Wake Up! London

I stayed for a couple of nights in a girls' only four-bedded room with en-suite bathroom. Everything was extremely clean, sheets white and fresh. Lockers practically brand new. Staff was efficient and friendly-ish. Maybe they could smile a little bit more. The room was a few doors from the bar, but I brought my ear plugs and blackout eye mask so that my new roommates could come and go as they pleased! I was pretty oblivious to the infrequent loud bar noises due to one) my ear plugs and two) they happened only when the corridor doors open and shut. And this was over the May bank holiday weekend, so it was a particularly crowded and party-full weekend! And I'm generally a light sleeper!! I would go back there again and again -- and in fact, I'm returning for another night next week!

I've been there twice and I will never come back. There were several thefts in my bedroom in one week (laptop, camera, money, and clothes). I think that the police know them very well now. Someone stole my digital camera by dismounting the upper side of the locker (which was locked). The bedrooms are old and the beds are not good. One time I saw a guy sleeping on the ground. He checked out but he was still in the bedroom. There are not enough keys for all the guests in dorms so that if somebody forgets to drop the keys at the reception, you will be stuck in the front of your bedroom door. I ask the reception and they told me, "Wait." I was very angry, and I quickly went out of the hostel in order to calm down. There is loud music or noise 24 hours a day in all the common rooms and that makes it very hard to have a rest. Some people in the staff spend their time picking up female guests rather than doing their jobs. You can wait for 15 minutes at the desk because the team is very inefficient and slow. In some toilets, it s almost not possible to flush the WC. Since the toilets are in the same block as the shower you can feel drops on your head because of condensation. The toilets can also be full of water because of showers. The cable TV subscription is very limited and they just receive the free channels. At the Bar, outside guests are allowed (people who know nobody in the hostel) and I felt unsafe. I was surprised to see the manager at the bar at 3 a.m. in the morning on weekdays. And lastly, there is no elevator and it's very hard to climb four levels with your luggage in a Victorian hostel. In the kitchen, there are almost no tools and no glasses. (And no mugs, too). I'd like to say that I've been to four different hostels in London. Don't forget that if you have been robbed go to the police on Edgeware Road. I can compare now. Don't try it, we've been there and we know.

I definitely would not recommend this hostel to others. Five days out of the six we were there, there was no hot water, except for in approximately four showers (bear in mind the hostel houses a significant number of people). While the lack of hot water may not have been the fault of the staff, their attitude towards the situation was unacceptable. They did not put up notices informing people of why the hot water wasn't working and where the showers with hot water were until four days later. In fact, most of the staff were generally indifferent and unhelpful. There were some exceptions to this — one or two members of staff were really great, and one or two others were downright rude. The rooms themselves were fine, but the bathrooms were BAD. Even taking into account the low price, they were not acceptable. Really the only thing to recommend this hostel is its location — it's only a ten-minute walk from Paddington station, at which the Heathrow Express stops. If you are only in town for one night or so, then you'll probably be fine. But otherwise... find somewhere else. Please. For the sake of your body odor.

I stayed there for 10 nights and had a great time! If you know the average English standard, you'll be absolutely satisfied with what you get! The only disadvantage certainly is the constant noise (especially during the night), so bring your own earplugs! Apart from that, it has great staff, nice guests, handy facilities and clean rooms. And if you're not too keen on staying in your room all the time, this is the best (meaning cheapest) place to go! Have fun.

Yeah, everything in this hostel sucked. Especially the bathrooms — they were such small cabins that it was not possible to leave your clothes inside. So, the only choice was quite "sexy" — you take off all of your clothes outside and you go in. The only funny moment was with the two Americans I was supposed to live with during five days — absolute idiots, as all the Americans. On of them thought Dublin was in Spain while the other one was wondering if it was worth it to go to Rome.

Everything seems broken here; the fridge went bad once, they had to switch my room three times because of mistakes they made. The guys that work here are not professional, for they only want to get laid and cock-block the other guys travelling, trying to meet others. Share the love!

They lost my reservation, like so many others. The whole place feels highly disorganized. (Why do they only have one key to an eight-bed dorm??? Madness!) Nevermind the fact I had to walk through the club/bar to reach my room, which they had overbooked. Ah well.

I had a great time there!!! The staff were great and I had loads of fun!!

I had an appalling stay at Wake Up in London. Despite the fact that some Web sites advertise the hotel as having a lift and even a night porter, I found after checking in that this was in fact untrue and that there was only a staff lift. This meant that I had to lug two suitcases and another two bags up to the 4th floor (9 flights up) on my own, as I was travelling alone. Once I got there, I found that the rooms must have been recently painted or fumigated because the fumes were unbearable and I had to leave the window open (in the middle of winter). None of this would have been too much of a problem — I am not a difficult traveler and it takes a fair bit to make me complain. It was what happened the next day that made me decide to convince as many people as possible not to stay at this hotel. Firstly, because I was checking out after one night (I was supposed to check in again three days later after a weekend in the north) I had to take all my bags down the many flights of stairs. When I was taking my large suitcase down, I twisted my ankle, sprained it, and tore a ligament. I quickly discovered there was no way I could walk on it as it was intensely painful and when I tried to get down the stairs myself, I almost passed out. It was not particularly surprising that this happened, as the stairs were both narrow and very badly lit, so any person of my small stature would have had considerable difficulty getting down the stairs with a large suitcase on their own. When I arrived in the foyer, I stayed sitting on my suitcase to avoid fainting or throwing up, and waited until I was well enough to ask for help. Luckily a staff member noticed me, and directed me to sit in the lounge. At this point the staff were relatively helpful, and found some ice to put on my injured leg. Two men, I assume managers of the hostel, when told of my situation, came to advise me on seeking medical treatment. One told me in a very terse way that to order an ambulance would cost me 550 pounds up front (which converts to at least $1500 for an Australian), and that if the ambulance officers found that my injury was not as bad as I thought it was, they would fine me on the spot and refuse to take me anywhere. He also said it would cost me a lot of money once I got to the hospital, as I am not a citizen, and I would not be able to receive any x-rays because I do not have a British GP. Having ruled out this option, I then asked about call-out doctors, and he dissuaded me from this option as well, saying it would cost too much and they would be unlikely to see me. As a last resort I asked if I could somehow get crutches, as I needed to get to Stansted airport that night for a flight to Blackpool on my own. He said that that would be at least a 200-pound deposit, and dissuaded me from this option as well. As I was completely at the mercy of these people and had no option but to take their advice because I was completely alone and could not walk, I was then unable to get any medical attention of any kind aside from the advice of my father, who is an Australian GP, over the phone. There was nothing I could do but sit with ice on my foot and wait until the afternoon, when the staff said they could book a taxi for me. As I was sitting in the lounge of the hostel, three other guests (or possibly just people who had come in from outside) distracted me by touching my injured ankle and talking to me about it, and while doing so, stole my wallet, which was sitting right next to my leg. Obviously I was in no position to run after the thieves, and they were able to get away with all my cash and credit cards, and my Australian SIM Card (on which they were able to rack up a $6500 bill before it was properly cancelled). At this point, a staff member offered to call the police but could only give me a Web site to report the crime to (and without a British telephone number, I was unable to complete the required forms online). I was essentially stranded — I had no friends in London at the time, no money, and I couldn't walk. My parents attempted to send me money through Western Union but as I could not walk, I could not go to an outlet to pick it up. The only reason I made it to the airport at all was that my boyfriend in Australia called all the London cab companies until he found one who would accept his credit card to pay for the fare over the phone. The staff, from then on, showed absolutely no interest in helping me whatsoever. They were beyond unhelpful — they were inhumane. I asked if I could use their phone to make one call to Australia, and they refused. My boyfriend called and asked if they would accept his credit card, take money from it, and then give me some cash so I could at least get to the airport. They refused. The Australian High Commission called the hostel to speak to me (to tell me that the advice I was given from the hostel regarding medical care was untrue), as it was the only way they could contact me, and they were reluctant to let me speak on the phone and annoyed that I was using it. I asked them if they would have any idea who the men were who stole my wallet, and they made no attempt to check. When I was finally able to leave in the taxi, I asked if they could pass over the handbag I had left behind the desk with them for safe keeping and they repeatedly ignored me and went about their work. It took some strong words from my taxi driver for them to bother to pass it over to me, and this they did with irritation. When we went to get my suitcases from their luggage room, we found that far from being secure, as they said it would be, the door (which appeared to have no lock, or, if it did, was never used) was at that point being screwed off its hinges by, I assume, a hired workman. My boyfriend called them after I left and told them how concerned he was about the fact that, being a hostel that would see a considerable turnover of people, they did not know the correct rules and information about medical care. My father was very concerned that I had fractured a bone, which would have worsened the situation because of the fact that people with injuries such as that who then fly are at a much higher risk of DVT and have died as a result. They dissuaded me from getting any medical advice, and so I did not know before I flew that evening how serious my condition was. I would have thought that if a hotel is going to make their guests use dimly lit stairs when they have a working lift available, they should probably check up on the correct details of medical care in their country in the likely event that someone hurts themselves trying to carry their luggage. I was both shocked and appalled at the inhumane and callous way I was treated at the Wake Up Hostel and would recommend that anyone thinking of staying there think again. As a result of what happened, I had to cut my whole trip short and fly home early after spending only three full days overseas. It is being fairly generous to say that being injured and having your wallet stolen all within 24 hours of staying in a hotel is just unlucky. It would be extremely generous to say that after having these things happen to me in their hotel, the staff treated me with anything approaching common concern and sympathy.

I visited there just recently in January and I definitely won't go rushing back. They had VERY basic facilities and it wasn't at all a place for socializing, as no one wanted to socialize. The dorm rooms were huge, which was good and the location is excellent but not much else.

I had a great time at Wake Up. It has a friendly staff and I had a load of fun. It's also in a really central location!! I will definitely come back.

You get what you pay for, and if you're prepared for some not so greatness, then you'll be fine. We think we had a mouse in our room, but it was friendly and enjoyed using our tissues as bedding. The showers were right next to our room, which was cool, and they were pretty clean. I just have to complain about the Spanish guys who liked to pee on the seat every time they used it. Breakfast was good and saved us some money in the long run. They do seem to cater to larger groups of very loud and obnoxious people, mostly German and Italian while we were there. Do plan on carrying your luggage up at least one set of stairs (max 4). However, we were lucky and a friendly maintenance person allowed us in his lift, which was rather scary, but better than carrying my HUGE suitcase up four flights of stairs! The floors are pretty squeaky but all in all it was what you should expect for how cheap it is.

I didn't expect a luxurious bathroom or room itself for the low price. I had a little room, just behind the bar, so the noise level was a bit loud. But if you're in London, you wanna go out, and therfore it didn't disturb me much. But apart from this, all was clean, the beds and towels were changed daily, and so no problem. Then we found the first cockroach. Out of 2. Within 3 nights. Not so great. The cupboard was cracked on the backside. And out of our windows we saw only the shabby space behind the kitchens and rooms. Well, at last it was safe. The personnel were very nice (helped with luggage and explained everything) and tried to be helpful, but there are elementary problems which should be solved soon. All in all, it wasn't worth the money I paid, for the private double in May 2004.

This place sucked!!! I had to go up four floors and walk through a minotaur-like maze to get to my dingy room!!! When I arrived, I found some Euro trash behind the desk that couldn't even speak proper English, in ENGLAND, no less, and they gave me grief about two friends helping me with my luggage up the steps. By the way, they refused to give me a hand with my luggage since they claimed not to be bellhops. Stupid idiots, I would have tipped you a couple of quid just for a hand up the stairs. Duh, that's how you make your money in the hotel business, by HELPING WEARY TRAVELERS!!! The bathrooms were stinky and disgusting!!! Do yourselves a favor and steer clear of this place!!! IT SUCKS!!!

I booked this hostel because of the great website. We booked a private double for a few nights in the summer of 2002. Having a TV was nice, and the room itself was clean enough, but the bathrooms were horrible (see the site's review above.) The location was OK -- however, the residential neighborhood is quiet at night. Skip the bar. One other note: I think we were the only Americans in the place!