Hostel Pastoral

Great hostel, I would highly recommend

If you’re staying just a night I think this hostel is fine but any more and I wouldn’t recommend it. The hostel is generally tired and not very clean. The stairs up to the actual hostel aren’t lit so it’s hard to see where you’re going, even in the day time. It feels unsafe because of this, and because of the area it’s in, which feels dodgy. When I arrived the guy checking us in was friendly and welcoming which was great. When I got to the room there was bug spray on the bunk above mine. I immediately felt like I didn’t want to stay, and checked my bed for signs of bedbugs. The mattress had reddish stains in the corner which I didn’t feel good about but I stayed anyway. I told the same guy at the desk about it and didn’t feel reassured about the bug situation. He seemed annoyed at the cleaner for leaving the can there and waited outside my room while I got the can and gave it to him. The rooms have normal keys so you have to rely on others to lock the door. There were times when I was leaving the room in the morning and whoever was last in didn’t lock it. This, again, made me feel unsafe. Having to put down your ID or £20 I think is too much for a room key. When I was checking out I was glad I didn’t give my ID as it looked like your deposit was just put in a zip-lock bag with your room number on it. The whole system for getting in and out of the building and the rooms seems outdated and felt unsafe. The lockers in the room were dirty so I didn’t feel great about leaving my stuff in them. The bathroom in the room was fine, if dirty, but didn’t have any hooks to put things on while showering and it felt yucky to put things on the floor. I used the shower in the corridor which was quite eerie and the shower head was so high up I could barely reach it. The shower curtain had white stains all over it and the whole place just felt grubby, as if it had not been properly cleaned. Doing laundry was inconvenient, having to ask a member of staff to move things in the cupboard out the way to access the machine. No dryer available to use so had to hang clothes outside with rusty and broken pegs on the washing line. Given that the terrace is closed at certain times it’s not a great system. It did the job but not very well. The kitchen was dirty with no system for labelling food so the fridge smelled and was dirty too. If you’re desperate and need a place for the night or if you don’t care about feeling safe and somewhat clean, go for this hostel. I wouldn’t recommend otherwise and wouldn’t book again.

Rooms clean, air-conditioning strong enough, reception nice, beautiful public balcony