Long Street Backpackers

The Location

Long Street Backpackers hostel is, as the name suggests, located on Long Street in Cape Town. Long Street is the main tourist thoroughfare, packed with hostels, travel centres, and tourist offices, as well as bars, restaurants, and cafes. The hostel is close to a small supermarket where groceries and alcohol can be purchased. Long Street is also in one of the safest areas of Cape Town, and is monitored by CCTV cameras. From the hostel, most of the highlights of the city are within a thirty-minute walk or a short taxi drive away.

The South African-owned hostel's staff are a combination of local Capetonians and expats and are all very helpful and can arrange all the activities on offer in the locality. The hostel has a small reception/bar area. The staff are on a first-name basis with most of their guests. Each evening there is a daily activity and a free dinner on Sunday evenings. There is an excellently serviced kitchen for guests who want to prepare their own meals and adequate dining space indoors or in the courtyard. There is a fully-stocked information room on all areas of South Africa and a pool table and book exchange. The hostel is a Bazbus stop.

Rooms and Bathrooms

The hostel has about eighty beds located in small, five-bed dorms which have been converted from sixteen separate apartments. The apartment blocks encircle the courtyard which is the meeting point for evening drinks. The rooms are spacious and the hostel provides clean bed linen. There is a bathroom in each block that usually sleeps about ten people. Hot water is available all the time. There are security lockers in the rooms and valuables can also be stored in the reception safe. There are some single and double rooms available at a higher cost.

The hostel is secure -- guests are given the gate code to enter and there is a night security guard. The individual apartments all have separate keys, so safety and security is not a worry.

Common Spaces

Although the bar area is quite small, in summer the party spills out to the courtyard, which has plenty of tables and chairs for guests to use. There are also the terraces, which overlook Long Street. There is a TV room available for guests also.

Summary

This is an excellent hostel to stay in, with clean rooms and a good location with excellent hostel facilities. Many tourists arrive in or leave from Cape Town, but it is worth spending four or five days minimum here. There are lots of things to do and the staff in this hostel are very helpful.

— Avis exclusif de Hostelz.com
November 2008