Kipps Independent Hostel

Kipps is a great little hostel that feels like home. It's located about a ten minute walk from the central part of Canterbury. There are two train stations in Canterbury and Kipps is closer to the East station at about a five minute walk away, while it's about a 20 minute walk from the West station. By the way, you may not have a choice as far as which train station you arrive at since they serve completely separate lines and which station you will arrive at depends on where you are arriving from. The bus station, serviced by Eurolines, is also nearby, close to the East train station.

Kipps has the look and feel of a nice house. There are plenty of comfortable common areas and it's a great place to meet other backpackers. In the front is a large TV room, which serves as the main hang out area. The room also includes a video collection and an internet computer. Unfortunately the internet computer isn't free, but at least it's a little more reasonable than at many hostels.

In the middle of the house is a very nice large kitchen with every necessary utensil. Towards the back is a covered patio eating area and a backyard (where travellers with camping gear can pitch a tent).

The dorm rooms are located on the main floor and upstairs. The rooms are small, very small. They squeeze two bunk beds into each room, with just a tiny space between them and not much else. If you don't plan to spend much time in the room outside of sleeping, this shouldn't be too much of a problem. The bathrooms are clean and modern, but since there are only two in the hostel, there can be a bit of a wait in the morning.

The hostel is run by the owner and a staff person and they're warm and friendly. Oh, and so is the owners dog which spends most of the day roaming around the hostel looking for someone to play with him.

This is a great hostel that has everything you could ask for and it's definitely a great place to stay when in Canterbury.

-- Exclusive Hostelz.com Review