Castle Vista, Grassmarket Apartment

The location was amazing, the apartment was warm and clean

Nothing

The property was in an excellent location and the facilities were great.

As soon as you book you have to send a £150 security deposit before you have access to the property which is fine as I understand that they would need it if anything serious damage was caused. In precaution of this I took pictures of all the damage I found in the property as soon as I get in, however after your stay they still find something to say you have broken so they can keep the £150 for me this was the already faulty sofa bed so don’t stay at this property as it is a definite scam. The room smelt strongly of weed as soon as you walk in and when I called about this the women of the phone said someone must have been smoking outside but the smell was only in the room and this smell stayed with us for the entire stay. The on site parking is not accessible at all if you have a medium to large car meaning you still would have to pay for parking outside the property. The kitchen wear in the property wasn’t clean at all when we arrived with even mould on some cups.

Location

Bed was very uncomfortable

Nice facilities provided, the baby chair was very useful for us! Comfortable beds and a nice bathroom. The apartment has a nice feel to it and the location is excellent. Staff are also friendly and replied to all queries immediately.

With the 4 of us (2 kids) we felt a bit cramped for space and had to keep moving things around depending on the room we were in. Although the inner windows have been renovated it can get a bit noisy in the night and also quite cool. We didn't turn the heating on as it was july and that would be a waste of energy.

It was clean, the location was great. The bed was comfortable and the sofa bed wasn’t too bad it could do with a new mattress topper. The kitchen was well equipped except there were no aluminium foil or cling wrap to cover leftover foods.

Had no stairs and no air con we didn’t need aircon then so that was good. We had heavy luggages so it was a workout carrying the luggages up three flights of stairs.

The host, Agnes, is so helpful. She replies really quickly to messages and keeps really open communication. This made a massive difference to our stay. The apartment is located in a really central location. Even with two kids we walked everywhere. There is secure underground parking which is a real bonus.

nothing.

Location was great and the view of Edinbrugh Castle from the walkway to the apartment was very nice.

The 3 nights we stayed had a serious of issues arise. Warm water the first night and noticed the boiler was off the next morning. Contacted the host and they were quick to attempt resolving the problem. They had an electrician sent within a few hours. That night we had hot water, but noticed the boiler lost all power again during the first shower. Notified the host again and they indicated a part was on order by the electrician to repair the boiler, but would not arrive while we were staying there. The secondary water heater was not functional either, due to the faulty boiler. The washing machine failed to release the electro-mechanical latch on the first load we tried to wash the last night. We ran several more full cycles and nothing would disengage the locking mechanism. We continued to try everything possible the next morning, including internet searches for that model and issue. We contacted the host and they attempted to help troubleshoot for quite a while. We were very late leaving for our next destination, so we left the clothes and the host mailed it to us at a place we were staying in another city a week later. Later in the day that we left we received a notification and message from the host blaming us for breaking the washing machine door. They included a video showing the loose handle and a piece of plastic. The piece of plastic was on the kitchen counter near the washing machine upon our arrival, but we didn't know what it was for and set it aside. Two pieces of advice I would mention to future guests: Hot Water - The water heater only heats the water once a day. Should you need/want more hot water it will require forcing the heater on by using the instructions provided in the apartment guide. This provides a temporary bypass of the timer. Parking - The apartment listing does come with parking and it has been noted previously that the space is small. Do not underestimate the word "small"! Approx 6-6.5 feet between pillar and wall.