As the first place I stayed after leaving home this will always hold a place in my heart and…read morerightly so. It's a great place to stay if you are based in Kings and is one of the nicer University Houses I've seen. It's best asset is the space on offer, it has large kitchens and common room whilst the rooms aren't too small either. I had reservations about coming here due to the number of people per kitchen, but it does actually work out really well. The only downside is the walk to town (30 min) so you would have to think about cycling or busing if you don't want to walk that far.

I lived in Kitchener House for my first year at Edinburgh University while studying biological…read moresciences at the Kings Building Campus. This accommodation is University owned and was a great in so many ways! The building has approximately 60 rooms including doubles which span the older house and a newer extension onto the side. The rooms are of a good size which include a bed, cupboard, desk, chair, bookshelf and in most cases a sink each. There are 4 kitchens, many toilets and showers and a large spacious common room. There is also a large garden with grass and a picnic table outside. There is also a central bike storage area with metal bars to attach bikes and a large and sturdy gate which can only be accessed with a key that is given to residents of the accommodation. In each person's allocated kitchen they have their own dedicated storage cupboards, fridge and freezer compartments. Everyone was very social in my first year which was made very easy as it is one of the smallest university accommodation buildings which made it feel like a home rather than a large student block full of unfamiliar faces. The common room was a great area to socialise in the first few weeks when events like coffee and film nights were put on by the resident assistants (The common room has a TV). The kitchens have large tables in the centre which are also great points to socialise when everyone is cooking and eating. Many a night was spend playing beer pong and having pres in the common room and kitchens! One of the downsides of this accommodation is the distance from the centre of Edinburgh. It takes 30 - 60 minutes to walk from Kitchener into the town where the shops, restaurants and pubs are. This is very manageable if you have a bike though (which a lot of us had) and the buses have regular departures into the town. If you are studying any non science/engineering subjects, for example business, politics, religion, art etc, I would not recommend Kitchener as it is one of the furthest university accommodations from the George square campus in town. There is a shuttle bus service that runs from kings buildings to George square, free of charge to Edinburgh University students, but it can be unreliable and overcrowded with no guarantee of getting on the bus and getting to lectures on time. I knew people that stayed at kitchener house to go to the George square campus but most were unaware that their classes, or at least the majority were in central Edinburgh. I have made many friends in Kitchener and have formed some of the strongest friendships I have ever had with people from here in this very accommodation, even more so than high school friends that I have known for years. I have made friends here that I will know for my entire life. I cannot explain just how great kitchener was for me socially and academically. I hope this will help any students who are contemplating moving into kitchener house and studying at Edinburgh University. If you are lucky enough to get into kitchener, have a great time and take advantage of every opportunity, meet new people, join clubs, study hard and party hard. The lease only lasts for less than a year and time will fly by. I know as it did for me. I have so many cherished memories from kitchener house. Good luck! Callum

Ah, Pollock. The memories. Most people who've stayed here did so as freshers although the uni does…read morerent out the nicer blocks to tourists or people attending conferences at the on-site conference centre, St. Leonard's Hall. The tourists only ever get put in Chancellor's Court or John Burnett House, as the others are pretty skanky breezeblock cells housed in ugly 1960s wannabe tower blocks, and also because these two are the most expensive. When the rahs go home for summer and aren't cluttering up the quad with their stupid huge hairdos and jack wills tracksuit bottoms, this place is pretty good. There are a few grassy areas for lounging on during the rare suny days, there's an on-site pub and there's also a little corner shop which is fairly well-stocked. Just don't eat in the JMCC canteen. They like to dress it up and call it a restaurant, but it will always be a canteen. And not a very good one at that.

POLLOCK! I think…read morePollock Halls hold a special place in the hearts of all Edinburgh University students. It certainly does for me. The entire area is huge, fantastically huge and it is easy to get lost. There are several different houses - Chancellors, Baird, Lee, Turner, Grant, Holland (Blocks A, B, C, D and Annexe), Masson and Fraser court. I'm sure there's more I've forgotten about...! Here's the scoop - when I was here in 2007 there was a distinct seperation between each house. Chancellors Court was generally reserved for the yah's at Edinburgh Uni - I'm sure you know what I'm talking about, but the rooms are lovely, modern and clean. All en-suite, naturally. Chancellors Court and Holland are the only two houses with en-suite facilities. I stayed in Holland B block (following my brothers recommendation) and loved it. Yeah, the rooms weren't huge and the toilets were tiny, and the walls were really thin, and it got cold (wow, I'm really selling it) but it was fantastic. Because Holland was one of the older houses it had a real sense of tradition about it. I've made some brilliant memories in Holland Block! The JMC food-court left a lot to be desired, I'm afraid to say. Their breakfasts were good, always a great selection of fruit, cereals and cooked breakfast,but their dinners went steadily downhill as the term progressed. Don't get me wrong, it was all edible (but i once got a bad bug from the beef goulash) and if there was nothing you fancied there was always salad and cold meats, but it wasn't amazing. Overall, however, I thoroughly recommend Pollock Halls. I recently went for a drive and saw that the whole place has been updated with a whole new house being built, so I'm sure it has just got better!

I spend a year living here, I felt it was only fair to review for the benefit of those looking to…read moreapply for first year accommodation. Hermit's croft wasn't my first choice. It wasn't even my second. I was gutted when I found out I was going to be living in my third choice accommodation for the whole of my first year of uni. But fear not! It's really not that bad. It's actually in a great spot - you can join in the Pollock crowds on the walk to uni (if you like yahs) and it's only 10 minutes to George Square. It's also really close to all the local amenities you could want. My only problem, and it was a big one, is the lack of washing facilities. There are 18 flats in Hermits Croft, each with an average of 5 people in. That's about 90 people. There are 2 washing machines and 2 dryers (honestly). But who does washing in first year anyway?

I stayed here for four nights during my trip to Scotland. I picked it because everything else in…read morethe area was so expensive, so I figured I had nothing to lose. I was pleasantly surprised. To start off, their customer service before my visit was very solid. I emailed them several times before my visit with some detaily stuff and they always got back to me within a few hours. My train got me into town about noon and the check in is 3pm. The young lady at the front desk greeted me warmly, let me check my bag and gave me a map and directions. I asked the front desk people for help at least once a day (directions, recommendations, help with the on-sight laundry, renting a towel, etc,) and they were all terrific. The room is not super big but it is certainly big enough. The bed is more than big enough for one person. There is a desk and a lot of storage space. The bathroom is big enough for a guy like me (shower, shave, brush teeth, etc.) and the shower works better than some of the more expensive hotels I stayed in. The location is handy (about a 15-20 minute walks to the Royal Mile and to the train station.) They partner with a tour company. The tours looked solid but did not fit my schedule. The only reason I gave four stars instead of five, is that you can only open the window a crack. You can borrow a fan for a £20 deposit but I did not. I would call the place "cute and functional" and the service was outstanding. I would definitely stay again!

Dishonest and lazy faculty. Dean of Business Paul Barron and Head of Admissions Katy Caudrey are…read moredishonest faculty and Katy apologized for her tardiness and stated she was sorry for her late reply 5 months later with no update. The Business department with The Dean Paul Barron and Khaleel Fawad is a dishonest bunch. Dr Barron stated Fawad suggested I was qualified for the MBA program and Fawad stated he never had made such a suggestion. Dr Barron also claimed he contacted Head of Marketing and Admissions but fails to provide the names of the respective parties. Absolute loss of credibility. Don't belive a word Napier tells you. They are all deceitful and lazy. Don't spend your money on such a mediocre school at best. Stirling is far superior!

Because Im gentleman Im not going to say what I think...only ad…read more...during the weekend car park for free.

Paterson's Land is a very recent discovery for me and I'm still not totally sure what it is. This…read moreis what I know so far: it's the same building as the Bongo Club. It's owned by the University of Edinburgh. It's kinda cool looking, with a big inner courtyard. And it seems to be overrun by tourists during the festival. Paterson's Land is also home to the office for the Edinburgh student newspaper, The Journal, and the magazine that covers the Edinburgh Festival, Fest Mag.

WOWZERS I have…read morepassed this place a hundred times, shame on me, shame on me. This is another really cool unique venue in Edinburgh, home of numerous indy arts groups etc. We were there to see the National Theatre of Scotland's performance 'Menage a Trois', which was a pretty special experience. The theatre was small, and they encouraged the audience to sit as far up as possible as there was a sort of TV screen between them and the stage. The show itself was spellbinding, I can't describe it myself, but NTS said it is 'A hauntingly beautiful study of love, obsession, loneliness and manipulation. A visually stunning piece of dance theatre from award-winning performer Claire Cunningham.' Anyway, if you like your arts in all shapes and sizes then keep an eye on this venue

Picturesque building in a great location overlooking princes street, the courtyard although small…read moreand quite busy with tourists, holds a statue of John Knox. You need ID to access the library but if you wait around for someone to come in or out you might be lucky and once inside you will be greeted by beautiful stained glass windows. It's unclear though where visitors are allowed to roam so some info on this would be helpful.

As well as being a stunning building to admire from the outside, New College is an excellent venue…read morefor hosting events as well. It stands on top of The Mound and so has an imposing look, visible from Princes Street and beyond. Like Edinburgh itself, which has old and new towns, the university has Old College and New College. Also like the city, both old and new are quite old indeed. The building dates from 1846 and houses the School of Divinity at the University. However, there are also rooms that can be rented out for events, and that's what brought me here. Our ball happened in Rainy Hall, a stunning hall, with crests and coats of arms all around. Walking in through the main gate of the college brings one to the very Hogwarts-like quadrangle, which makes for some great photo ops. Once inside the building, all of the interior architecture also captures one's attention. However, I am far from an expert on this, so that's quite enough comments about architecture! Rainy Hall is an intimate venue for events. It comfortably accommodated our ~60 attendees, but much more than this and ceilidh dancing would become somewhat difficult. Catering and bar service are provided by the University's own Edinburgh First, with friendly, efficient staff, and a good selection of drinks at the bar. The food quality is very good, though portion sizes leave a lot to be desired. My recommendation to visit New College is twofold. As a tourist, the astoundingly beautiful building makes for excellent photographs. On top of this, for reasonably small events of up to 70 people, the Rainy Hall is an excellent venue to consider.

Old college is part of the University of Edinburgh so I tend to come here often due to lectured and…read moreadministrative stuff. However, this I place I think is one of Edinburgh iconic buildings and a "must see" by visitors. The square has various decorations during the time of year or the festivities. For example during Christmas they had A huge Christmas tree while on Chinese New Years they had replicas of statues of the terracotta soldiers. If anything, this is a great spot to take that selfie or pic to capture the beauty of the buildings that can be found in Edinburgh. It's also free entrance so why not take advantage of the beautiful backdrop?! What's also nice is after taking 5-10 min to come here (not much to see really), you can head to the national museum. If you're a student at the University of Edinburgh this place is where you can find big lecture halls and the important registrar office.

Some years ago, when I was considering becoming a student at the University of Edinburgh, I…read moreremember being dazzled in the prospectus by glossy photographs of magnificent quadrangles, ancient libraries, and walkways adjoined by rows of impressive granite columns. "It really is the Athens of the north," I thought, and promptly completed my application. Little did I know that I would spend most of my university career on the 12th floor of a concrete tower block on the corner of George Square, holed up in the 1960s architectural travesty that is the main library, or frantically typing essays in an underground computer lab commonly known as 'the bunker.' However, those enticing images in the university brochure were not complete fabrication - such elegant structures do exist in the university's extensive property holdings, and Old College is one of the most impressive. Dating from the 18th century, it is built on a grander scale than its spin-off, New College, with a conspicuous dome, arched facades and balustrades built around a wide open courtyard, all very imposing in Edinburgh's trademark grey stone. Today, only a privileged few law students actually get to come and have classes here. But I often make excuses to walk through Old College, just to briefly admire the sweeping scale of the place and delude myself that being a student at Edinburgh really does involve inhabiting such majestic environs on a daily basis.

I did training for a job working on behalf of the University of Edinburgh here and the facilities…read morehere are really great. As you would expect for an informatics forum it is kitted out with good levels of equipment the students that frequent it. The Informatics forum's main purpose is to be the hub for informatics students (of course), but also the humanities and social sciences department and the student support service department. The design of the building is really great and is a true example of how modern architecture can really complement and cohabit amongst older buildings.

The Informatics Forum, just like the Dugald Stewart Building is a very recent appearance on…read moreEdinburgh University's George Square campus. Because it's essentially the same building. But somehow, probably because it houses people who might actually have careers (instead of the plain ol' geeks at the Dugald Stewart side of the establishment), it's actually way snazzier than DSB. I only know this because I went into the Informatics Forum for one of those hour-long above-minimum-wage experiments that you do when you're unemployed and desperate. They had paintings! Or, one painting. But that's one more than I've ever seen in the Dugald Stewart Building.