The Hostelz.com Review
Surprise Backpackers is located right in the heart of Victoria, London, on the top of the Surprise Pub.
The Location
Surprise Backpackers is well located -- just a ten-minute walk away from Victoria Underground, Train Station, and Coach Station, which means you'll have no trouble accessing everything to see in London as well as catching transport to all the airports and other parts of the U.K. and Europe. It is located on quite a busy street, though, with traffic all through the night and we're not sure how safe the street would feel in the middle of the night. To get into the hostel, you have to walk around the corner from the Surprise Pub and look for a black door with 110 on it.
Rooms and Bathrooms
Surprise offers rooms from four to twelve beds in mixed and female-only dorms. The beds are uncomfortable -- you can feel the springs inside them -- and are jammed into a very small space with very little room for luggage. And for some reason, there were spare pillows stored in the corner of the room, taking up precious space. There are lockers -- bring your own lock, provided you have one thick enough to keep it shut. The rooms also need a thorough cleaning -- there is a lot of dust underneath the beds and nothing looks well kept or looked after.
The toilets and showers are in one room that is also a thoroughfare to get to half the rooms of the hostel as well as the common room, which makes it very weird. And with only three toilets and four showers, it does not seem like enough although, there is never a queue. They are quite nice showers with doors around them, so all your stuff hanging on the hooks in the changing section does not get wet. It is a push-button shower with no temperature control, but one push lasts for about sixty seconds, which makes it not too annoying. But the toilets need to be cleaned more -- they are dirty and have no toilet paper by morning.
Common Spaces
There is a kitchen/TV lounge upstairs, which is very small and just contains two tables, four chairs, and two wooden platforms with a cushion -- so no more than six people could sit here at a time. There is also fairly limited space to cook anything. You also have the option of going to the pub downstairs, which seems to be mainly filled with older male clientele. So it is quite hard to meet people. Breakfast is included and served in the bar downstairs -- it's quite basic, with toast, cereal, and oranges as well as coffee and tea.
Free Wi-Fi is also available in the whole hostel and pub, but there are no computers, so you have to have your own laptop. The reception is also quite a tiny space crammed into the front door.
Summary
Surprise is a very well located hostel to see London and it's perfect if you have early morning buses and trains from Victoria. But other than this, it is fairly uncomfortable with nothing much to do and you can find better options for a similar price.
The Location
Surprise Backpackers is well located -- just a ten-minute walk away from Victoria Underground, Train Station, and Coach Station, which means you'll have no trouble accessing everything to see in London as well as catching transport to all the airports and other parts of the U.K. and Europe. It is located on quite a busy street, though, with traffic all through the night and we're not sure how safe the street would feel in the middle of the night. To get into the hostel, you have to walk around the corner from the Surprise Pub and look for a black door with 110 on it.
Rooms and Bathrooms
Surprise offers rooms from four to twelve beds in mixed and female-only dorms. The beds are uncomfortable -- you can feel the springs inside them -- and are jammed into a very small space with very little room for luggage. And for some reason, there were spare pillows stored in the corner of the room, taking up precious space. There are lockers -- bring your own lock, provided you have one thick enough to keep it shut. The rooms also need a thorough cleaning -- there is a lot of dust underneath the beds and nothing looks well kept or looked after.
The toilets and showers are in one room that is also a thoroughfare to get to half the rooms of the hostel as well as the common room, which makes it very weird. And with only three toilets and four showers, it does not seem like enough although, there is never a queue. They are quite nice showers with doors around them, so all your stuff hanging on the hooks in the changing section does not get wet. It is a push-button shower with no temperature control, but one push lasts for about sixty seconds, which makes it not too annoying. But the toilets need to be cleaned more -- they are dirty and have no toilet paper by morning.
Common Spaces
There is a kitchen/TV lounge upstairs, which is very small and just contains two tables, four chairs, and two wooden platforms with a cushion -- so no more than six people could sit here at a time. There is also fairly limited space to cook anything. You also have the option of going to the pub downstairs, which seems to be mainly filled with older male clientele. So it is quite hard to meet people. Breakfast is included and served in the bar downstairs -- it's quite basic, with toast, cereal, and oranges as well as coffee and tea.
Free Wi-Fi is also available in the whole hostel and pub, but there are no computers, so you have to have your own laptop. The reception is also quite a tiny space crammed into the front door.
Summary
Surprise is a very well located hostel to see London and it's perfect if you have early morning buses and trains from Victoria. But other than this, it is fairly uncomfortable with nothing much to do and you can find better options for a similar price.
— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
September 2011
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