This is a dormitory and deserves three stars. It's surrounded by dormitories. It's a fine, clean place for students coming to the university or to the Fringe Festival, which is around the corner. But for any other kind of tourist to Edinburgh it will be a disappointment and the ratings on this listing need to be corrected. So I will be giving it one star to correct what I believe are some fake reviews. All these five star reviews and high ratings led me to believe this would be a place with charm, comfort, something setting it apart. It is not.
The flat: The sink is plastic. You can't get warm water, just hot or cold. The entry is a dark, cement tunnel. The double bedroom was uncomfortable with no room for luggage. Despite what remains in uncorrected glowing reviews, there is no dryer. The washer works, but locks up for a bit at the end of a cycle. The apartment is very humid so your clothes won't dry and the linens feel damp. The iron has a cord that has been mangled, so it goes off and on. The towels are flimsy. There is only one dish towel and no paper towels, so don't spill anything. I had to buy detergent for the washer. The coffee press was filthy--I had to take it apart and scrub it. The shower is a bit moldy and the curtain is ready to fall down. It is not worth this price. Most things are of the cheapest quality--if you are a student and you get blamed for being too careless with the property (see communication), keep this in mind.
The location: It's fine. It's not too long a walk to the Royal Mile or the castle, but it's not as amazing as the reviews imply.
The communication: The communication was clumsy. One of the first messages to me started off with a warning to be quiet, just like most hotels do, right? I'm a 50-year-old mother, not a college student. Then, I never conversed with "Anabel," the "verified" host. All her messages were signed by two other women. When we had an issue with the washer, I had to say four different ways, please give us some privacy to get dressed before coming over to fix it.
I hope Airbnb pays attention to this review. We just finished a 16-day tour of the UK and stayed in four hotels and two Airbnbs. Three of the four hotels were wonderful, and this includes the one by the airport where we had to be put up when our flight home was canceled. As tired and cranky as we were about our flight being canceled, we all remarked that the cheaper hotel British Airways sprang for was more comfortable than our Edinburgh Airbnb. The other Airbnb we stayed in was divine--and cheaper! The one hotel we didn't like will not be getting a poor review because we met the hostess, who communicated with us clearly, and was lovely. She didn't oversell her property. But this Airbnb is going to get the only negative review from this trip because I feel misled and disappointed. Don't inflate your reviews and ratings. I wish I had stayed in a hotel.