2-Star Hotels in Edinburgh

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.

I would describe the twin lions hotel more of a b & b. It was very basic. It was only a 10min walk to murrayfield and they don't double / triple there price on match days.

We had a great stay at Sakura Guest House. The location was perfect—close to everything we wanted to see and easy to get around. The room was very clean and comfortable, and everything was well-maintained. We didn’t have any issues during our stay. I would definitely recommend this guest house to anyone visiting Edinburgh, and I’d happily stay here again.

I loved the location as I had access to the park for the children and to the shop. I loved that the room had enough beds for all of us (5 people). I would have appreciated if we could get plates, as we came with food. It was great the room had a microwave. There was plumbing issues that delayed our shower time. But stay was good.