Smart Hyde Park Inn

Handy but greedy!
Good things first -- it is really close to tube station, has late night food stores and all other facilities just around the corner, really practical. Rooms are ok. Bathrooms are ok, except they are not in the same floor as your room. There is a funny divisions of floors and doors, so you feel like you are in a labyrinth of twenty floors and fifty secret doors, and that can be a pain. if you wanna go pee late at night, when it's cold! But then again, if it is summer, you won't be cold. On the contrary, you will be roasting inside! Seriously, it is the most unpleasant sensation ever. The worst thing, as mentioned before, is the fact that for everything little tiny thing you have to pay or leave a deposit. It is not about the money, but it's extremely annoying having to take your wallet along just to use a pan in the kitchen or getting an socket adapter, a key, or anything you can imagine. Staff is very often in a very cranky mood too. I also hated that the only common area had this huge TV, so no one would really talk and interact with each other, just stare at the screen almost drooling. Not laid back and conversation inviting at all.

I stayed in this hostel for two nights in March 2007. I booked a double room with shared facilities, as there was no room with private facilities available online. But when I arrived I got a triple room with facilities. The room, toilet, shower were all clean. I haven't had breakfast there because I preferred to get coffee at Starbucks and drink it in the park. I'd definitely stay there again, as very it's conveniently located.

I had never had such a negative experience in a hostel. The position is ok, near the tube station and easy to reach, it is quite cheap and you can also leave your luggage after the check out and they keep it safe (you have to pay for that though, which doesn't happen often). It is also quite clean. But there was only one tiny bathroom with tiny sink for twelve people! And with other people coming from other floors to the same bathroom as well. I had booked for two nights but when I went back to the hostel the second night, I found out that somebody else was sleeping in my bed, because the staff had given that away without checking if it was actually already taken! So I had to wake people up in the room and after an hour one of them was offered by the staff to have a bed somewhere else, and so I finally had another bed (I had to prepare it again though). If you want to lock your things you have to pay for the key (1.50£ a night)! I had to pay everything when I booked and I didn't even had an email confirming the booking, only the booking code. To sum up, I can promise you that I am not that demanding, but I would never go to that hostel or recommend it to somebody else!

This is really bad. The staff wants your money. The breakfast is terrible with big bugs on the floor. It's hot and noisy. Just don't visit Hyde Park Inn.

The pictures make it look so clean. Don't let them fool you.

Important — do not book in this f***ing hostel. This is really the worst hostel I have ever been to during my entire life. In fact, it is owned and managed by real blackmailing bastards. The receptionists keep asking you for money against anything you want to do: 5 pounds for borrowing a dish and some cutlery for the kitchen, 1.5 pounds for the locker key, 1.5 for every bag you deposit in the luggage lounge (however small the bag is!!!), 10 pounds for the room key and if you don't check out before ten, then you can say bye-bye to your 10 pounds. I reckon there will be soon another 10 pounds for using the toilets and the showers. To summarize, the people who manage the hotel are just practicing what is called "legal swindling." Do not go there, otherwise you're gonna be so frustrated.

This hostel was just ok. The rooms were spacious and clean enough, and there are lockers in the room for your backpack. I found the kitchen to be filthy, and I therefore couldn't eat the free breakfast that was offered. The bathrooms need a good clean and the water in the showers was barely lukewarm (a problem if you are in London in October).

The staff here are good. I slept in the same room they did (?). For this reason, I suppose, the room was very disorderly, but I felt very safe leaving my baggage there. The showers in the mornings are a problem, because there are too few for the number of people in the hostel. The breakfast is very good.

I stayed in this hostel while I was in London on a rugby tour. I had by far the best time in this hostel. The staff were very friendly and fun. If I were to go back to London I would stay in this hostel again.

This isn't a bad hostel. Before you book here you have to know where you are going, of course. If you want to stay in a three-star hotel, you have to discard this place, but if you just want to sleep some nights in a smart hostel, this is the cheaper option. I did not have any problem with safety and I have not used the lockers. I stayed in a six-bed room with the two young boys who worked in the reception (curious). The showers are not a problem if you use them in the afternoon or in the morning before people wake up (at 7:30). This place is near the tube, but far from the city center (it's three tube stops away, I think).

I stayed in this hostel six nights, and aside from the showers (which were few and broken half the time), it was clean and safe. (I left my bag on my bed the whole week and had no problems). The staff and the other guests were very nice, the breakfast was better than at other places, and most people tried to be as quiet as possible. It is in a great location and isn't very expensive. I do, however, recommend a little patience when it comes to the showers, because they are a little difficult to deal with.

I spent a weekend (21st-22nd August) in a single room of this hostel, and I found it very comfortable, clean, and quiet! For me, it's absolutely recommendable!

What a crappy hostel. It's dirty, and they steal things that you leave on your bed, such as an alarm clock, flip flops and cheap sandals. And by "they" I mean the staff. So sad...

Do not waste your time and MONEY on this hostel.

I went to London for one night at the beginning of July. This was by far the worst place we stayed. We got stuck on the FOURTH floor (no elevator). The room was so hot, I was sweating seriously all night long with not even a sheet on. The closest bathroom was on the first floor. The showers were horrible and had no place to keep your belongings so you weren't running around naked in front of other people. London was great -- this place was anything but. My only compliment is that the breakfast of toast and cereal was better than most other hostels.