Paddy's Palace Belfast

Don't let one bad review spoil it
I stayed here and it was nothing like what the other reviews said it was. The building has a really cosy, homey atmosphere and the staff treat you like one of the family. Anybody who is expecting to be treated like a prince or princess will be rightly disappointed. It's for down to earth people, real travelers. It's best for solo travelers or small groups as the layout works best for single people to sit around and meet and get to know each other. During my stay the staff took out various guests or shared their beer with them -- male guests especially! The bathrooms are all new and the shower pressure was fine. They were seriously the best showers I have come across (in terms of temperature and pressure) in my whole three months of backpacking. Try it out for yourself. I will definitely be visiting here again when I return to Belfast.

I stayed there for a week as I moved to Belfast for a while. I read all the reviews and even had been recommended to the place by reputable hostels and the contrast I felt was quite disturbing. The managers and staff act like they are Frat boys and that is not a compliment. The "service" level you experience as a male traveler is pitiful. If your a guy and check in there and wonder where all the single woman are, there out drinking with the staff. They don't hardly invite male guests out with them. One night I was chatting with a nice Canadian girl who got invited out by the staff and she invited me out with her and the staff. The last male staff member to leave for the bar that night practically threw a tantrum and stomped out. Leaving me there as she left behind him to see what was wrong. Great night that was. Real nice, it's like staying at a YMCA. That was not an isolated incident. I could not recommend this place to females. Overall the staff treat people extremely poor. A great example, one night a group of people checked who did not speak english. One nice girl came down and asked for towels and the guy "working" (I think he's just friends with the owner and manager) just blew her off by saying the office was closed. The laundry room was just down the hall. I thought he could at least get up and offer them towels if only to collect 1.50 they charge per towel. Oh well, those eight people did not need to shower anyway. People come to the door and they greet them by saying things like what do you want? The fact that they are wearing a backpack and entering a hostel might give them a clue? I eventually left and went to another hostel for three months where I met a handful of people who stayed at Paddy's after being mistreated. The worst or best example (depending on your view point) I can think was a nice oz nurse who said that one of the male staff members made a crude joke about having another nice australian girl to jump on after they come home from the bar. If I could pause here and just say I know the guy was kidding, he was not trying to be threatening. But common on, how immature can you get? Several people in the hostel I was living checked into Paddy's one week after the one I was in shut down for a few days. Everybody was throughly disgusted by the staff and left after a few days. Two guys who became friends of mine later, knocked on the door once to ask about long term rates. The guy who answered said they did not offer long term rates and slammed the door in his face. True story. If you check in as a group, the place would be ok. If you're there with your group and have fun. Everyone else stay away, there are better hostels in Belfast. If they're booked, check into a hotel.

This hostel has friendly staff and is clean. It's not the best place, but not the worst. But if you need to book a bed and you can't find another one in Belfast, I'd recommend it.