Belford Hostel

It’s a shame that our stay here had to be ruined by the unfriendly, unprofessional and frankly plain rude staff. The location and facilities of Belford hostel are great, however the way I have been treated as a paying customer is appalling. I would love to know if the owner is aware that their business is being run into the ground by a bunch of clowns. They get drunk every single night in the common room and scream like toddlers keeping the customers awake at all hours of the night. When entering the common area you are greeted with eye rolls by the majority of the staff. There is never a staff member at reception, the ‘back in 5 minutes sign’ is their constant excuse, and if you can summon the courage to ring the bell, you’re eventually approached by a staff member who looks as though they would rather you just leave (excluding Seamus and Tara). I have never felt like such a burden when simply trying to pay to extend my stay. The way the manager, Tas acts is as if he wants to run the place broke. After years of experience working in the customer service industry, including in hotels, I am embarrassed for this company and feel horrible for the owner. P.s the hallway smells like sewerage.

A great historical property which is not too far from the main roads. A converted church, so voices tend to carry. Great for solo travellers because you can get a room for one person. Bathrooms have all amenities, but could use a larger floor mat outside of shower, floors were a little slippery. Inside main quarters, beautiful stained glass and ceiling features. Front desk was very helpful.

After a week at work it was time for a break to edinburgh. Left my luggage with the manager Tes and went out to roam. Clean linen for me to crash on after morning travel. After a night out staff were helpful when I needed to charge my phone. Had a great night's sleep and woke up to coffee and orange juice in the delightful rec room. Even played steel string guitar! Cheers Blair

The staff was unprofessional and some where rude. The place was dirty and smelled. They charged for breakfast which consisted of cereal and toast

Booked into the Belford Hostel, through a third party booking site for the festival and arrived about 9.30 in the evening. During check in we were asked for ID and provided a local authority photo ID, the receptionist had to ask the “manager” if this was OK. Sad to say it was not, apparently it wasn’t part of “the policy” to accept them. Had to be government approved ID. They certainly need to get their act together and make this a lot more obvious, baring in mind how important it is to them, also, be a lot more specific about what exactly is government approved, especially if booking though an agency. All he could do was go on about “it’s not the policy”, a bit like a cracked record. He was arrogant, rude, condescending, completely intransigent, totally unable to provide any help or guidance, in a nutshell useless. Without proper ID i.e one that fitted his “policy” we would be refused entry. He did seem to be quite proud of this fact as he had done it before. Nice thought if you were a single traveller, kicked out onto the streets at night in a strange city. Did notice he was happy to pocket the money we had paid for the room though… Fortunately, some considerable time ago I had uploaded copies of our passports to an iPad and after much digging around was able to provide this, which seemed to satisfy him. The receptionist was able to complete our check in whilst he scuttled back down to his little office, no doubt fantasising over his dream job as a North Korean customs officer. It’s a pity that this one individual spoiled our stay, because the hostel it’s self is fine, an old converted church, very nice kitchen and communal area, comfy bed and a reasonable price. OK hot water in our particular bathroom would have been nice and we did sympathise with the staff who were pleasant enough but looked a bit glum, not surprising baring in mind this obnoxious jobsworth of a “manager”

WARNING!! Our booking was cancelled by the hostel. Later on, when the holiday should take place, we had to pay. The full amount was charged. Many friendly attempts where done from our side to understand what happened; without results :( TL:DR; we had to pay the full booking although they cancelled our reservation. This is the first time I encounter something like this; it's a real scam! Writing this review so nobody has to encounter this horrible experience ever again.

I booked this hostel at the last as my athletics training in Edinburgh overran and only mixed firms were available. I assumed that at a relatively quiet time, midweek, with plenty of available mixed dorms available, they would book female guests into one room and men into another. I assumed wrongly. The room I was put into contained 4 beds and was so small that I could touch the other bunk bed if I stretched out an arm. Not a problem if sharing with other women but at 10.00 on returning to the room, a man whom I can only describe as a tramp had taken up residence in the other bed. He smelled. Badly. And was very dishevelled. Now, I realise that homeless people might sometimes need a night out of the cold, but why put a woman on her own in the same tiny room as him? This is ridiculous. (Why have mixed dorms anyway? But no doubt the statistics will begin to show that far less women use hostels than males, so the owners will feel more justified in this stupid policy, when in reality women like me will avoid them in future). The very nice female Australian staff member moved me to another room when I told her I felt unsafe. Unfortunately, another man came into that room at midnight, but at least he was quiet. (Why not put him in with the other man though if they thought it suitable for me?) An awful experience. I've stayed in hostels all over the world and by hostel, I've always understood it to mean just sharing with travellers in dorms. I think prospective guests should be made aware that this hostel operates partly as a hostel for the homeless and that women might be put in the same small room alone with dishevelled men. I don't expect them to background check potential guests or something but I got the impression that no one really cared and there was no effective management in place. Thank you though to the female member of staff who did move me. The last hostel I stayed in was the NH hostel in Copenhagen, which was clean, beautifully constructed and full of stylish international travellers. Belford Hostel operates for an entirely different clientele. Considering Scotland has the most severe renting rules in the world regarding safety inspections, I can only assume that the budget goes on getting all of these certificates, rather than actually making for a pleasant stay. The wall partitions between the rooms seem to be constructed of thin plasterboard and it was noisy all night with people shouting and banging doors. In the morning, I braved the showers and toilets, which are down a long flight of stairs. I really needed that shower, because I had to sleep in my clothes as I had no single sex privacy to get changed in my room. 4 female showers is not many for such a large hostel. On exiting, I saw the homeless man chatting with the male receptionist and pointing at me. They seemed to know each other well. I was glad to leave. I would never stay here again if they paid me. It was a very unsafe experience and I didnt get the impression th