Sam's place is in an excellent location, about 3 minutes walk from the train station. However, there is a bit of a walk up a curving steep slope so it was difficult for me because I don't exercise and I was pushing a huge suitcase. My legs were sore and I was winded halfway up. Also, Sam's apartment is located on the very top floor of the building (about 4 stories up) and there are NO ELEVATORS. The stairs up were curved and that made lugging all our luggage up quite difficult. If you have small or light luggage then there is no problem.
The apartment was fully furnished. There was a washing machine too which was good for us to do laundry as we had been traveling elsewhere before reaching Edinburgh. The first night we didn/t find any soap or shampoo in the apartment but a quick chat with Sam solved that problem. The necessities were delivered to our doorstep very early the next morning.
Location wise, the apartment is in a very good place. Many buses just a few minutes walk away in a few directions depending on where you want to go. It is also near the travel shop so you can buy bus passes or bus tour packages. There are plenty of food options around so you won't need to travel far if you just want a quick bite somewhere near.