We needed a place to stay for one night and David’s place worked out great for us. The location is amazing and we had a lovely time watching the Women’s World Cup a bar around the corner. The kitchen is lovely and also well stocked. I believe most apartments you’ll find in this area are going to be a little tight, but it served our needs for a short stay beautifully!
We were there on a weeknight, so noise was not an issue. And in addition, the windows do a pretty good job of sealing out the noise. We were perfectly fine and quite happy. But as other reviewers may have mentioned, the location of the apartment—right alongside a main stairway leading up to Edinburgh Castle / the Royal Mile—is such that if you are very sensitive to noise and/or staying on a weekend, you might want to at least bring ear plugs.
My only advice regarding location: if you take the tram in from the airport, be mindful of the fact that there’s a giant hill (where the castle is!!) between Princes station and the Grassmarket area. (And yet, google maps says the route is “mostly flat.”) You might want to get off at Haymarket station and get a Lothian bus (#2, for 1.70€ one way—exact coin change required) from there.
It’s a lovely area and if you want to be right at the heart of everything, definitely consider David’s place.