St. Martins House

The substitute property was nothing like the photos of St. Martin's House. We were moved at short notice to a place on Bridge Street, above the Domino's and dog groomer, after the operator had already taken our money in advance. This was one of the worst stays I’ve had, and I left after the first of our two booked nights. I’d avoid this place. The room I’d been told I would have was occupied when I arrived, so the housekeeper put me in another room without an ensuite bathroom. There was no heat when I got there, and the poorly fitted windows let in all the noise from the main street below, making it difficult to sleep. No one was on site to let us in, and the electronic entry could be difficult to use. I packed up after that first night and stayed in a proper hotel in Edinburgh for the rest of my time in the area. Never again.

I checked by email beforehand that there’d be somewhere to store my bicycle, and was told there would be. When I arrived, there wasn’t a safe place to lock it. I left it in the office room, but the 'manager' came and said it had to be moved to the garage. Then I couldn’t get into the garage to collect it when we were leaving on Sunday, and had to phone the 'manager' to remind him he’d locked my bike in there. It’s basically a party house, nothing special, and not in a great location.

Our group of 14 was double booked with another group. The owner blamed Airbnb, but other reviews suggest this has been going on for a long time, and I think he’s just trying to make more money. It was the middle of January and the second-floor rooms were about 16 degrees, with none of the heaters working. Nearly everyone was freezing all night. We asked the owner to fix it the next day, and he said he’d checked and the heating was working. That wasn’t true. The rooms were just as cold the following night, so we had to buy room heaters. Definitely avoid this place.

The house had loads of space for a big group, plenty of bathrooms, and lots of plates and cutlery. Arthur was really helpful when we arrived and showed us around. We found the hot tub tricky to work, though I’m not great with technical things. One thing we’d suggest is clearing out the old food from the fridge and cupboards, but that might have been because we arrived early. It’s around a 40-minute drive from Edinburgh, though the coast is nearby and there’s an accessible, gentle walk to the beach. There’s a bus stop close by with frequent buses to Edinburgh, and an Asda nearby for food. All in all, we thought the property was lovely and would book with Arthur again if we come this way with a big group. And a note for anyone wondering, Milo Arthur’s dog is very, very cute!