Great, central location. The flat is about a block and a half away from the train station and Cockburn Street (pronounced Coe-burn) is a short-cut to the Royal Mile, Victoria Street, etc. The entryway is between a middle-eastern restaurant and a skate clothing shop. Getting in the flat is super-easy, there's a key safe by the entry you can use to pick up/drop off the keys.

The good—the flat has an oven/hob, electric kettle, microwave and a toaster, clothes washer (no dryer) along with a full set of dishes, glassware, utensils and pans. The bed was Queen-sized (I think!) and was extremely comfortable. After you climb the stairs you'll understand why the furniture in the flat is limited. The bathroom has no storage but has an adequate shower and heated towel rack—no bathtub. Make sure you bring a dop kit or shower bag and you can keep it on the entryway table. Plenty of hallway closet storage.

What you need to know—the flat is on the top floor of the building and has some sloping ceilings, so use care when getting out of bed in the morning. If you're traveling in the Winter, you can reset the preset timing for the heating system/hot water heater (located in the closet nearest the bedroom). Cockburn Street is on a hill, so you will be climbing uphill a bit if you come from the Waverley. There is no lift in the building so be prepared to climb 150+ steps to the flat. This was initially a challenge with my luggage but wasn't a problem for day-to-day adventures. As far as security goes, the street door was left open by other tenants a few times but never had any trouble with loiterers. I was as a woman traveling alone and never felt out of sorts.

The nearest grocery is Tesco Express on Princes Street. Ecco Vino was a great little wine bar just steps from the flat. Devil's Advocate (you may need reservations!) is a few minutes away up Advocate Close. Starbucks is also at the top of the street, if you're in need. It was about a 15 minute walk to Edinburgh Castle. Airlink is a great service to/from the airport. You can download the Lothian Buses app and purchase tickets to either for the regular bus system or the airport shuttle that way. In March 2014, airport shuttle was £4 (30 min), £3.50 for a full-day bus pass.

Overall, really glad I stayed on Cockburn Street at Sam's flat. It was super-easy to get anywhere I needed to go during my amazing stay in Edinburgh!