The CoURT Boutique Hostel | CoDE Pod Hostels

The CoURT boutique hostel is a newly opened luxurious hostel in Edinburgh’s Royal Mile by CoDE Pod Hostels. On August 2nd 2019, the coURT Boutique hostel which is the second CoDE hostel in Edinburgh welcomed its first guests. The hostel is located in Parliament Street in a 19th century A-listed building which was previously a courthouse and jail.

CoDE Pods has converted the building into a world-class hostel that could easily be mistaken for a boutique hotel. In hopes of preserving the Georgian building, CoDE worked with architecture firm LBA who made minimal modifications to the exterior of the building to preserve the historic features though the holding cells and court facilities have been removed.

Disclaimer – A July Dreamer was a guest of CoDE Hostel The CoURT for the purpose of this review. All opinions shared are 100% our own and based on our personal experience.

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CoDE Pod Hostels Presents The CoURT!

At the beginning of the year, I shared the 2019 bucketlist and I am glad to have visited Edinburgh. The CoURT boutique hostel is located in the heart of Edinburgh and is the home of the Fringe festival. I was happy to be invited to explore a city high on my bucketlist and a place I have little memory of. Edinburgh is the hilly capital city of Scotland and a must visit destination.

When the invite dropped in my inbox, I was slightly wary as the header read ‘see you in coURT at the end of the month‘. It gave me a fright but when I read it I knew The CoURT Boutique Hostel, was somewhere I wanted to stay. I was even more intrigued to learn the hostel intends to honour the building’s history through art displays in the reception of past events.

Whilst I have stayed in pods before, I have not experienced it in the UK and was glad that CoDE brought this innovative concept to the UK hostel industry. The CoURT is the second Edinburgh location that CoDE hopes will meet the growing demand for affordable overnight stays in Edinburgh. From £28 per night, you can enjoy a restful and comfortable stay.

What to love about The CoURT Boutique Hostel!

The CouRT Boutique Hostel officially opened on 2nd August 2019, a few bloggers and travel experts where invited to the launch party. I was one of the first guests to spend the night in the hostel and witnessed the hard work the staff put in to ensure a successful launch. Whilst I arrived hours before the final touches were added, I could already see the beauty of the hostel.

Since the hostel is newly opened, it is expected that there would be teething problems as it welcomes its first guests. The teething problems I witness at minor; builders and staff worked around the clock to ensure everything was running smoothly. I noted that the bathroom had no bin and the sensor lights in the bathroom didn’t detect a person showering and went dark.

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Other than that, I loved that the rooms were ready to receive guests with comfortable beds and beddings. The hostel is equipped with 200 state-of-the-art pod beds and 12 private cell rooms set over 5 floors. Whilst the social areas like the reception and breakfast room were work in progress, the hostel was coming along nicely. Here are some of the things we liked about the hotel;

Affordability – throughout the month August {2019} the price will be 10% lower than usual. Since this is a newly opened hostel, this is a given especially with the Fringe Festival happening a few feet from the hostel.

Location – the hostel is located in Parliament Street off Royal Mile a short walk from St Giles Cathedral. Other areas of interest include the Castle, the Queen’s Gallery and many popular tourist destinations. 

Comfortable pods – having had the opportunity to spend a night in the pods, I can confirm they are very comfortable. On top of being comfortable, they come fitted with USB charging ports, privacy curtain and individual LED light and a shelf.

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Accessibility – the hostel is very accessible, they have fitted an elevator and its accessible from street level. But it is worthing noting that there is no parking onsite or around Royal Mile. Edinburgh is however very walkable even in the hilly old town and offers great public transport.

Beer, Wine & Whiskey Tasting – one of the highlights of evening was having the opportunity to beer taste and moving forward the hostel will be offering craft beer, wine and whiskey tasting in the centuries-old underground tasting room.

CoDE hostels are the first brand to bring pod trend to the UK market and it is designed for the budget-conscious traveller whose searching for privacy, affordability and comfort. Like most hostels, CoDE offers female-only, male-only and mixed dorms as well as private rooms. I love that CoDE does not skimp on quality to ensure their guests experience a good night sleeps.

Important Information To Note

• Check-in is from 3 pm and check-out is from 11am
• Pod bed dorms start from £28 per night.  
• Private rooms start at £120 per night.
• Free Wi-Fi is available all across the property
• Each guest is assigned a code that can be used for room and entrance to public areas
• Breakfast is offered every morning from 7.30 am until 10 am and prices start from £4
• Luggage storage and free earplugs available at reception
• Each guest is offered a keyless storage locker
• Food, drinks and alcohol no around in the rooms
• Towel available for renting
• No smoking or vaping is allowed in the building

As one of the first guests of The CoURT boutique hostel, I can definitely say I loved my experience. The pods were very comfortable, loved the privacy curtain and more especially that I can charge my gadgets right next to me. The shelf and the individual LED light was a very nice touch, it gave us some privacy. I was happy to have my own space, have my light on if I so wish and the offer of free earplugs was very ideal.

Now I have a question for you, isn’t this the best night in jail you’ll ever have?