Located in a quiet village at the edge of the Brecon Beacons 16 miles from Swansea, Merlins Backpackers is surprisingly well serviced by public transport. Even though the journey takes ages there are busses hourly or more from Swansea to Ystradgynlais until at least 10pm every night which is certainly unusual for Wales! The hostel is only 100 meters from the bus stop and is located upstairs from a café. Not a lot of backpackers independently make it to Ystradgynlais, but the hostel is well used by adventure sports tour groups. It would be advisable to phone ahead to this place.
The café down stairs is open for breakfast and lunch and is very reasonably priced. The bar is also open on Friday and Saturday nights. There is no kitchen for backpackers but there is ample take-away in the town. The pub up the road does lunch and some dinners, there are two Chinese and one Indian take away. And of course they do fish 'n chips too. During the day there is a bakery and there are several convenience stores as well.
There are not a lot of hostel facilities to speak of but there is a TV in the bar which we were able to watch when the café was shut. And all the rooms are ensuite and fitted with alarm clocks! Sheets are included also.
From Ystradgynlais you can brave the bus system and try to make it to Gower or Brecon for the day (attempting a journey in Wales that requires more than one bus can be a futile mission). A safer option would be going to Swansea or Mumbles or just taking a bus a short way towards Brecon and taking a walk or visiting the nearby Dan-yr-ogof showcaves.
Despite its lack of facilities Merlins was a lovely, simple, clean, quiet, and friendly place to spend a few days.
— Informe exclusivo de Hostelz.com
September 2005
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