I stayed for 3 nights. My main reasons for choosing this hostel were
1. it has a kitchen: as I’m going a lot of travelling I cannot afford to eat out for every meal so made breakfast, prepared lunches and dinner. The kitchen was clean,modern, fully equipped. There was free coffee (beans and coffee maker) , tea, sugar.
2. location: needed to be convenient to the bus station (15min walk) and the historic centre (5-10mins walk). The hostel was easy to locate. The neighborhood felt safe to walk around and shops are near by (including Tescos). Right next to tram station, though I never needed to use it. There are also some very interesting second hand / vintage clothes shops in the street.
Check-in was easy (24 hour reception). I was offered the opportunity to pay the 10 euro deposit by card or cash. I paid using a 20 euro note, got change ok and the money was left in my key slot thus easily returned on check out. The reception staff smiled and greeted me when walking in and out, perhaps because I did to them.
I stayed in a 6 bed mixed form with en-suite. You choose your bed on a first come basis , though have a key for a specific locker that was large enough to fit my carry on luggage. The room felt spacious and even had table and chairs. Room and en-suite were clean.
The beds each have a power socket and small shelf fixed to the wall though no individual light. You pick up bed linen at reception, make your own bed and put bedding in laundry basket when checking out. The pillow was lumpy and could do with being replaced. Sleep quality was good except one night with a very loud snorer (reception gives earplugs for free). It is winter and the room was nice and warm.
The room has 2 ceiling lights. An area of improvement would be to be able to switch each light on/off separately. The wall of lockers separates the bed area from the entrance and en-suite door and it would be useful to be able to only turn on the light there.
The en-suite was clean and warm (it is November). The shower water was not hot enough for my personal taste but it was not cold. There is an additional toilet and shower room in the corridor for additional use. The corridor also had a fridge.
The laundry room is free: has washers and driers but need to buy detergent. It was my plan to stay in and do all my laundry on my day of arrival and I was grateful that I decided to do that rather than do laundry at the previous place. It saved me 9 euros.
WiFi is free and reliable.
When staying in a shared space the experience is greatly influenced by the other people who happen to be there at the same time. Everyone I met was friendly. The people sharing my room were always respectful of each other. Lights out in the room tended to be by 10pm and when coming in later than that it was possible to turn on the en-suite light and open the door to provide some light to get ready for bed without disturbing others. It was quiet in the room and the only ‘noise’ came from some late night loud voices in the corridor from others but it only lasted a few mins. The soundproofing is not sufficient to block noises from other areas, follow the advice on signs and report to reception if necessary. It is nice that the hostel seems to not tolerate noisy people disturbing others.
I was traveling as single female. In the 3 nights the dorm room was never fully occupied, had 8 men come and go staying for a day or two, and I never felt uncomfortable in the hostel or neighborhood.
This place is good value for money, comfortable, and I would definitely stay here again.
