Belford Hostel

I stayed here one night and had to pay £25 due to the rugby taking place the following day and all the hostels were exploiting the situation for that reason, so I payed up because I was working on the Saturday and needed accommodation.
Overall I would avoid this hostel because the showers and the shower room are like something from an old rugby pavilion. It’s hard to say they were dirty because they were so old and flaky that you couldn’t tell if they were dirty or simply old. Access to them also requires going through a labyrinth of corridors and stairs. I should imagine when the hostel was full it would be fairly unpleasant. The toilets are also at the front reception, at the opposite end of the building from the showers.
That said, for some reason I had the best night sleep here I’ve had in any hostel. The mattresses suited me, nice and firm, plus the ventilation on the ceilings of the pre-​fab interior allowed for lots of cold air to flow in and to be honest, I like to sleep in a cold room. I find hot rooms dry me out.
The big open plan kitchen didn’t suit me too much either because I don’t like being observed while I’m cooking, at least not by a mass of people. Cleanliness could have been more thorough as I found a lot of dust around tables and seating.
Distance from the city centre wasn’t too bad for me as I walk long distances and access with a car was easy. In conclusion I would say there are better hostels but for £10 per night it’s not too bad value. The main thing that lets the hostel down are the showers.

No no no no no.
I love backpacking. I love staying in hostels. I’ve stayed in many, from Quebec City to Saint Petersburg. This is not a good hostel.
It is uncomfortable. It’s basically a bunch of plywood box rooms set up inside an old church. The outside of the rooms are covered in a huge, weird mural depicting things like beggars, serial killers and teddy bears hanging themselves (no, I’m not kidding). I stayed in a 10-​person dorm which was very crowded, even by hostel standards. Ventilation isn’t great and you easily find yourself either freezing or sweltering.
It is dirty. Most of the facilities are located on the basement floor, and to get to them you have to walk through reception and past the common area. The bathrooms are vile and the showers are not much better. They stink to high heaven, there is a lot of mold and I doubt the place has had a thorough cleaning in the past decade. Don’t even think about using the refrigerators in the common area. The staff claims they clean them out once a week. This is not true.
It is sketchy. Although the neighborhood is safe, this is a cheap hostel and some of the folks staying there were definitely transients. A security system exists but it isn’t much. You have to enter a code to enter after certain hours, but the code is simple and only changes once per week or so. Even then, staff rarely seem to ask questions about visitors and will buzz people in if they see them standing at the door.
It is inconvenient. Now, I like walking so I didn’t mind that it was a bit removed from the city centre, but this is not a centrally located hostel by any means. The nearest shops of any kind are a few blocks away. It’s about 15 minutes from the end of Princes St, 20 minutes from the Royal Mile, and 30 – 45 minutes from the university. This can mean a long trip home after a night of pub-​crawling.
Short story: Avoid. I stayed here because I wanted to check out the Fringe and it was the only option available. If you have any other options, take them. You’ll be glad you did.

The hostel is basically a converted church, so the walls in the rooms don’t actually have ceilings– apart from the actual very high up church ceiling. This is a little bizarre because it means that if the people in your neighbouring rooms so desired they could climb over the wall.
It is very cheap, laid back and simple though. And the staff are friendly too.

If you want something as cheap as chips, friendly and no hassle this is your place. Stags welcome says it all i suppose

Das Belford Hostel ist ein Backpackerhostel, in dem auch Doppelzimmer en-​suite gebucht werden können. Wir können nur davon abraten! Unser Zimmer war total versifft, unglaublich dreckig und hat gestunken. Das Preis-​/​Leistungsverhältnis stimmte überhaupt nicht (55 Pfund). Die Bettwäsche war schmutzig, der Teppich fleckig, überall lagen Haare, extremer Schimmelbefall im Bad, Dusche und die Klospülung waren kaputt, im Bad hing ein benutztes Handtuch, der Müll war nicht ausgeleert (und enthielt benutzte Binden), das Bett war total durchgelegen-​man hat jede einzelne Feder gespürt. Das Personal war unfreundlich und erst auf mehrmaliges Fordern hin, haben wir neue Bettwäsche erhalten.
Wenn man nur 10 Pfund drauflegt, ist man auf jedem Fall mit jedem Bed-​and Breakfast-​Zimmer in Edinburgh besser bedient! (Leider hatten wir im Voraus gebucht und die Zeit war zu knapp zum Umziehen). P. S.: Ein Stern ist hier schon zuviel!

Ludicrously beautiful to look at, the Belford Hostel is transformed from a 19^th Century church, giving it a unique feel as far as hostels go. That is pretty much the only advantage really. The hostel is good, but nothing spectacular, and the problem is that it is quite far out from the city centre (about a 20 minute walk to Princes Street).
The rooms are affordable, with summer prices going from £18/£20 for a dorm (of 4 – 10 people), a twin room £55, a doubly ensuite £65 and a triple ensuite £82. Not massively cheap I know, but Edinburgh’s not a cheap city. Check in is at 1pm and check out at 10am so that’s all pretty standard, and you can get a continental breakfast for £2.50.
The staff are friendly, and it is a good hostel, but as a backpacker, you want to be in the city centre and this is just a little too far out

Ein interessantes Hostel in Mitten von Edinburgh. Ich habe dort eines der letzten Betten bekommen und mich beim ersten Anblick sehr gewundert was ich in diesem Gebäude wohl machen soll.
Das Hostel ist eine Kirche, die wie ich vermute aus Kostengründen abgetreten werden musste. Das Kirchenschiff wurde in kleine Parzellen unterteilt, die jetzigen Zimmer. In den meisten schläft man mit 5 anderen Personen in bequemen Stcokbetten. Viel Platz für Gepäck ist nicht aber man hält sich dort eh nur zum schlafen auf, daher stört das nicht wirklich. Ein Manko gibt es allerdings, wer einen leichten Schlaf hat bekommt mit wenn am anderen Ende des Raumes ein Kind gezeugt wird, sich zwei Streiten oder ein Bettnachbar unheimlich viel schnarcht. Die Akustik in Kirchen war schon immer hervorragend.
Die integrierte Küche, die man mitbenutzen kann liegt im Keller und man findet alles nötige was man braucht.
Dieses Hostel ist ein großer Anlaufpunkt für viele jugendliche Backpacker, die gerade in Edinburgh verweilen. Daher ist es sehr umtriebig und immer etwas los.
Die Lage ist ideal, da man sich nach ein paar Minuten Fußmarsch im Zentrum befindet.
Ein kleines Manko zum Schluss, wer mit dem Fahrrad kommt hat ein Problem. Es gibt keinen wirklichen Stellplatz für ein Rad. Draußen stehen lassen wird nicht empfohlen und innen ist kein Bereich dafür vorgesehen. Ich konnte es nach langem verhandeln im Personalkeller abstellen.
Fazit: sehr billiges und zentrales hostel mit besonderer Atmosphäre. Man trifft viele junge Menschen und langweilt sich sicher nicht. Top location, wenn man nur die ein oder andere Nacht in Edinburgh hat.