The Hostelz.com Review
This place has everything a good hostel should have. It's relaxed and friendly and feels like a home. The hostel is very tidy and clean, but not uncomfortably so. There is free tea and coffee and all the optional extras like internet access, breakfast, and payphones. There is a TV room, a cosy lounge with open fire, a dining room, and the best equipped hostel kitchen you could possibly ask for.
The dining room has loads of information on local activities and attractions, as well as a great map on the wall to help you find your way around. There is plenty to do in walking distance of the hostel. Urquhart Castle is about 1.5 miles away, and looks stunning lit up at night. The shores of Loch Ness are not far from the hostel for Nessie spotting. There are also a number of scenic and historical walks around the town. There are a couple of exhibits in Drumnadrochit dedicated to the Loch and its mysteries.
The hostel is well looked after. The unisex bathrooms are modern and clean, as is the refrigerator! Beds come with linen, including duvets. Breakfast of toast, cereals, coffee/tea, and juice is available for 2 pounds.
Loch Ness Backpackers Lodge is well worth a visit, as is the area in which it is located. It would be easy to spend several days here seeing all the sights and the hostel is comfortable and one of those places you don't feel like leaving in a hurry.
Getting there:
• By Car – From Inverness: pass through Drumnodrochit town. When you get to the petrol station take the next left. Hostel is 150mtrs down the road. From Fort William: after Urquhart castle travel down the hill about 1.5 miles. You will cross a small bridge as you come into Lewiston. Take the immediate right turn after the bridge. Hostel is 150mtrs down the road.
• By Bus – You want the Fort William – Inverness Citylink service. Ask to be dropped off at Lewiston, not Dromnadrochit to save yourself a bit of walking. From the bus stop you can see a sign pointing down the road for the hostel.
The dining room has loads of information on local activities and attractions, as well as a great map on the wall to help you find your way around. There is plenty to do in walking distance of the hostel. Urquhart Castle is about 1.5 miles away, and looks stunning lit up at night. The shores of Loch Ness are not far from the hostel for Nessie spotting. There are also a number of scenic and historical walks around the town. There are a couple of exhibits in Drumnadrochit dedicated to the Loch and its mysteries.
The hostel is well looked after. The unisex bathrooms are modern and clean, as is the refrigerator! Beds come with linen, including duvets. Breakfast of toast, cereals, coffee/tea, and juice is available for 2 pounds.
Loch Ness Backpackers Lodge is well worth a visit, as is the area in which it is located. It would be easy to spend several days here seeing all the sights and the hostel is comfortable and one of those places you don't feel like leaving in a hurry.
Getting there:
• By Car – From Inverness: pass through Drumnodrochit town. When you get to the petrol station take the next left. Hostel is 150mtrs down the road. From Fort William: after Urquhart castle travel down the hill about 1.5 miles. You will cross a small bridge as you come into Lewiston. Take the immediate right turn after the bridge. Hostel is 150mtrs down the road.
• By Bus – You want the Fort William – Inverness Citylink service. Ask to be dropped off at Lewiston, not Dromnadrochit to save yourself a bit of walking. From the bus stop you can see a sign pointing down the road for the hostel.
— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
March 2005
Their Description
Loch Ness Backpackers Lodge Details
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Hostelz.com Guest Reviews
Loved it!! Under the circumstances in which I stayed not only was the hostel a wonderful place to say but the staff were more than fantastic. I have no qualms in recommending this hostel to anyone. It really is a pretty place locked away in a lovely town. Really want to go back! — LA , Australia (2011-01-22) Worst hostel in Scotland This place is a complete nightmare and is the size of a medium size house. There is one downstairs bathroom in the main house for about twenty-four people. It has two showers, three sinks, and two toilets all in a very compact space. It is a mixed toilet so it can be really awkward trying to shower or do your business. I walked in on a girl stripping off to take a shower. No bathroom door either just a shower curtain in its place. The rooms are very small and crammed with beds. Ours had three bunk beds and a single and their was no room left. Not even enough space to store your rucksack and once again they were mixed so there was nowhere to get changed. The place also has no drying room so if you're wet forget it. There were about fifteen pairs of shoes and boots put against a small coal fire in the sitting room during the night to dry them out. The kitchen was small and cramped when more than four people were trying to cook. There was one large dining table that would seat about ten or twelve people. The sitting room only had seating for six people. There are a few rooms outside the main house in what look like horse stalls. The other walkers I spoke to staying there were not impressed and said the walls were so thin you could hear what was going on in the next room. On the positive side, Theres not really one other than the fact that it is directly on the route of the Great Glen way and it is a dry roof over your head. It is the only youth hostel in Drum so if you must/want to stay in a youth hostel than you dont have any choice. — Great Glen Way Walker , Scottish (2009-07-17) I stayed here a couple of years ago, so my impressions may not be current, but it really was lovely. Drumnadrochit is a pretty village on Loch Ness (apart from the very tacky Loch Ness monster museums). The hostel was cosy, friendly, and clean. — Kate W , Scotland (2007-04-25) Some of the photos on this site don't really tell the truth. The main living room is grubby and the couches are well-worn and the washable covers are really dirty (a cat has scratched them all too). The fridge was disgusting and must have only been cleaned just before the last inspection! I was really disappointed with the hostel and won't stay there again. When I arrived there was no one there, so I went in and waited by the fire. Eventually some other guests returned from the bar and called the owner who lives a few houses away. She is friendly and helpful, but seems very preoccupied with many other commitments. I was charged more than the current Independent hostel brochure stated (even in Feb., which is very much low season), and the cost was about 3 or 4 pounds more than I would have paid in Inverness where there would have been more to see. The room was damp-smelling and really stuffy since the door automatically closed and there is no ventilation. The heater in the room worked but the knobs were melted, perhaps not so safe. No heating was on in the morning in the main area but the owner arrived after 9 a.m. to put the heater and fire on (just as I was leaving). The unisex bathroom in the main house look clean and modern however the showers are really terrible. When you put the shower to warm, there is little more than a trickle coming out (not enough to fill your hands in ten seconds) and it is no where near hot enough. There is no heating in the bathroom and there is no door dividing the bathrooms from the main stairway/front door area -- so it is very cold in there -- especially when you are naked and standing under a trickle of lukewarm water! The owner doesn't seem too worried about it. When you are traveling a good shower can make all the difference. Maybe the owner should take a shower in there? Apparently the shower in the wooden bunk house behind the main house aren't too bad though. — LT (2007-02-14) This was the worst accommodation I have ever stayed in. We arrived to the sound of blaring music and this continued for most of the afternoon, evening and night. The staff were quite positively rude. We stayed in a twin room, which was little more than a garden shed and we were slightly disconcerted by the skull wearing sunglasses outside our window. During the evening there was a loud party and this continued into the early hours of the morning, with music, chattering, smoking, drinking, and general noise outside. I would not wish to stay here ever again. — S Maidment (2006-09-06) What a treasure on the Great Glen Way hike! I hiked 22 miles to get here and the owner couldn't have been nicer. She spent about 15 minutes amending a free map so I could be sure to see all of the local sights — in addition to the great info posted in the living room. There was free coffee/tea, spacious hot showers, clean sheets and blankets and it was a clean hostel overall. I didn't feel uncomfortable with the owner/family — they were just like other guests! Discounts on bike rentals (6 days) and 1/2 price admission at Loch Ness 2000 — what more could you want? — Johanna (2005-09-28) It was excellent! I also met the owner and her kids and I did not feel uncomfortable at all. It made it even more "family-like." I stayed at a lot of hostels during my trip and this one was like coming to a friend's house to spend the night. I really enjoyed my stay there, although it was a short one. It is well equipped and very cozy. — Miss Smalls (2005-09-18) The directions to the hostel are not 100 percent correct, which made finding the place difficult. During our stay the owner and her three children were staying in the hostel, which made us feel quite uncomfortable. The amenities were not too bad! The owner is very conscious of cost! — Anonymous (2005-06-03)