Thistle City Inn

very pleasant 'compact' room with a tiny shower-room.

Don't stay here for a quiet night - thin, non-sealed windows let in all the noise from the pub outside, which doesn't close until 4 in the morning. If you don't mind shouting and shrieking all night, then this place is great.

Room and en suite shower were clean. Location was central.

Shower and toilet were en suite, but the bathroom with a bath was a shared utility in another room from a shared corridor. They also use CCTV in the shared corridor between the bathroom and your own room, so be prepared to be recorded on video coming out of the shower, with no control over who gets to see or keep the video footage of you leaving the bathroom in a towel. If you forget your room key when you use the bathroom with bath, be prepared also to be locked out of your indefinately (people don't always remember to take the multiple different door keys you are issued with when going to or from a bathroom). It has the potential to be really uncomfortable waiting in a bath towel on CCTV being recoded. Staff also came into my room before check out time was up, which had the potential for things to go badly wrong. There is no manual door latch or bolt on the inside of the room to keep staff out like in a normal hotel (only the electronic lock) so put your case or furniture against the door to slow them down if you don't want that. Also, there is a TV screen but no TV aerial so you can't just turn on the TV to watch normal TV. You have to sign in with your own streaming service account to watch services. The last customer wasn't logged out, so I had the ability to access the last customers login and services which is really bad from a data protection and privacy point of view as I had the ability to access that persons name and private account. I personally would not log in in case you forget to log out on check out. The staff did not check to see if the previous customer was logged out. Futhermore, the windows were relatively thin, which allows a lot of street noise in. The kitchen was shared, so there was no kettle or cups in your own room. Also, had to wait outside for the staff to arrive on site to let me into the building as they seemingly travel from elsewhere to the building to let you in.

The room was spotless, and although small, it was well organized. The shared kitchen was also spotless and well appointed. Very secure building and premises. Great location, just off the Royal Mile.

Steep, spiral staircase.

Cleaned to high standards, had everything you could need for an over night stay, close to city center

The location was very good, super close to the old city. The room was big and comfortable. The staff was super helpful.

Due to central location it was very noisy.

The location is absolutely perfect.

Welcoming host and awesome location right at South Bridge and Cowgate (right above the cow!)

Stairs and noise from street (that’s city center Edinburgh for you though)

Let's start with the location which was absolutely perfect! Right in the center of everything! The smiley woman that welcomed us was very informative and kind and we really thank you for everything! The room was spacious, very clean, extremely well equipped and beautifully decorated. Inside the facility there is a kitchen room for shared use. Highly recommended for staying in Edinburg!

As other comments state, there are bars around and can be really noisy at night. We were not bothered, but you should keep that in mind.

Location was exceptional — seemed like everywhere I wanted or needed to go was within a 10-minute walk.

My room was tiny and cramped, with a twin bed and just a chair and a ledge as additional furniture. Bathroom was also tiny, w zero barricade for the shower, which meant everything else in the bath got wet if you used it. (There was a very nice full tub and shower across the hall.) Communal kitchen was very nice, too, but again required you to leave your room to use it. The keyed entry system was also unnecessarily involved, and every door but the outside one required both hands to open, which was often really inconvenient. Finally, Scotland in late March is still very cold, but when I and other guests arrived, we soon realized the heat was off. WHY?!? It also took HOURS to get staff to respond to our pleas for heat; some of this wasn’t their fault, but again … why was the heat turned off in the first place, when you know you have 5+ guests arriving that afternoon?