Like most reviewers I have mixed feelings about this place. The church building itself is lovely, but the fact that you share the church room with around 100 people divided by partition walls only makes it a long, loud night! Earplugs help though.
It was also quite cold at the end of August and I could imagine it gets freezing in the winter. I was told they hand out double duvets then - brrr.
I haven't seen the kitchen/bar area but my friends told me it was quite nice.
One big letdown is the lack of cleanliness in the toilets and bathrooms - the smell of the toilets was disgusting and why they put those manky bathmats in front of the showers instead of plastic ones I don't know. Another thing that it quite annoying is the fact that you can't lock anything away and the lockers cost dearly (I think £4 per day). That's a ripoff! It's an absolute basic in any hostel that you can lock away your belongings for free.
So I wouldn't really recommend the hostel unless you're on a tight budget and don't really mind where you sleep as long as the bed is clean and you get a hot shower. Which at least is the case.

I stayed in Belford Hostel on 3-5 September 2010, in female dorm
The hostel is good, the facilities is really ok but the staff is not as friendly as I hope
I did a mistake not in purpose, rang the bell three times just because I didnt read the notes beside the bell and one of staff got angry at me. They supposed to advise the guest how to use the important facility because not everybody familiar with the technology.
Thank you anyway...!
I love Edinburgh city....
Please be friendly next time

-Patra
from indonesia

ok so the good point about this hostel are..the locations in fine, about 15 mins walk from the city centre. The staff are very friendly although their english can be pretty bad.There were no bed bugs which is always a massive relief. The downsides of this hostel...its freezing 24/7, possibly because some of the windows are taped up with plastic and duct tape?! If you have to go to the toilet in the middle of the night its a freezing walk. Also the showers are nowhere near the dorms which is just annoying and there is absolutely no privacy in there because you have to strip off before you can get in the shower, which is fie is you dont mind people seeing you totally naked. Also, Wifi and breakfast are not provided which is pretty slack as most hostels do these days, its not like this place is any cheaper than others but it does lack these services. Wifi is not available even if you are happy to pay for it. The main issue with this hostel and I assure you is that its a HUGE issue, is that none of the dorm rooms have a roof. Which means you can hear everything from every single room. This includes hearing people having really loud sex as well as drunken antics ALL NIGHT LONG. The place is staffed 24/7 but they never do a walk thru the dorms to check on the noise levels. You will literally get no sleep. We even had stupid girls looking over their "wall" in to our room and just laughing etc for no reason. It was just pretty annoying. There is also no locker provided. We only took this place as a last resort because the Tattoo was on at the time. We would not return but at least there is no bed bugs...literally the noise was pretty unbearable I have no idea why they dont just cap the dorm rooms with a roof or get strict on quiet policies!

I know hostels are about fun, and I had been warned about the lack of ceilings and locks in the dorms, so maybe I value my sleep and security more than I thought. The converted church is full of character, but the charm can soon be overlooked. When a bunch of guests rolled in at 4am and then continued to make noise for the next 2 hours, the place quickly lost its appeal. I never did find out who the culprits were, and the staff seemed pretty unconcerned the next morning, so maybe it really is just me.
I did see a couple follow another guest through the front door, with no staff on the front desk. Oh, and don't even attempt to check-in before 1pm, apparently it's on the website, as you will be told in no uncertain terms.
No problem with hot water though, as other reviewers have stated, and the walk from the city centre is pleasant enough if you go via Queensferry Street and along Belford Road.
For a single bloke, as a place to get a kip and a shower, this place would just about have sufficed; I'm pretty easy. When I then invited a friend (an "ex", as it happens) I was a bit embarrassed when we turned up at the Belford. On that basis, I shan't be recommending this place. Having said that, Edinburgh is just a superb place, which does make up for my disappointment at the hostel; the end of the Fringe and the weather (plus lozzing around in Princes St gardens, and the ballet, get me!!) were a superb way to spend a few days.