to place our belongings on the floor, and there wasn’t even a small table or surface to use instead. The mattress was lumpy, the duvet felt quite worn, and overall comfort was lacking. That said, the location is excellent, the atmosphere is social, and the price is very appealing — but please, for the sake of future guests, consider a deep clean or replacement of the carpet. Cleanliness should never be compromised.

I had a good experience at this hostel. The internet was fast and reliable, the kitchen was spacious and well equipped, and the common areas were comfortable and inviting. There’s also a pool table and discounts at nearby bars, which are nice perks. The rooms were clean and comfortable, and the location is excellent — although this does make it a bit more expensive than others. One thing to note is that the bathrooms are a bit far from some of the rooms, which can be inconvenient. It would also be great if the bunk beds had curtains for extra privacy but overall, a solid choice! :)