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Hostels Guide > UK & Ireland > England > Greater London > London Hostels > HI - YHA London - St Pauls Hostel

HI - YHA London - St Pauls Hostel

London
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Address
36 Carter Lane, London Greater London, England   Map
Price
Dorm beds from US$19.95. Price may vary by season - Check Current Prices by Date Here
Location/Contact
Details
This is a Hostelling International (HI) hostel. A membership card isn't required, but an extra fee will apply for non-members. You can get a membership card before your trip here.
HI - YHA London - St Pauls Hostel Online Booking
Arrival Date:   Nights:  People: 
Their Description

Features

  • Free Breakfast
  • Travel information provided
  • Currency Exchange
  • Bar
  • Washing Machine (laundry)
  • Food/Restaurant
  • Lockers
  • Lounge / Common space
  • Phones (public or in room)
  • TV
 
The Hostelz.com Review
HI - YHA London - St Pauls Hostel is by far the best located hostel in London and easy walking distance from the Millennium Bridge. It is large, clean, and spacious with plenty of opportunities to meet and mingle with fellow travelers. The breakfast is a good value and recommended.

The Location

London -- well, St Pauls YHA is in the middle of it all and mere steps away from St. Paul's Cathedral. Buses and taxi are the easiest ways to reach the hostel, and several bus lines stop nearby making St. Paul's an ideal jumping point for exploring as well as retiring after a long day in the city. There are several good restaurants and a few grocery markets near. Just a five-minute walk and you will be at the Millennium Bridge crossing the Thames. There is no parking, so leave the cars at home and opt for public transport.

Rooms and Bathrooms

Dorm rooms are single-sex triple bunks! Guests with limited mobility should request a low bunk during reservation. Rooms are clean, spacious, simple, and uncluttered (with large and deep in-room storage lockers that accept standard Master locks) as well as equipped with an in-room sink. Beds are clean and comfy and have additional built-in mini-storage lockers within their frames -- a nice touch. Showers and bathrooms are shared -- bathrooms are clean but cramped, while shower rooms are spacious but lack soap dishes, shelves, or hangers. While water is hot, pressure is erratic. Security is good, and the staff are vigilant, but bring your own padlocks -- this is the inner city.

Common Spaces

There is no self-service kitchen. However, the full English breakfast is quite good and worth the extra cost. Meeting other travelers is easy, be it at breakfast in the large and airy dining area or within the television lounge or computer area. The staff are also friendly and helpful but cautious as they are rather vigilant about security, which is good. The TV lounge is cozy with plush couches, but most travelers stay in their rooms if they're not out exploring. Internet is pricey, while tea is complimentary during the day.

Summary

This is best hostel in London, no doubt -- location, location, location. Oh, and the breakfast isn't bad either. With several bus lines mere seconds out the door, and an easy walk to the Millennium Bridge, St Pauls YHA provides great value for the budget minded traveler. If that's not enough, there are in-house discounts to local attractions and an insightful staff to guide you on your way.

— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
September 2009


Ratings & Comments
4.3
20 Ratings
This is an open forum, and unlike other hostel guide websites we don't censor out the negative comments.
We can't validate the legitimacy of comments posted on this site—so take what you read here with a grain of salt.
Comment by Elke, Germany
November 2008
Great place in London
I've been here in September '08 together with my sons twelve and thirteen years. Our three-bed, family room was clean. The atmosphere of this old house is great and it seems that a mouse here and there belongs to the building. Breakfast and dinner were also ok. Whenever we will visit London again we will stay here and will also recommend it to friends. It is also possible to order a take-away breakfast when you have to leave early in the morning.
Comment by Fernando, Brazilian
May 2008
Quiet, clean shower place, but kitchen with mice
The hostel bedrooms are quite nice and the shower place was quite clean. We have seen some mice at night when we went to the refectory to have a drink. However, maybe other hostels also have that, but we usually don't notice!
Comment by Ulla, Finland
January 2008
A good find
I stayed at St Paul's in December 2007, and, having had bad experiences with London hostels before, was a bit worried before I arrived. However, I was pleasantly surprised. The place is easy to find and close to a tube station, clean and seems to take safety matters seriously. I stayed in a female-only, seven-bed room, which was clean, had two sinks and private lockers (you have to pay for the locks though), a toilet and shower really close in the corridor. The lack of kitchen didn't really bother me, as I only stayed for the weekend. The breakfast buffet is great (cereals, yogurts, bread, croissants, jams and butter, cooked breakfast, fruit, juices, tea and coffee) -- much better than in many hotels I've stayed at. It isn't really a social hotel, but there are two TV rooms and books available for reading. All in all, a good experience!
Comment by scott, canada
May 2007
Mix of single travelers young and old, families too. I liked this hostel for staff, public trans, and proximity to Millenium Bridge/Tate Modern. Area is quiet at night. Hostel is clean, modern (showers). Only real negative is that there is no access to kitchen.
Comment by Wayne, USA
May 2007
Hostel is very convenient to the Tube and is centrally located next to all of the sites. I always stay here each time I visit London and have never been disappointed. A wonderful breakfast buffet each morning.
Comment by Jenny, Canada
April 2007
Absolutely wonderful. This was my first experience in a hostel. I arrived in London (my first trip on my own) from Vancouver, Canada, and was all alone. It was easy to find on the tube route, although once I arrived at the cathedral, it was a little hard to find. I was really pleased when I arrived here. The rooms were spacious and clean. The breakfast was good, and although the internet was a little expensive, it ran really well. Amazing location. I arrived at 3 p.m., and decided to go to a walk before finding some dinner (I was amazingly jet lagged too). After wandering around for five minutes, I found myself at the Millennium Bridge, and the Tate Gallery. Not to mention, it was obviously right next to St. Paul's. This hostel was very friendly, nice and cozy (for the record, I wanted somewhere quiet and non-partyish). This place made my trip amazing!
Comment by Jes
March 2007
I just got back from London for my third visit and I'm a repeat customer at this hostel. It has a great location and is probably the cleanest hostel I've ever stayed at. Huge breakfast included with your stay, served buffet-style. You can eat in the big seating area or out in the courtyard. Rooms are very organized with large numbered lockers. Waking up and reading the morning paper on the steps of St. Paul's across the street will never get old.
Comment by Sarah
September 2006
Well, I didn't like this hostel much -- because of unfriendly staff. Check in at night we came was horrible experience -- man behind the desk was really unhelpful and angry. We were in this hostel many years ago, so it's possible that their style have changed after our trip. Hostel was clean enough.
Comment by Ben - USA
June 2006
This hostel was great. Really clean rooms and bathrooms, and the girls at the front desk were extremely helpful and really attractive! Awesome location and the included breakfast is sure to keep you going for most of the day. I will recommend it to everyone I talk to.
Comment by Angela from Australia
May 2006
This hostel was not what we expected -- it was a pleasant surprise! The rooms were basic but very warm and cosy, and the hostel was very quiet (in terms of other visitors -- but that clock at St Paul's goes all night, not good for those with jetlag!). A great place if you're not into partying and just happy to use the hostel to recharge after days of sightseeing. In a good position too from all the main sights too, easy to get the tube and buses from. The buffet breakfast was provided and was so much better than we expected -- a full amount of food that for backpackers will last you all through the day (very important!). The staff were friendly, and they offer discount tickets to things like Tower of London, which we found really beneficial. All in all a great hostel that we would recommend to anyone and we will be coming back!
Comment by Flora
May 2006
Great hostel in every respect -- the only drawbacks were that there isn't a kitchen and the restaurant isn't that great, and there is construction work going on nearby that is darn noisy during the day time, but it doesn't start until eight a.m., or nine a.m. on Saturdays, so you don't notice it if you are out sightseeing. Also they don't have a touch tone phone for use, so you either have to buy their phone card which isn't great for international or go to the public phones, but local calls are ok. You can get free tours run by a local from this hostel.
Comment by Dee Dee
February 2006
I was happily surprised by this hostel! It is not a typical hostel at all. It's huge, and very spacious. All the facilities are quite modern, the price includes a buffet breakfast, there are plenty of shower rooms, they have a TV room with lots of books for borrowing and a laundry room. The rooms are quite comfortable and they have big lockers inside. What is kind of a downside is the fact that many people who stay at this hostel are above their 40s. This makes it very peaceful, but definitely not a place to party. What's more, many adults stay there with their kids. They offer (not so good) meals at night, at moderate prices. Also, they get you discount tickets for some attractions like Mme. Tussaud's or The Tower of London. All in all a great experience. I would definitely go back.
Comment by Scoot
December 2005
This hostel is average. The staff are very helpful. It is very clean. The bathroom facilities are great. The breakfast provided is exceptional, hotel-quality with a great range of dishes. The location is good - near St Pauls and near the underground, so the rest of London is accessible. The only major drawback is that there are no kitchen facilities. Recommended.
Comment by The master traveller
November 2005
This was an excellent hostel — but it only serves the purpose of being somewhere to sleep. Don't expect a homely, parties-all-night, cozy feel. The room I was in was excellent, very clean and roomy. The cooked breakfast included in the price is definitely a bonus. The location isn't good, as you're surrounded by office buildings, so there are not many pubs or shops. All this aside, for the tenner I paid it was phenomenal value for London. I don't think you'll better it anywhere in the area.
Comment by steve
June 2005
The good: Hostel is in a great location, everything was clean, lots of showers available, large lockers. The bad: rooms seemed a bit cramped beds were literally piled on top of one another.
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