Edinburgh is a charming town, and St. Christopher's Inn is a charming hostel. Social, colorful, and friendly, it is definitely worth at least a night's stay.
The Location
The streets in Edinburgh tend to be steep and windy, so it is not fun to haul your luggage around while you're looking for the hostel. A quick trick to find St. Christopher's if the online directions aren't cutting it -- it is located right across the bridge from the clock tower (two easily identifiable landmarks once you're actually in the city). It is located close to several shops, bars, and restaurants and the bus from the airport drops you off about five minutes away.
Rooms and Bathrooms
What makes this hostel stand out from the others is that the rooms are actually well lit and colorful. The building is several stories tall with an elevator for convenience, so we had a remarkable view of the city (especially spectacular at night). The rooms come with various amounts of bunk beds that have personal storage boxes attached (bring your own lock) and enough room so it doesn't feel cramped. The beds and pillows are comfy. Several rooms include extra amenities such as a mirror, desk, or coat hooks. The bathrooms look rather new, yet basic and the shower has a removable head, which is convenient. Several guests, including our party, had problems with the key cards for the rooms -- they only worked sporadically.
Common Spaces
The restaurant and two bars downstairs make this a rather social hotel, though if you're feeling like some alone time, the hostel provide a limited room service-type menu you can order from. There is a different activity or theme every night at the downstairs bar (trivia games, open mic) and the drinks are reasonably priced. There is another lounge/TV room upstairs that is only accessible to guests. It has several booth-type couches, a large TV, and two computers with internet access (for a fee). However, this room lacks the brightness of the rest of the hostel. It is always dark and we were told by befriended hostel staff that it is the site of more than a few late-night hookups. One flaw is that there is no public kitchen, although when we needed to use a can opener, the kitchen staff were more than happy to help.
Summary
One additional feature that guests find helpful is the abundance of maps and tourism information throughout the hostel. Even better are the friendly staff who showed us all the fun nightlife. This hostel has about all you need, plus some.
— Recensione esclusiva Hostelz.com
February 2009
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