Help us with Housekeeping & get to know Edinburgh!

Brazil

3

The experience was good, but the working hours were not as per the description. Some days I would work 3 hours, another worked 6 hours, you only finish work when had no more work and it is a more individual job, they ask not to socialize during the service or listen to music. Managers are super friendly and interacted a lot, always looking to bring delicious food to the team.

over 2 years ago

Belford replied

Hey Julia, we did outline that you have to work 15hrs per week, which you agreed on. The 6 hours you mentioned is an exaggeration. For this particular day you are mentioning, you only worked 4.8 hours not 6 hours 10am - 2.50pm. We have the whole week that you worked, that we feel you are outlining. The total we calculated you worked was 14.45hrs that week. It is written on all our sign sheets you signed. In regards to socialising, for the 2-3 hrs you have to clean the hostel. We try to make sure no one is socialising as it would be beneficial to you finishing earlier and respectful to those that do put in the effort to house-keep in the morning shift. Listening to music on your phone will interrupt guests that have prolonged their stay in the dorm you would be cleaning. We do allow 1 earbud in one ear if you want to listen to music. As 2 in the ear is a work health hazard. I would suggest next time voicing these issues to the managers to get a clearer perspective. Thank you.

Brazil

3

The hostel met the schedule. The hostel was cold and the heaters were not enough, the staff room was small and smelled bad, there was no window and the air did not circulate, the closet was small and there was no key to lock it. Some tasks were risky, such as cleaning fire extinguishers with flammable products and if they used them for a possible fire in the future, the fire would go to the person. They asked to go up a ladder that was leaning on another ladder, with risk of falling. Also, they asked me to clean a room that had a guest and the manager said not to talk or turn on the light.

over 2 years ago

Belford replied

Laryssa, much of what you say have been lies and with no positive outlook. You lied about having an family emergency after we gave you the idea, by asking if it's an emergency, we have recently come to this knowledge.

As this is an old church, we have dedicated heated areas. The dorm room can be hot and bothered with the heating turned on full when the room is filled with a lot of people. It can be turned down at any point and turned up. We did not receive any feedback from you about the dorm room, that you were cold or anyone else for that matter.

As for the cleaning spray that you may have used to wipe the extinguishers, it is only flammable when exposed to a burning flame at the same time you spray it.

There was no such task that you mentioned about a ladder leaning on another. We had a moment when we had to use an extension ladder to clean dust off a ledge, but this was done by the managers themselves.

In a hostel you will have guests that prolong their stay in a multi-bed dorm, in this situation you still have to clean other beds around that dorm that have been checked-out, as there are new guest who have booked these beds to check-in to on that same day. So discretion is necessary, turning on the light is recommended though.

So if you want to host Laryssa, please beware, as it seems, she will criticise everything without asking or having knowledge of how the situation should be handled.

Australia

4

I met lots of wonderful travelers while staying at the hostel and have made some real friends, the hours required to work allowed me to socialise and explore Edinburgh. The hostel itself is very cold, there's verry little insulation few heaters in common areas, but we still had fun all hanging out in the kitchen and lounge area. The manager was generous with providing food for the volunteers each week and was often friendly, but this could be jarring as he was quite rough with communicating issues. Managers are your managers, even if they act friendly most of the time. I enjoyed Edinburgh!

over 2 years ago

Belford replied

Thank you for the review Caleb. Upon reading this review and privately sent reviews, Caleb has surprised many of us at the hostel including his many friends here. Caleb and Karla (previous review) were really close, so it seems some bias might be at play. We were unaware of his sensibilities. I guess not everyone can get along. As for communicating to Caleb in a jarring way. We believe he and another staff member didn't see eye to eye and Caleb felt like singling them out. In the end it's not very nice to hear these comments. I hope for the best Caleb.

Paraguay

5

My experience in the hostel was super good, the work team super friendly, also the managers and volunteers who arrive, super nice people, the work is basic nothing from another world and with good organization always ends in the established time, the location of the hostel to the attractions of the city is very close walking or by bus but I definitely recommend walking to get a better visual experience of what what is to go from this point of the city to the old city where most of the attractions are located, I recommend this place 10/10

over 2 years ago

Brazil

5

Tas and Mat were really amazing people. The job hours were respected and everything was settled through previous conversation. The location is great, and the bikes arranged were more than helpful. Our time there was really good and I would recommend to anyone who wants to know Edinburgh and stay in a good place. Thanks Tas and Mat!

almost 3 years ago

United States

5

Quiet corner of the city in a great venue! Work and hours are very reasonable, management is easy to talk to. Def recommend.

almost 3 years ago

Germany

5

Staying at the hostel was definitely a lot of fun! The team is great and Tas and Mat are great managers making sure that everybody is enjoying themselfs at all time. The work at the reception is straight forward and very fun and the working hours äbsolutely fair. The sleeping arrangements could definitely be improved but apart from that the hostel is really nice to live in, with a huge kitchen and loads of free food most of the time;) All together I had a wonderful stay that I can only recommand!

almost 3 years ago

Brazil

5

I had a good experience at the hostel! Mat and Tas are very nice guys and I also met other cool volunteers. The work is okay when you are working with a sufficient number of volunteers and they respect what was previously agreed upon. About the city Edinburgh is an amazing one, there's a lot of things to do and get know. You won't regret to be there.

about 3 years ago

Brazil

5

Volunteering in the hostel is really good! The hosts fulfill exactly what was agreed in addition to being very flexible and nice people! I did cleaning which means making beds and cleaning bathrooms, kitchen and common areas in the hostel and also normally I did it with more volunteers so the work didn't get very exhausting. You have to cook your own meals but the kitchen is very good and well equipped, and you can get free food frequently too! The volunteer's room is shared (8 people in bunk beds). Thanks Tas, Mat and Bren for the opportunity of volunteering with you :D

about 3 years ago

Brazil

5

Tas and Mat were really amazing people. The job hours were respected and everything was settled through previous conversation. The location is great, and the bikes arranged were more than helpful. Our time there was really good and I would recommend to anyone who wants to know Edinburgh and stay in a good place. Thanks Tas and Mat!

about 3 years ago

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