Wow. I was pretty psyched to stay at the Trust House based on the listing, but the reality was even better than I'd expected. The property -- which is two floors, each with its owm living room and kitchen -- was large enough that everyone in our group had their own space to relax, and cozy enough in the main living area that we could all come together in the evenings and hang out. The historic nature of the place was wonderful, as well; I've never stayed anywhere before that had documentation of its own 400-year-long history. The furnishings were great, and the space was wonderfully unique; our jaws dropped when we first saw the dining room vault.
Lorraine had stocked the apartments with literally everything we could possibly need during our stay, going above and beyond what I'd anticipated, and was great to deal with and communicate with. We were running late dropping off our rental cars, and she kindly stayed at the property until we arrived.
Above all else, though, the location was the biggest win, at least for us. Victoria Street is gorgeous, especially for Harry Potter fans like some of our group, and we found ourselves just staring out the windows at the people going by below on a regular basis. The Trust House is right in the heart of the Old Town, a quick walk from Edinburgh Castle and the Royal Mile, and during the Fringe madness it was a life-saver to have a place where we could easily escape the crowds and take a breather.
The "secret" upper entrance was *very* useful, as well, particularly because my mother (who was traveling with us) couldn't hike up all the steps to get from the lower part of the Old Town to the upper. Being able to pop out onto the terrace above and go from there right up to the Mile was great, and the looks on the faces of passers-by when we came out of that locked gate were priceless. :)
We *did* have to warn a few people off, mind you -- some tourists assumed it was a public stairwell down from the terrace, and one belligerent gentleman insisted he be allowed in the lower gate, claiming it was a public street (and no, we didn't let him in). But overall, it was a beautiful haven right in the middle of the busy city. We'd love to go back, no question!