Dockside, Edinburgh, EH6

Almost a year in! Loving life

The facilities are so good, I can’t get enough of the gym. I have lived in other build to rent sites and the gym at Dockside is far superior. Surprised to see others saying it’s small. The common spaces have been designed well with nice little touches. I use the work from home spaces daily, some days it’s really busy and others it’s quiet. I think this is probably when people go to the office. Maintenance gets dealt with quickly which again is a huge plus as most flats I’ve been in before it can be a pain to get someone out. Never had anything but glowing service from the team in general.

Nice enough

The overall layout of the common spaces is pretty nice, it’s been carefully designed even if the fittings and furniture are a bit low quality. Co working spaces, gym and terrace never feel too busy (although the site is still half empty) Lots of big screens around the place playing an endless loop of a Dockside promotional video which starts to feel increasingly pointless and intrusive and not very eco friendly. Love having a parcel room. Pet friendly. In winter our flat was freezing cold , we have one tiny electric heater for a large open plan space and the heating was extortionate with no option to arrange your own power bills. The windows get very dirty because of being close to the docks and are difficult to clean yourself. Landlord is meant to clean every 6 months but haven’t been done unfortunately. The tap water has a very bad taste unless you run it cold for a few minutes - I think this is due to the water heating tank. On the plus side the flat is bright and the views are amazing. The reception staff and maintenance team are very nice and helpful, but the higher management can be a bit off if they have to deal with you. Sometimes it feels like you are inconveniently living in their workspace, which is a strange set up given that it’s meant to feel like your home. I guess there is no perfect place to live, but I’m not sure if we would live here if we had more options.

Really easy place to live

I've been happy living here so far. The building is nice and modern and I use the gym quite a lot. The staff are probably my favourite thing, everyone is friendly and you can just go down to reception if you need something. Belle is always lovely and seems to be smiling whenever I’m at reception. The events are good too, I've been to a few and it's been nice getting to know some of the other people who live here.

Expensive for what you get

Overall, I'd say the development is fine, and a good choice to live in if you're moving to Edinburgh and need somewhere to live without dealing with the horrendous private rental market. But this is probably one of the highest rental costs in Edinburgh and I often feel like I'm paying high rent to subsidize the building being only half-occupied because the rent is so high... Pros: - The staff are very nice and know their stuff. - Maintenance issues are dealt with quickly - most of mine have been resolved the same day. - Appliances are very good quality. - All apartments are pet-friendly - but unfortunately this means there are some poorly-trained dogs around (I've been scratched by a dog jumping on me). - Good facilities - coworking spaces, roof terrace, gym, parcel room. They're pretty quiet right now because the building is at low occupancy. - There are occasional resident events. Cons: - Lots of questionable design decisions in the flat. The kitchen has a weird layout (cabinets too high, countertops too low, very little storage), bathroom ventilation is poor, electric heating (!). The main doors to each flat are not soundproofed so you can hear everything in the hallway (and they can hear you). They're also draughty so if you open your windows and someone across the corridor opens theirs, your flat door starts to slam. Windows aren't very soundproofed so you'll hear work on the port. No intercom. - Building quality and finish is below what I would expect for a new build. Lots of marks/scratches on move-in, and some things look very shoddily done. - The bike parking is poor. There's only a small set of racks per building, the lower racks are mostly full (including some bikes that seem to just be stored there permanently and never used) and the upper racks don't have a locking point for your frame, only for your wheels. If you have a good bike, expect to keep it in your flat. Some people keep their e-bikes / e-scooters in the bike parking which is not great. - The arrangement of the buildings causes wind tunnels, so using the side doors is unpleasant and the doors frequently break from the wind. - Gym could be better. There's a bunch of cardio machines, most of which I never see used, but only one squat rack.

Dockside Living

Dockside is a bright and positive development throughout, beautifully designed to create spaces where you want to spend time. Management are friendly and helpful throughout. Great gym, comfortable common spaces and stunning rooftop terraces to enjoy.