Palmers Lodge Hostel

Palmers Lodge Hostel is a lovely Victorian mansion and calls itself a boutique backpackers. It's a nice change from average buildings -- it feels rather special.

The Location

The location is good -- North West London in the London Borough of Camden. It is a five-minute bus ride (Bus 31 Stop E on Avenue Road -- down from the tube) or a twenty-minute walk to Camden. It is in zone 2 but is only four stops on the Jubilee line to Bond Street/Central London. Swiss Cottage tube is about a two-minute walk from the hostel as well as Finchley Road tube a five-minute walk away. Just a few minutes further is Finchley Road and Frognal Overground. Swiss Cottage is a nice, middle class area with many shops, pubs, and eating places on Finchley Road. There is also the landmark pub Swiss Cottage that gives the area its name. It sits on the crossroads of the districts of St. John's Wood (where celebs live), Hampstead, West Hampstead, and Primrose Hill and is minutes from the hostel. Right down the street from the hostel is a twenty-four-hour deli which is very popular with the hostelers. There is free parking available at the hostel.

Rooms and Bathrooms

There are private rooms. There are dorm rooms ranging in size from four up to twenty-eight beds. Some rooms have curtains around the beds, others do not. There are female-only dorms or mixed dorms. Some mixed dorms have double beds for couples! Rooms are accessed by key card. There are lockers under the beds but they are rather awkward to pull out if you have another bunk close by! Also the two lockers under each bunk are joined together, so you have to pull out your own locker and your bunk buddy's locker too. Beds are ready made up on arrival (2 p.m. check-in) and if you stay a while, housekeepers will change the sheets weekly. Each bed has its own reading light. This can be annoying if there are no curtains around the bed and you are trying to sleep!

All dorms have a different character due to this hostel being an old mansion -- some are a little gloomy. There is one female dorm with en-suite bathroom but apparently this is about to be converted into private rooms. All other rooms use communal bathrooms -- all are mixed. The bathrooms are the only part of the building that are not in keeping with the old mansion -- they are new modern bathrooms. They can get smelly. Shower water pressure is not particularly good. Also since bathrooms are mixed most people probably prefer to dress in the shower. There is room for this with a small bench and hooks, however the shower stalls get very steamy and wet so you may find it difficult! There are soap dispensers in the bathrooms and paper towels and hand dryers. Some toilet cubicles have tiny sinks and soap dispensers in the toilet cubicle. It is very difficult to wash ones face in these tiny sinks. The floors also get very wet. Rooms and bathrooms are cleaned daily.

Common Spaces

There is a large lobby with twenty-four-hour reception where you can book tours. There are also many London souvenirs to purchase. Board games are available to rent. There are computers for internet access in the lobby (internet is free, as is Wi-Fi, which is available throughout most of the hostel). However many people do a lot of downloading so the internet can get slow. There is a grand television lounge with books above the fireplace as well as computers, a pool table, a tea and coffee machine, and vending machines. The TV lounge, usually full of laptop users, is not really great for watching TV due to the layout and size. Also the TV only has channels 1 through 5 (but there is a television in the kitchen that has sky channels).

In the basement is a restaurant serving cheap evening meals Monday through Saturday. There is free breakfast in the morning, which consists of juice, fruit, cereal, toast, and croissants. There is no guest fridge and no kitchen for cooking, but there is a microwave and kettle. There is a bar with cheap drinks, and bringing your own alcohol into the hostel is forbidden. There is a conservatory area above the bar. There is an outdoor patio with seats and a BBQ for summer. All common areas are social, particularly the bar, for obvious reasons! The weekend is the liveliest time in the bar -- people sometimes dance on tables! There is luggage storage for free. There are also lockers available for a price. There is an elevator. There are laundry facilities and an ironing board.

Summary

This is a great comfortable hostel. It is easy to meet people and have fun in the bar but it is not a major party hostel so you can get a good night's sleep. It is lacking a guest kitchen and not everyone will like the mixed bathrooms. Despite this the hostel attracts a lot of long stayers looking for jobs -- probably due to the free Wi-Fi. The hostel is very friendly. Overall it's a great option. It's clean and welcoming, and being an old English mansion is a great experience for foreign travelers.

— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
March 2009