Caledonian Backpackers

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IMPORTANT!
1) Only people aged 18 and over can stay at Caledonian Backpackers. No children permitted.
2) For the security of all guests, everyone is required to produce government issued photo ID to check in.
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Thankyou for choosing us as your Edinburgh Hostel. We understand that a hostel can make a big difference in your enjoyment of a city, and we love Edinburgh so much we have made sure our hostel will give you the pleasure you deserve.

We are located in the city center, so however you arrive, you will be able to walk to us, unless you arrive by plane, for which there is an airport bus which will bring you to our door.

You can arrive anytime you want, we have a room you can leave your luggage in if it's too early to go to your bed. We'll probably even let you go in for breakfast if you arrive before noon. Yes, that's correct, our breakfast goes until 12 noon, which is also our checkout time. It turns out that if the boss is a traveler who hates getting kicked out of bed early everyone benefits.

Naturally, our reception is open 24 hours a day, but we also have a bar and cafe open 6am until 1am, 3am or 5am, depending on our fullness. And in this bar/cafe we have couches, pool tables, and a wii, as well as board games for you to play. We also will lend you a laptop, if you leave ID, for no cost at all.

In fact, our aim is to make sure you can always be connected. Apart from the laptops, we have computers around the place for you to use, and throughout the building, we have wifi available, even in your bed. And all this is at no extra cost to you. Yes, the boss is a bit of a geek too, who makes sure the wifi is always fast.

We also have a couple of skype phones available, which we will lend you to call home (landlines mostly) for free.
Security wise, we have the aforementioned 24 hour receptionist manning the door, as well as a keycard system to ensure no-one gets access to your room. Inside the room we have lockers, for which you will need your own padlock.(We sell them at reception as well) By using your own padlock, you know no-one else has access to your locker. Of course, we also will look after your passport in our reception safe, or lock up your laptop (we have lockers with power points available). And on checkout, you can leave your bag in the storage room until your flight/bus/train is ready for you, and you can hang around the hostel too if you want.
Maybe, you will visit our beanbag cinema, where you can choose from a selection of 150 movies on the big screen, or you can cook up something in the kitchen, which is always open as well, and has an oven, microwave, hotplates and fridges, and some lovely tables to sit around. Overlooking the castle, you might enjoy sitting in our relaxing 'Cucumber Room' while reading a book from the free book swap library.
There is a supermarket a minutes walk away, so you could cook yourself a cheap meal for dinner, but we have breakfast covered for you. Its a simple breakfast, hostel style, with filtered coffee, tea, orange drink, toast with vegemite, chocolate spread or jam, corn flakes, muesli or weetabix. For a truly good start to your day, you could purchase a fresh orange juice, which we will squeeze for you for only £1.20. If you want a cooked breakfast, you could go to Wannaburger next door and get a pancake breakfast or a full bacon and egg fry-up for £4.95.
If you don't want to cook, there are heaps of restaurants and take away joints around. Just ask for ideas from reception or the bar.
Our rooms are centrally heated and come in a variety of sizes. We will have your bed made and ready for you, so you don't have to mess with that stuff. We have made available a number of female only dormitories and our other dorms are mixed sex. The prices vary by day and room size so you will have to check. Weekdays are usually discounted, so you can get some good bargains if you stay midweek.
Although, we have focused on what you can do in the hostel, there are many great things on offer in Edinburgh. In the evening you should do a ghost tour, which costs about £8, but gives you a great insight into the mirky history of this historic town. By day you can do a free tour, and see the best of the sights in Edinburgh. Ask at reception for more details on how to join these tours, or even find out about the excellent day tours into the highlands.
Now, for some more of those rule things..
As mentioned before, you must be over 18 years of age to stay. This is because we have a liquor license for the entire building, so the law states we cannot allow under 18's in, and we do not make exceptions.
Stag groups and hen parties are NOT welcome. Sorry guys, but in the past we have found stag groups are not pleasant for the other guests, so we have stopped allowing them.
Smoking is not permitted anywhere inside the building. You must go outside to smoke. Even if its cold and raining.
We require government issued Photographic ID for anyone entering the hostel. If you want to share a dorm, we want to know who you are. If you can't provide it, you can't stay.
You should bring your own padlock, or you can buy one for £2.50 from reception.
We have towels available for a 50p cleaning charge. Linen is supplied free.
Hopefully, you have seen that we are trying to provide exactly the environment we would like when we travel. It is what hostels were designed for, where they are different from hotels. Please, whoever you choose to stay with, do enjoy your stay in Edinburgh.

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• Photos from Panoramio.com
• Warning: Map markers are approximate only and should not be relied upon to guide you to the destination. Written directions must always take precedence over these markers.

Directions

Caledonian Backpackers Hostel is located at the West End of Princes St. If in doubt, ask any local for directions to the Caledonian Hotel. It's kind of got the same name, and is kind of on the same intersection as us, but is much better-known.

From Edinburgh airport:
There is a bus which goes from the terminal directly to our building, which is very kind of the city to organise. It is the double-decker blue Airport 100 bus, and costs £3.50, and runs from 4:30am until midnight. (After that, catch the N22 bus.) It stops on Shandwick Place, which the driver should announce as Shandwick Place/West End. Don't stress - if you go too far, the last stop is the train station, so follow directions from there. Get off the bus, turning right, and follow the street around the corner to your left, where you should see our sign.

From the bus station:
Go right and up the escalator. Then you turn left on St Andrews St, go to the end and turn right, which is Princes St.

From Waverly train station:
Follow the sign to Princes St and turn left onto it. When on Princes St, head past the castle (on your left), and walk until the gardens on the left finish and a church is there. You should see the church, a road heading north, and then the Caledonian Hilton Hotel. You don't want to stay there because they aren't as much fun as us. Assuming you are on the opposite side of Princes St to the church, keep walking a little bit more, until you are forced to turn or cross the road. If you look across, you should see the Santander Bank with its fiery red logo. At the bank, turn right, and our doorway is the third up. Our Internet room is actually directly above the bank.

By car:
The news is bad, unfortunately - cars cannot get near our entrance as too many buses run past. And parking isn't available anywhere near us for any reasonable prices. The best option is to park at one of the city's Park'n'Ride stations and catch the bus back into the centre of town, where we are. The other option is to use the long-term parking at the airport, which is more secure and costs about £8 a day. But you really won't need the car while you are in Edinburgh anyway!