Summer Stays at The University of Edinburgh

Overall, my stay was very pleasant. The university campus atmosphere was lovely, and the environment was quiet and relaxed. The apartment building has excellent security; you need to swipe your room card to enter, which made me feel very safe. 📍 **Transportation:** From Edinburgh Waverley Station, I took a bus to the Commonwealth Pool stop. From there, it was a 7-minute walk to the front desk with my luggage to check in. Within a 10-minute walk of the apartment, there's a commercial street with plenty of restaurants, making dining very convenient. 🏠 **Room Type:** I booked a twin room with an private bathroom. The room was clean and bright, though the space felt a bit cramped after placing my 28-inch suitcase. 🚿 **Bathroom:** The apartment doesn't provide shower gel or shampoo, so you need to bring your own. The showerhead was fixed and not adjustable, and the water pressure was a bit low. The bathroom has a heated towel rail, but the towels provided were quite dirty, so I'd recommend bringing your own. 🍳 **Communal Kitchen:** Other guests mentioned a communal kitchen, but we tried swiping our card and couldn't open the door, so we weren't able to use it. 🧺 **Facilities:** There's a self-service laundry room on the LG floor. Washing starts from £2 for about 30 minutes, and drying costs £1 for an hour, which is very affordable. The apartment doesn't provide laundry detergent, so you need to bring your own. 🍽️ **Breakfast:** You need your room card to enter the restaurant. The dining area is spacious, and the breakfast selection covers all the basics and was sufficient. You can enjoy breakfast before checking out. 🧳 **Service:** Free luggage storage is available, which is a great bonus! 👍

Bureaucracy is everywhere. The only praise I have is for the front desk staff who handled check-in and check-out, and the chefs in the restaurant who worked hard every day to prepare delicious meals. Specifically: 1. On the first day, at around 9 AM for breakfast, a middle-aged man at the cafeteria entrance asked me to open two room card sleeves. Only after seeing the actual room cards did he say 'OK, please come in.' This scene reminded me vividly of high school dormitory supervisors in impoverished, non-coastal provinces of mainland China back in 1998, who would inspect students' IDs every night, demanding they be pulled out and shown before allowing entry. On the second day, a middle-aged woman, and on the third day, a young man at breakfast, simply waved us in after seeing the room card sleeves, which felt much more like a proper hotel. 2. On the second day at noon, we went to Arthur for lunch. We decided to go back because the 2-person set meal from Arthur the night before – an Arthur burger and fries, plus soup and another dish – was excellent. My child and I were looking at the menu near the bar to decide what else to order when a male bartender rudely shouted, 'Don't order here, go sit at a table to order!' He then pointed to a sign on the wall stating 'No one under 18 allowed.' What the hell? We weren't drinking or smoking, so what business was it of his? Just because my child was near the bar? I was furious at that moment and shouted back, 'Easy! Easy! OK?' This person was clearly working with a lot of emotional baggage and overreacting; he absolutely should not be in this job. For example, he was chatting with guests at the next table, saying things like, 'I can speak four languages, German, etc.,' acting overly energetic in a quiet restaurant with only four guests. 3. On the third day morning at 9 AM, which was also check-out day, I was in the bathroom. The cleaning staff knocked on the door, wanting to clean. I directly informed them through two doors, 'I am shitting! You got it?!' 4. Still about breakfast: at 10:10 AM, there were still people eating, and I went to get a coffee. The cafeteria lady immediately told me off, saying, 'No, we're off duty.' I just burst out laughing then. In summary: Due to financial constraints, various schools in the UK convert student dormitories into tourist accommodations during holidays to generate revenue, which significantly fills financial gaps and becomes a major source of income for the schools. Simply put, since you're making money from this, you should do a good job. I pay for it. Summer camps are purely superstitious money sinks; students are the best business. You don't learn much or make friends at these camps. You'd be better off backpacking and staying in an 8-bed dorm at a YHA youth hostel.

A bit far from the train station and the Royal Mile, about a 30-minute walk. The campus environment is lovely, and the included breakfast was excellent, especially the wide variety of fruits. The room was clean, though a little small.

The easiest way to get to the front desk from Waverley train station is by Uber; otherwise, taking the bus can be a bit inconvenient as you'll have to walk a ways. I forgot to take photos of the room, but it was quite small and cramped, with a tiny bed and an equally small bathroom. After all, it's student accommodation, so it's acceptable for a temporary stay. There's also a common room nearby with a microwave and fridge. Aside from shower gel and towels, if you're staying for several days, there's no room cleaning service for stays under 5 days. You have to go to the front desk yourself to exchange towels and get trash bags. You can either throw your trash in the bins downstairs or give it to the school staff who do cleaning in the mornings. The bathroom has pipes that are similar to a heating device, which can be used to dry clothes, making it easy to wash and dry quick-drying items. Edinburgh nights are truly cold; there's absolutely no need for air conditioning or a fan in the room.

Located at the foot of Arthur's Seat, it's about a 40-minute walk to attractions like Edinburgh Castle. The facilities are standard for a dorm-style apartment, and the hygiene is quite good. The breakfast spread is also decent. The washing and drying machines are especially useful for long-term travelers.

This was a pretty good option, as other hotels had significantly hiked their prices at the time, making this the cheapest choice. The environment is just average, and getting around relies entirely on public transport.