A good, basic budget travellers hostel.
Perfect location near the train station, Castle, Royal Mile, Starbucks, bars, restaurants and tourist shops ... everything you need.
We stayed in a private twin room (bunk beds) in a sperate building across the street from the dorms. Bedding was cozy and the heat was on (awesome cuz the rest of the trip was so darn cold...).
Shared bathroom was only among 2 twin rooms. We saw the cleaners in every morning. There was also a clean and well equiped kitchen with plenty of dishes and cupboard space - we didnt use it, but it might be nice for longer stays.
I recomend the full Scottish breakfast at the inexpensive Southern Cross cafe associated with the hostel (also has computer + internet in the cafe).

We are a middle-aged couple and booked this hostel because it was the perfect location close to our son at U.Edin and we were traveling on a budget. We stayed for 4 nights over two separate weekends and had a great experience. We had 2 different double ensuite rooms and the room and bathroom were very clean. The first room was extremely noisy at night in the wee hours, as it looked out over a popular alleyway and this area is very lively at night. Also, if people are loud in the hallways at night you can hear it. But the location is ideal and the price is right. e would go back.

I stayed at this hostel with a friend for two nights. We were in a 6-bed mixed dorm at the top of the hostel, which meant we had to lug our bags up 7 flights of stairs. The reception staff (who seemed to be fellow backpackers, rather than local Scots) lived on-site and were socialising raucously in the reception area as we were trying to check in, which I found to be quite intimidating. The only seating in the small reception area was covered in linen (clean, I hope) which meant there was nowhere to sit down whilst we we checked in (and this was a process that seemed to take an inordinarily long time).

Once we got up to the room, all beds were made but mine, and I had to clamber around on the top bunk to try and sort it out. We were in an attic-style room with a sloping roof, and of course, I hit my head several times whilst struggling with an ancient sheet that appeared not to want to fit on the bed. I couldn't be bothered walking the 7 flights of stairs down to reception to ask for a new sheet at the time, so I put up with it for the two-night stay. There were no flat sheets provided, only fitted, and I could only hope that the duvet covers get changed between each guest (though given the general state of cleanliness around the hostel, I'm guessing not).

The room itself was an adequate size, but the lockers were ancient and had rubbish left on top of them (which you can easily see when you are lying on a top bunk bed, of course). The carpet was so grungy I was forced to wear shoes at all times, it felt revolting underfoot. The bathrooms were 'cleaned' daily, as we were often prevented from using them by the cleaner, but there seemed no difference in their condition before and after their cleaning. One toilet stall had a bag of rubbish sitting on the floor for the whole two days we were there.

The showers only had shower curtains, which obviously you can't secure, as people were free to come in and out of the shower room whilst it was in use (the handbasins are in the same room), I was constantly worried that a draught from the door being opened would cause my shower curtain to come open. There was also nowhere to change privately, and not everyone likes changing in front of perfect strangers! It is not that difficult to install shower stalls to provide guests with the opportunity to shower in privacy. Also, the showers had big strands of hair and other gunk just sitting in the drain, just delightful. Oh, and I showered just minutes after they had supposedly been 'cleaned'.

The hotel provided free wifi, but the signal was not strong enough to reach our floor, so we could only use it in the common room. The common room itself was furnished with ancient furniture (of varying levels of cleanliness) and seemed to be permanently inhabited by the kind of permanently-hungover nomadic travellers who seemed only to spend their time watching sport on tv. Not the most ideal place to 'relax', by any stretch of the imagination.

Upon checking out, we needed to store our luggage for a couple of hours. Most hostels will do this for you willingly, but EBH hostel charges 2 pounds per bag to look after left luggage. This charge seems unnecessary, especially as they looked after our luggage on arrival (we arrived too early for check-in) free of charge.

I would not recommend this hostel to anyone unless some hostel policies change, the level of service and cleanliess improves dramatically, or they lower their prices so they are more in line with the 'product' they are providing.

I don't know why everybody on here is writing such horrid reviews. Myself and my friend stayed here for three nights August 12th - August 15th 2011, and found no qualms with the place. We are not dirty people and would not tolerate living in squallor, however, this is not the case with this hostel. Anyone who has bookings with Edinburgh Backpacker's should not be frightened - as we were - to stay here. The reviews below are simply incorrect. Perhaps people are comparing hostels to hotels which is completely absurd. We stayed in a 8 bed female dorm and had a great time. The hostel is just off the main road and up from the train station - we could not have asked for a better location if we tried. The hostel staff were extremley friendly and ready to help and the hostel itself seemed very safe. As for cleanliness - I myself cannot stand dirt - and I was very happy upon seeing our room and the bathroom facilities - all of which are perfectly clean and comfortable. Yes, it is not the Ritz but they are not asking you to pay the Ritz prices. The bathroom was cleaned daily and the toilets were also clean. There WAS toilet paper whenever I needed the bathroom and I never had to queue for a shower. Lastly, the shower was always warm whenever I used it, and that was mostly after 9am - so do not worry if you are staying here and have been told the water is not warm - this is not true.

People paying to stay in hostels need to understand that it is not going to be super glamorous. This place is good value for money and has everything a backpacker/hostel stayer would need.

Would stay again!