Suggestions for budget lodging in Edinburgh

It has been a few years for me. My family stayed at Kenvie Guest House run by the Vidlers. It's near the University swimming pool off of Dalkeith Rd. It's an easy and cheap bus ride to the Royal Mile at Bridge St.. Edinburgh doesn't have a distinct "city center." It's strewn along the Royal Mile, branches off on Bridge St., New Town area, and the area near the National Museum. I would say something around St. Gile's Church is as close to a city center as there is.

Take a look at The Holiday Inn Express ., 300 Cowgate , one block off The Royal Mile ( St Mary's Street )

Are you looking for youth hostels, or low cost hotels, or B&Bs? By their nature most youth hostels tend to be in the noisier parts of town as their patrons tend to want to be near the center of activity. I stayed in B&Bs throughout Scotland as I find them quieter, and better value. What would your budget range be? There are a lot of B&Bs around Calton Hill that are only about 10 minutes walking to get to the central area near the castle. I seem to recall I paid about 35 a night for a single room, but that was a few years ago.

look at some of the budget hotel chains,EasyHotel,Ibis,Travelodge Holiday Inn Express.
Edinburgh is quite a small city and easy to get around ,verygood and cheap bus service.I stay on the outskirts of the city and can get into the city centre in about 20-25 minutes by bus and buses run every 10 minutes or so.
Travelodge have numerous places in and around the city, there is one at Cameron Toll that is less then 2 miles from the main city centre (Royal Mile) numerous buse run day and night and will get you to the Rotal mile in about 15 minutes.

Look at the premier inn hotel chain

Thanks, all, for the suggestions - I'll check them out.

WIth three of you and staying for that long have you looked into apartments?

PAm

I've briefly thought about that, especially since that's what my husband and I do when we stay in Prague, a city we know pretty well. I'm not familiar with Edinburgh, though. Have you had experience getting an apartment there?

Sometimes, a B&B will give a discount for guests who stay for more than 3 days. It's worth simply inquiring about weekly rates. There is an apartment building near Brittania. You can find it on sites like booking.com or Expedia. There area is called something like Leith. The only downside is it's a bit on the outer fringe. You can easily bus into "downtown" in about 20 minutes. So, once you are off for your day - it is not convenient to return during the day. However, we found that we really didn't return to our B&B during the day. We went back only after dinner in the evening. Leith area is not the most scenic area. It is safe and clean. There is a shopping mall where Brittania is with commercial type eateries.

Hi
I recently stayed at the SYHA -Central Edinburgh. It is a clean and modern hostel with no charm but it is about a ten minute walk to Princess Street and 15 to the Castle and I didn't find the surrounding area noisy at night. The hostel also has family rooms for 3 people at £54 on the random day I looked at. This may be useful as you get your own room plus access to a kitchen, etc.
I also agree with several posters that you may be able to find a budget hotel or B&B, probably in a more suburban area, for slightly more money but you should factor in the cost of public transit or a longer walk.
Hope this helps.

The Kenvie Guest house is closed. Also AIrdenair B&B is closing. We had a room reserved there but they cancelled it. We are going in May and ended up with a room through airbnb since all the B&B's seemed to be full.

Hi Carolina:

In 2014 I visited Edinburgh to attend the Tattoo. I stayed at the Pollock Halls on the Univ of Edinburgh campus. It's not in city center but is a ten minute bus ride from these dorms to the Royal Mile, or about a thirty minute walk. Looks like they are now charging about $53 per night for a single room for one person. This fee includes an all your can eat breakfast which has a decent selection of foods. You could probably load up with take away and skip lunch.

Geor(ge)

I stayed in Motel One. It has "motel" in its name but in reality it is a hotel. Very close to the train station and buses to the airport, walking distance little uphill to the Royal Mile. Price was very good and it was not noisy or otherwise bad. I think I can recommend it.

I'm going in two weeks and I'm staying at the Gil Dun guesthouse. It was a great price and all the reviews I've read are fantastic. I'm not sure what their availability is for that time but perhaps it's worth looking into.

For the first time on a European vacation we are using Airbnb as we need an apartment with washer/dryer for some stays of a 2 month trip. Check them out as they may provide an economically better choice as you can eat in have more space to be together and many are very centrally located to town.