The good: apt is clean and check-in/out was very easy. The photos are accurate. WiFi is reliable if you need to work or stream.
The not so good: I’m going to leave this story here because I actually read reviews before deciding on booking anyone’s place. The consensus was the hosts are very accommodating and nice. That was not my experience with them and I believe character is everything. This is MY experience with them, but I thought it was good to leave this here so you can make judgements when deciding where to book because the location isn’t that great and there are loud neighbors right above the apt.
I’m American and this was my first trip to Edinburgh. First impressions are everything. When I initially booked this place to serve out my mandatory isolation period, I only did a few days because I didn’t want to be stuck somewhere for 10 days with bad WiFi. I work full time remotely so this was important. I sent a note to the host after I confirmed the initial booking letting them know I would likely extend past the new year if the WiFi was good (A small reminder that the hosts can see who the person is once the booking is confirmed).
They responded saying it was reliable so I decided to go and add dates. Less than 10 mins after I told them I would extend, somehow the dates were blocked out for the next three days that fast. I arrived in Scotland the first day they went into lockdown so I doubt there are many travelers around this time and as of writing this review, the listing was not booked from Jan 2 - on.
I immediately found this to be very suspicious, but I gave benefit of doubt and thought maybe it was just a coincidence someone else booked the place that fast for 2/3 nights. No worries. I’ll find another place.
I spent the weekend there and found another spot on Airbnb at a hotel. The check-in for hotel was at 3pm and checkout for this listing was 10am (another annoyance since most places are 11am- noon). I tried to see if I could get earlier check-in at hotel, but didn’t hear back from them (I later discovered my app wasn’t working properly and had to reinstall).
I messaged the hosts at 11pm on Monday night (yes, this is pretty late but I was trying to arrange for early check in elsewhere and wanted to exhaust all other options first) asking if they could allow me a later check out on Tuesday since it was snowing, the city was in lockdown, and I had nowhere to go with several pieces of luggage. The host said she couldn’t give me a later check out because it was too last minute to reschedule the housekeeper. I was floored. Mind you, they charge a nearly $75 cleaning fee for this listing which is pretty high compared to others. For that much money you would think it wouldn’t be an issue to just have housekeeping come a bit later? Remember, the unit wasn’t expected to have the next visitor until the next day and check-in is after 4pm. It didn’t seem to huge an ask to allow me and additional 1-2 hours (gone no later than noon) so I could avoid being on the streets while I waited for my next place to become available.
I was very disappointed at their careless disregard for my safety and the fact that I was a tourist visiting. I’m from Los Angeles so seeing snow for the first time caused me major anxiety.
Luckily, the hotel got back to me early the next morning of my checkout and I was able to check in sooner without being stranded somewhere with my luggage and twiddling my thumbs out in the cold.
For this reason alone I would never book with them again. Again, I booked because everyone else kept writing about how accommodating they were etc etc.
On my way to the hotel, my Uber driver told me the area was not so great and the neighborhood I was headed to was much better and closer to the sightseeing. You’ll see other reviews where people complained about the location as well. I am paying less at the hotel than I was at their booking so I think there’s better value to be had elsewhere and with people who are more flexible.
The entire situation made me so uncomfortable that I actually took photos of the apt before I left to make sure they couldn’t claim I damaged anything upon my departure. This was a first for me as I’ve been traveling for six months and staying in various Airbnb’s and I have stellar reviews from hosts.
I did this because I felt people who have a blatant disregard for tourists safety they are hosting can’t be trusted. Luckily, my hotel has been very accommodating and I’m happy to know this is not the way of all people from Edinburgh.
Again, the apt itself is perfectly suitable. But if you run into any issues and need a bit of empathy and grace you may not find it here. And peace of mind when traveling is hugely important.