We were three people staying private in a four man dorm for one night. We were very excited at first reaching the hostel, and found the location and common areas to be good. Our experience in the room on the other hand, was terrible. Stay away from room 211! The stay ended up being dreadful, followed up by bad service. - The room looked ok when we first got in and put our bags inside. When we went to bed later, we met a room with absolutely no ventilation. The window was almost impossible to open and the tiny backyard were the window led to had a loud, consistent fan noise going all night. - Two of our beds had definitely not been changed before our stay. The bed sheet had a lot of hair on it, which is pretty discusting. - The pipes for the sewers runs through the room and that woke us up several times at night, when people flushed. - Last thing is the shower, that really is not good. You have to push a button every third second for the water to come, which also gave us almost no hot water and little pressure. I addressed these issues with both the staff on sight and later contact over mail. The staff just said it was unfortunate, while they did not take any responsibility for our complaints when answering the mail.

Next time we visit Edinburgh, this is where we will stay. Granted: this is a Hostel, not a hotel. But... it's truly great. My grandson and I shared a private room for two. the cleanliness and security of the place are excellent. Staff are friendly. The location is unbeatable. The little square that it is on directly is very nice, with a great bar / restaurant right across the street. And it is just a few hundred meters from the Royal Mile and very convenient to the Waverly rail station so it is wasy to get to and from the airport. We had an utterly fantastic time in Edinburgh and everyone at KickAss Hostel was very friendly. The breakfast is fine. It's consistent enough from day to day that there comes a point where it's not necessarily exciting, but as breakfasts included with a stay it is far better than average. We were on our first trip to Scotland and in retrospect there are two things I would do differently. Pur basic trip was start in Edinburg, train up to Inverness, train to Glasgow, and then train back to a hotel nearer the airport the night before our flight out. I would in retrospect change two things. We stayed overnight two nights in Glasgow. That was more time then Glasgow requires IMHO. If I had to do it over again we would have just had our southern part of the stay all in Edinburgh and we would have made Glasgow a day trip. The Hostel could use a couple of more washer/dryers for laundry. But on the whole: this was just fantastic.

Not going back

This place smells so bad, and the guys in the reception are so impolite.

This was the first Hostel I have ever stayed in and i was pleased with it. The staff was great which I was very thankful for after a long day of travel. Would definitely recommend.

The location is fantastic but it’s over priced for what one gets (I got a private dorm room)

A good stay overall for the price. Temperature was the main issue, dorm room too hot. Shower room was roasting, really uncomfortable. Was late March and cold outside. Would probably stay again.

friendly staff, some unpleasant smells in hallways and bathrooms, clean and private pods

Best hostel in Edinburgh Recommended

First time staying in a hostel, I had a pod in a room of 16 (mixed) Pod was a lil hot at times but I took a USB powered fan which helped & was perfect for what I needed. Showers & toilets were together as I was on the 3rd floor. Always clean! No matter what time of the day I used them. Cleaner came in around 10am which was perfect if you needed that little longer in bed. Location was amazing, I was a 20 minute walk from all the locations I wanted to see! The cafe down stairs was nice to go in after a long day of sight seeing, grab a drink & chill for bit before heading up to my pod. I didn’t use the chill out area so I can’t comment but lots of people were using it. The kitchen has everything you need. You can get boxes to pop your food shop in which I thought was a nice touch. Everything you need to cook, eat & store food. Also free pool table! Only down side, which isn’t the hostels fault! People aren’t courteous of others. I’m pretty sure I had an elephant sleeping in the pod above me. They stomped around, throwing their shoes down when they got into their pod. Slamming the door when they left (doors can be close quietly coming into the room but not leaving annoyingly) every time they walked around my whole bed shook haha I found it funny once I blocked them out with ear plugs! Which you can get free from reception. Warning, 3rd floor no lift but that didn’t bothered me. Gutted these guys don’t have more hostels in & around Europe as I would happily re book with them!

The hostel is beautiful and well located. You will be able to see the castle from the window, or take steps in 2 minutes to get there. Rooms and bathrooms are very clean. The two guys at the reception were brilliant and very helpful. They welcomed me well, and I was provided a cup of coffee on my checkout although the breakfast time wasn't ready. Hoping to get back again.

Good

Breakfast good, rooms large, bar upstairs chilled, very friendly etc

Just amazing ,staff very polite

Not impressed. Already discussed and unresolved though.

I was in a 6 bed dorm, everyone was respectful and quiet, I had a good stay. The staff were quiet helpful whenever I had any questions, the only thing I could say that needs a little tweek, is the breakfast, couple of small adjustments, please, some wholemeal bread and an alternative to cows milk, like soy or oat?

Lovely staff very friendly clean

This is the ideal location in Edinburgh- walkable to all attractions in new and old town. The pod room was a nice change to have some privacy but still not pay a ridiculous amount for one person.

I had a good stay at the hostel. It is in the middle of the city with walking distance to everything. Staff was kind and I felt like I saw cleaning staff at all hours of the day so they were on top of cleaning all communal areas, even though it could get a bit messy in the evenings and weekends. I would definitely come and stay again. My only gripe is that, I would have loved to see stands with desinfectant sprays by the communal toilets. The amount of men AND women who do not was their hands was shocking. I am usually not an OCD person, it would just have been nice to desinfect your hands when you leave the bathroom/toilets.

Great location, endless services within a walk.

The shower water was not hot, apart from that everything else was fine

Nice hostel in the city Center. Friendly personell.

Bathrooms not clean and smelled. Kitchen and common areas also not clean. Smell of rotten food and urine in some common areas. The sleeping rooms and pods were actually pretty good, but I was there on a hot weekend and the room was stifling because the window only opened one inch and there was no fan or AC. Being in a closed pod made the heat worse and I heard other guests complaining about the heat as well. Also be aware: no elevator, altho a staff person when I arrived and another guest when I left helped me with my suitcase.

Great hostel with a beautiful common area. Staff was extremely friendly. The rooms and bathrooms are very stylish and clean. You get individual lockers, and charging port next to each bed with a little basket to store your devices while charging. Also a bed lamp for each bed. Met quite a few friends here and I really enjoyed my stay.

Stayed 2 nights in a pod dorm and had a very enjoyable stay. The place is modern, clean, super affordable and in a great location.

Loved the pod beds, very cosy and private, felt like my own mini hotel room

Bed sheet smells a bit. The others are all fine.

Facilities are great. Toilets should be a little cleaner. It is a really quiet place to stay.

nothing to complain. a hostel just as i want it to be. some parts should be renovated maybe but other than that i had very good stay.

Nice colorful hostel close to the city center.

Pod beds kept it secluded and was clean overall

Was kept very clean, close to the main downtown areas and everyone was friendly