I stayed at the High Street hostel in May of 2011. I found the location to be fantastic - walking distance to everything a traveller could want. The bathrooms were quite dirty and it was extremely loud, but that is to be expected. We didn't go there to get a 5 star experience, we went there to have fun. Unfortunately, my brother became extremely ill after having food poisoning in Germany, and our trip was therefore not what we expected. We checked out of the hostel while he was admitted to the hospital, and we had to find somewhere else to stay as we were not booked in for additional nights and there was no vacancy. The staff was extremely helpful, and let us return to use the internet for free to change flights and cancel reservations at other places, for as long as we wanted. It made our day a lot better while being stuck in a bad situation! Would definitely return.

I chose High Street hostel because of the location, right in the heart of Edinburgh's' beautiful old town.

Checking-in: It is a short walk from Waverley station, so getting to it was very easy even with a heavy bag. When you arrive at the Hostel, you have to climb a small flight of steps to enter the reception. I was checked in straight away by an friendly young Polish girl. I was on the very top floor (of 5 in total including the basement kitchen/commons), in the three musketeers room. It was small, but comfortable with four beds and four lockers, large enough to fit in coats and a shoulder/handbag. After i got settled in, i went out to Explore. I asked the receptionist who helped me in to recommend somewhere to grab a bit to eat.

Sleeping: As i got back to the room quite late, i decided to crash immediately. I change then i went to the bathroom to wash. The bathroom was a decent size, considering there was only 4/5 rooms on my floor, it served its purpose very well. There were two shower cubicle, three toilets and two sinks. All were clean and well stocked with toilet rolls and hand-soap.
I found my bed comfortable, but the mattress was on the thin side and i could feel the underboard of the bunk bed when i was reading, leaning on my elbow.

All in all, very confortable and great value. I heartily recommend.

Stayed both here and at the Smart City Hostel two blocks away, which I felt was much better and something like £ 2 more expensive. High Street Hostel has a "permanent guests clique" that hang out downstairs, this hostel suits "hobo travellers" who enjoy getting to know new people and just going with the flow. I simply wanted to sleep, so the late night beer drinking and influx of people in and out of the room (6 person room) wasn't what I was after. The shower stalls were tiny, not enough hooks to hang clothes and towels on. Many of the faucets were broken and the ladies' room door creaked loudly down the hall every time it opened. The air ventilation was poor, so either you stood out with stuffy air or you froze your stocks off with the window open.

It's cheap and often fully booked, the receptionists are usually busy. They have ONE guest computer that's linked to the web, which is of always in use by someone; bring your own laptop with you, the wifi's free! The community kitchen is big and free to use but the equipment is of varying quality and cleanliness.

Great location though and in a fantastic granite building, just off the Royal Mile.

The High Street Hostel is perfectly located right of the Royal Mile and only a short walk from Waverly Station.

The hostel itself is a 500 year old building and that is used as an excuse for not having power outlets in the dorms. It is quite an annoyance to have to sit in the common room and wait while you electrical items charge (if its only your phone you can have it charged in the reception).

The showers were a bit small but clean and I didn't experience any queues for them.

All in all we had some nice days here especially due to the nice staff in the receptions that made us feel welcome every day.