Johnstone Apartment by The National Trust Scotland

Comfortable, perfectly situated, historically interesting. Positive: Lovely old and atmospheric building, but with all modern conveniences. A Chinese tour group stopped outside the front door just as we opened the door to go out for breakfast and all clapped as we emerged. We bowed in appreciation! Negative: The spiral stone staircase was a challenge for older people especially with suitcases.

edinburgh center Positive: the location was just perfect. the apartment was nicely decorated and very comfortable. Negative: it was warm in the apartment, radiators could not be fully shut off. open windows made it a much better temperature

Sfeervol en leuk verblijf op een toplocatie in Old Town! Positive: De locatie was echt top, naast de Royal Mile. Gelijk in het centrum van Old Town, super! Het was even zoeken naar de juiste deur maar eenmaal gevonden niet te missen. Het interieur was ook heel leuk, modern met oude elementen en erg sfeervol. De douche was heerlijk, veel apparaten en spullen aanwezig. Het gratis ijsje wat we kregen beneden was ook heel lekker! Erg attent. Negative: Het had iets beter schoongemaakt kunnen worden. Op zich was het netjes maar hier en daar nog wat stoffig. Het bed lag in principe prima maar je rolde wel wat naar het midden door een soort kuil. En op onze vertrek dag kwamen er opeens 2 mensen binnen zonder te kloppen, om snel even iets met de branddeken te doen. Dat vonden we erg raar. We hadden hier geen bericht van gehad en er werd niet aangeklopt, ze kwamen gewoon binnen terwijl het 10.00 uur was en we tot 11.00 konden uitchecken. De wifi van Johnstone zelf werkte niet goed, we konden gelukkig wel op andere wifi van de NTS.

Fantastic location Positive: The location is fantastic, you are right in the midst of it, close to the royal mile, the castle and the other main attractions. The decor is beautiful and cosy, but still quirky. The bed is very comfy, and the shower is fantastic. The stairs are definitely not for the faint hearted, but then you could say that about the entire of the city - so not a problem for us. The free scoop of ice cream in the cafe is also a nice touch. Negative: The noise from the bar next door is a problem if you are a light sleeper. They have a sign outside saying no drinking outside after 10pm, but it was way past that when they quietened down. The entryway was littered with cigarette butts, presumably from people drinking in the bar. I understand that this is a national trust apartment, so you are paying for the heritage of the building, and again, the location is fantastic, however, I did expect the level of cleanliness to be higher and I was disappointed. When you come through the first door the entryway is littered with old post. When we got into the apartment, there was a clump of someone’s hair in the bathroom which had been missed - admittedly, I am probably a bit weird when it comes to stuff like this. Secondly, when I went to cook in the kitchen, the trays in the oven were dirty and full of crumbs from the last person. I went to wipe the sides, with a cloth that was still damp and stank - again presumably from the last person. As I said, I am a bit weird when it comes to stuff like this and had brought my own cleaning stuff, but still disappointed.

Lovely apartment! Positive: Location was brilliant. Fantastic museum and cafe below ( Gladstone’s Land) Negative: Windows haven’t been cleaned outside, especially in the bedroom where the pigeons roost and poop. The sashes’ cover can be removed on the right hand side and the window then swings open to clean- it seems that the cleaners don’t realise this, as they are filthy on the outside.