YMCA Jewell House

Not going back for sure!
What really turned me off was the standard of cleanliness of the toilets and bathrooms. It was poorly maintained and in spite of the supposed daily cleaning, the toilets and bathrooms looked like they haven't seen mops and brushes since the dawn of time. There were tons of stains on the walls and at the corners. On a more positive note, the room was equipped with TV and fridge, and the bedsheets were clean. Jewell House is definitely rundown by most hostel standards, and I can tell that no upgrading effort has been made at all. However the rates were relatively cheap and the location is near the city. I would not go back again, but for non-fussy backpackers I don't think they will have much of a problem. I can tell that several occupants (whom I believed were staying on a long term basis) on my floor had made themselves very comfortable.

A Half-Way house for ex-convicts
This should not be advertised as a hostel. this is a half way house full of old men. My boyfriend and I stayed here for five nights in the middle of April. We were asked on a few occasions if we knew where one could get some "gear." So that's just one example. There's no kitchen so you can't make any food. The bedrooms are small and smelly. The showers are disgusting with brown stains over the walls -- rotten. My advice for anyone that's reading this considering staying here, for your own sake, don't.

The food is sh*t, and the lifts are slow, but the hostel is in the city and it's central to everything, so I'm not complaining.

This place is an excellent value for money. It has the best-ever staff. It's very central; everything is within a ten-minute walk. I keep coming back to this place and enjoying it.

This hotel is dirty. Someone threw up in the lift and it was hideous for days. The bathrooms are disgusting and the place is extremely overpriced. The laundry facilities are especially pricey. This is the worst YMCA I have ever stayed at, and I have traveled all over the world.

The staff are very friendly. I'm coming back again.