Like cold water? Like noise? Like being disturbed by workmen? Then you've come to the right place. 5a Balcarres Street epitomises all that's best in Scotland's poor customer service. From the outside, it looks like a run-down hostel, complete with cigarette ends tastefully discarded around the steps. That should paint a picture in itself, especially as one slab was loose... More

We stayed here for two nights in August during the Fringe. The location is great, no too far from the city centre with loads of buses to take you there, in a nice, quiet corner of Morningside. There's nothing wrong with the place,very basic (but we had everything we needed and we weren't expecting anything fancy) and the price reflects... More

We chose to stay at 5A predominantly because of the price and location, and being that it is very cheap, we weren't expecting anything amazing. We stayed in Room 6 - a family room with 2 double beds in it and ensuite bathroom. The room was clean and tidy but the bathroom could have done with a more thorough clean.... More

We were looking for a reasonably priced place to stay for a family weekend. 5a was just as it was described on the web-site and we had good communication about the check-in arrangements. The accomodation was basic but clean- we had a family en-suite room which was comfortable. The shared kitchen and lounge were small but functional and it was... More

My wife and i stayed at 5A balcarres street last week and thoroughly enjoyed it. The accommodation is very basic but clean and great value for money - absolutely no thrills. Morningside is a lovely location and its easy to get into the city centre and explore Edinburgh. Good points are friendly staff, price and cleanliness. Bad points - the... More

I decided to visit Edinburgh to see the tattoo and had great trouble finding accommodation at a decent price but after trawling the internet up popped 5a, balcarres street and at £52 per double room i decided what the heck its one night only and i'm sure it will be ok. We had no trouble finding this hotel which is... More

We only spent a night but it was overall very decent to us (a family for 4) as we really enjoyed the privacy. No one greeted us (which was fine with us) but there were specific instructions how to get there and where to pick up the key etc. Simplicity at its best. Pretty decent kitchen too with basic necessities... More

Booked this on lastminute.com and paid, hotel didn't check their emails and have no-one on site, so when we arrived, we found we were locked out and the number on lastminute.com's website was incorrect. Eventually found an alternative phone number online and were told the key code to unlock front door and room. Hotel itself was deafening, loud music playing,... More

Booked an over night stay for myself and two sisters as we were attending the madonna concert as we are from Glasgow. Only good thing was the hotel was fairly handy for the stadium. The website for the hotel shows pictures of a clean, fresh and modern hotel. In reality it looked like a homeless shelter. As soon as we... More