Edinburgh Central Youth Hostel

It's a bit of a trek from Waverley Train Station, however there is a much closer entrance which we discovered on the last day by turning left and going down a slight hill. ||We were disappointed with the room (207). We were expecting a double bed but got bunk beds and a single.||The fitted sheet kept springing off the mattress which was annoying. The curtain was half hanging off the rail. Not all the lights worked. ||It was just passable clean, but could have been much better as the walls were dirty and there was dirty on the radiators and along the edge of the room.||I found the shower too powerful and was difficult to use comfortably. ||Our room cards failed after one day and several others were having difficulties with their cards failing between the lift and entry to their floor. ||The staff was a mixed bag of happy and helpful, or came across not very interested.||The breakfast experience was disappointing. The tables are not cleaned. One morning they were all filthy and no where to sit (even the chairs were dirty). This issue was pointed out to the staff member there who cleaned us 1/3rd of one table with no smile and then disappeared. The chairs were too filthy to sit on so had to clean myself (after asking for napkins as none in sight).||Future guests were having to clean tables themselves or line them with napkins before they could even start breakfast. This is poor service and guests should not have to do this, especially when the matter was clearly pointed out at the time.||One morning there were no knives so had to use a spoon to spread butter and jam and one morning one of the toasting machine was not working.||The games room was out of action. This was exceptionally disappointing as one of the reasons we chose this place for our 11 year old.||The area on lower basement with a communal kitchen was good to use.||There's a luggage place available.||There is a communal toilet area, but you need to ask for a code to use.||Overall I would recommend this place if you're happy to take these honest issues into consideration.

We had a four bedroom - two bunk bed - ensuite room. The room was clean, with two storage wardrobes, and a power shower. Beds were comfortable. Staff was very friendly - we arrived two hours early to store our luggage, and they were able to check us in! We didnt have breakfast or eat in the cafe but it looked warm and inviting. The hostel was very busy with loads of kids. Fantastic location next to tram stop and bus stop.||Really a 5/5 hostel experience. It was better than the hotel we stayed in earlier in the trip. Highly recommended for families or any other travellers on a budget.

Everything about my stay was amazing, even though it was short. I truly enjoyed my time there! The location is excellent—close to everything you might need. The staff were incredibly friendly and welcoming. I stayed in a 6-bed room, and it was very spacious and comfortable. The kitchen was also very large and fully equipped with everything you could possibly need. It made the stay even more convenient. Overall, I had a great experience and would definitely come back!

Pros: excellent location downtown near MacDonald tram stop. Luggage storage room available although I did not use it. Shared kitchen available. Quiet private rooms available with en suite bathroom. Free chilled water station at the bar for refilling your bottles.||Cons: it's a bit of a trek from the train station and can be confusing if following Google map directions since the street layouts and names are not quite aligning with Google, plus there are no blue and white hostelling signs. The exterior and the posted advertisement make it look more like a restaurant than a hostel. Lastly the check-in staff did not once crack a smile or welcome, and I stood in front of them for quite a while before being acknowledged. The check-out staff, though, were awesome. Night and day difference! Being downtown you'll hear the tram starting in the early morning, but if you're used to city hustle and bustle it should not be very disruptive.

We had booked a private room and it was quite spacious however the beds were a bit small. Facilities were great however the water pressure in the shower was insane. I feel like being water boarded would hurt less. All my sins were washed away. Location is great and very central to the old town. Staff was very friendly and helpful.

What a great hostel? Our room looks more like a hotel room than hostel double. I really enjoyed the coffee at the bar, both iced latte, latte, and flat white. Cheers to Stewart at the front desk.

Rooms were very shabby. Creaky bunk beds, extremely small shower. Not suitable for myself or my cousin who has arthritis. We cancelled the booking and went elsewhere. The manager was very apologetic but couldn't offer us an accessible room. Only one accessible room in the whole building.....also the photos on the website show proper beds. Not bunk beds that no one can actually use......

It's a Hostel. More quiet and plain than the typical backpackers or party hostels but that's what we needed. We got a private room, 3 beds, toilet, sink and wet room/shower with hot water! Basic but it works. I was not impressed by the breakfast offerings. We pre-ordered the full Scottish Breakfast and also the basic cold breakfast. The only thing we ate from the cold/cereal breakfast was a yogurt. The fruits were over ripe or rotten/ black. The full Scottish breakfast was not what we really liked. The Lorne sausage, haggis, and black pudding were all over cooked. The mushrooms tasted as if they'd been washed with dish soap. It's fine, we just needed a place to rest and shower.

6 of us stayed here in 3 rooms - the rooms were clean and tidy. Small breakfast worth it but not the 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 Budget 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.

It's more like a Hotel than a youth Hostel. Adam has it spot on, it's religiously clean. But those things don't really matter to backpackers, only two words can sell this place to you... HOT SHOWERS! The legends are true, they do have warm water in here. The staff are also quick to remove any trouble makers from the building, no junkies floating around the corridors late at night. I know it's subjective, but the people I met while I stayed were amazing. You will make life long friends!

I must start by saying WOW Edinburgh residents are far more friendly than (some) of those in London. As soon as we got off the train, the taxi driver that took us to the hostel was more than happy suggesting places to go out and sights to see. We were then warmly greeted at the door of the Central Youth Hostel and lead up to our spacious, clean and warm 3 bed room. Through out the whole weekend we were all very impressed with the location (very central) service, food at the restaurant and 24 hour reception which was great when we stumbled home at 3am and couldn't find our keys! Would definitely stay here again on my next trip to Edinburgh, beautiful city and we most certainly be returning.

I have stayed in plenty of hostels but this one takes some beating. Really clean, very helpful staff, great facilities and not that far from the main bits in Edinburgh.

Big, smelly and industrial. It is a cheap place to stay in Edinburgh. The dorms are swampy and unpleasant, but the double rooms are functional.