Cambridge House

We came all the way from Falkirk to Edinburgh and were turned away, left with nowhere to go. The man taking bookings in the house was rude when we arrived, didn’t greet us or smile, and told us to wait outside in the freezing cold for about 20 minutes. Once he let us in, he said we weren’t on the booking system and both of us needed identification. I’ve never had so much nonsense happen to me. The place smelled of fish and the carpets were mouldy. His breath was awful too. In my opinion, this place doesn’t even deserve one star. I hope he has insomnia for the rest of his life. He and his house are cursed.

The main snag was getting our bags dropped off. We’d emailed to arrange 9 am, and they’d said that was fine, but nobody answered the door when we arrived. A sign said not to ring more than once, though we tried about five times over 20 minutes. Another guest eventually let us in so we could call the staff. No staff were there at the time, even though they’d confirmed our arrival. They did show up shortly afterwards and let us leave the luggage so we could explore before check-in. I wasn’t impressed, though a different staff member later kindly helped when I accidentally locked the key in the bathroom. It’s a small house with a few rooms, fairly priced and a short walk from a local café. The area was quiet and felt safe, and the location was pretty good for the city centre. There’s no breakfast or fancy hotel extras, but the room had tea, instant coffee, and a kettle. We stayed in room 3, which has its own bathroom down the hall rather than an en-suite. It worked fine, the water was hot, and the bathroom was in good condition. The room was small and a bit awkward for someone tall, but that wasn’t a problem for us. We had no other specific issues. The walls are thin, though it’s an older house, so we expected that. We enjoyed our stay and would probably come back in a similar situation.

The location was okay, though it’s still a long walk to Edinburgh city centre and we needed a taxi. The rooms were tiny, and the sloped ceiling was so low it felt dangerous. There were cats all over the street outside, and loud noises through the night. The shower was dirty, the staff were unpleasant and unwelcoming, and the rooms and decor were dated.

Once we were in the room, it was kept nice and clean after our days out, and the free tea and coffee were topped up. The room was otherwise alright, but the bathroom caused a lot of hassle. The shower drained slowly, so it felt like a race to finish before it flooded. One sliding door wasn’t fitted properly and fell onto me while I was showering. The two doors didn’t meet, letting water splash through, and water also seeped up from under the bath and sink, so we put a towel around their bases. We stayed a week, and the location was great, about a 10-15 minute walk to the centre. We arrived around 15 minutes early and the woman at the door was abrupt, telling us we were too early and to leave and come back. At the proper time she was alright, explained the rules and gave us the free WiFi. She said there was no breakfast, which was fine since we planned to eat out, though the place had advertised paid breakfast. The window in our room wouldn’t shut on one side. Since the room was by the front door, we worried someone could get in while we were out.