We had the unfortunate experience of staying here over Xmas and I can honestly say it is one of the worst places I've have stayed in my life - it ruined what was supposed to be a wonderful family xmas break in Edinburgh.
I'm not sure where to start as there was so many horrors so I will simply list them;
* Thick black mould on the kitchen wall, causing a major health hazard (if you look closely their own photos you can see where they have tried to hide the black mould at the bottom of the wall by strategically placing the table).
* Built up dirt and stains all around the kitchen unit bases, dried spillages in the kitchen cupboards, built up dirt and grime in the dishwasher, drip marks all over the kitchen drawer frontages - it literally looked like it had never been wiped down with a dishcloth!
* Poorly equipped kitchen - very limited cutlery (only 3 teaspoons) but they did leave us a few bits of white plastic cutlery to top it up (yes seriously!), washing up liquid but no dishcloth or sponge.
* Broken grouting around the toilet base tiles, exceptionally unhygienic and the thought of other peoples built up urine turned my stomach!
* Built up grime, dirt and hair in the corners of both the bathroom and en-suite - I cleaned one corner with a baby wipe up and the grime I got up was so disgusting, I took before and after photos.
* Built up grime on the doorway carpet bars.
* Someone else's dirty socks under the sofa!
* A lump of dried up food under the other sofa (which had been there so long it was virtually welded to the floor). Totally disgusting.
* Ominous white stains on the navy sofa, meant we used only the grey sofa (which was very uncomfortable and needed the pillows from the bedrooms)
* Layers of dust on the skirting boards and the radiators
* Continuous smell of cigarette smoke coming into the apartment where people stood in the communal doorway smoking. This also meant we never got to use the front door and had to come and go via the lounge patio doors as there were always groups stood smoking in our way.
* Very little natural light in the apartment. The photos of the lounge are deceiving as due to having the smokers stood in the communal doorway which is next door to the lounge patio doors, they literally stand smoking and looking in at you the whole time so we had to keep the curtains shut. The window the other side wasn't much better as again you had smokers sat in a very grotty, courtyard smoking - I took a photo of the view as I felt like we were in Beirut it was was that bad! Both sides had cigarette buts litered all over the floor - clearly no one clears them up or empties the cigarette disposal bins as these were over-flowing throughout our stay.
* Large stains on the carpet in the master bedroom.
* Someones dirty socks under one of the beds in the second bedroom.
* The furniture inside the apartment is old, tatty, of very poor quality and in desperate need of updating (take a look at the old big-backed tv in the master bedroom pic, it gives a good indication of how old and tatty everything is).
Aside from the terrible standards inside the flat, it is situated in a grotty poorly maintained block of flats at the back of a restaurant. When you arrive it gives you a good idea of what to expect as the whole area is dirty, with green stains down the walls, windows covered with old newspapers or filthy curtains and cigarette buts strewn all over the floor, with groups of people always stood outside and in the communal doorway smoking. The fact we never got to use our front door was a joke!
On a positive note, the location is convenient and I would recommend Old Town as a great base to stay and explore from. The castle and a good choice of restaurants and shops are all within a short walking distance and the area is stunning with many beautiful old buildings to admire.
I took photos to evidence all of the above and sent them to the owner to raise my concerns and let him know his cleaners were not doing their job. I was absolutely shocked to receive an abusive email back basically calling me a liar because they have a score of 8.9 on their reviews for cleanliness! I did respond advising that he had clearly chosen to ignore the photos I had sent him as they speak for themselves (I've shown them to friends & family who were shocked) and in regards to previous reviews, either those people had exceptionally low expectations or the cleaners have slacked off for the last six months and cleanliness standards have dropped dramatically. I advised him that as a business owner he should ensure these issues are dealt with (and better cleaners employed) to ensure future holidaymakers do not have the horrific experience we did, but he chose to ignore my further communication so I've had no option than to warn people myself.
My young son has asthma and the black mould and high levels of dirt and dust really aggravated his condition when we were in the flat so we stayed out as much as possible and ended up cutting our break short (leaving immediately after Xmas) as we couldn't bear to stay in this disgusting, dark, dingy and unhygienic place any longer. We wasted a lot of money on a flat which ruined our xmas, so whilst I would recommend Edinburgh as an amazing place to visit, I would strongly advise you book with an alternate accommodation provider - there are many to choose from, offering better standards of accommodation for a lot less money.
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