Dover Castle Hostel

Dover Castle Hostel has a cosy, home-away-from-home atmosphere with a homey living room and kitchen. Most people are long-termers, adding to the house-like atmosphere. They are very welcoming to the short stay travelers. There is free Wi-Fi throughout the hostel. The hostel lacks clean bathroom facilities.

The Location

The hostel is across from Borough Tube. The Southwark location is good and there are many eating options and a Sainsburys down the road. Bourough market is a short walk away.

Rooms and Bathrooms

Dorms are all mixed and vary in number of beds. Dorms are accessed by key. Rooms have coat hooks and a small mirror, which is too high up to see into. They need a good hoover. There are lockers outside the rooms, which you must pay for. The radiators are on too high, making it far too hot and therefore difficult to sleep. Beds are made up by staff at around 2 p.m. -- not good if you need an earlier nap after check-in!

There are one or two individual toilets per floor, which is not enough -- and they smell of urine. There is one bathroom per floor, containing a sink and two showers separated by curtains. The curtains do not close fully and are short, so it is not appropriate to have more than one person in the bathroom at a time. There is a lock on the door so people can shower on their own, but then the second shower in the room is wasted.

Common Spaces

Reception is downstairs and accessed with a door code (as is the front door). There are Dover Castle t-shirts for sale as well as some snacks and travel goods. Kitchen is well equipped (however, a wild mouse lives there and the staff do not want to exterminate it!). The lounge area gets very busy and social and there are not enough seats for guests -- plus the room is too hot! There is a television. There is a quiet pub joined to the hostel where you get a free welcome drink and discounts on beer. Free breakfast is served there in the morning.

Summary

It's a nice place for a short or long stay with a relaxed atmosphere, but watch out for the bathrooms! Sometimes there are parties in the lounge. It's good for meeting locals.

— Avis exclusif de Hostelz.com
December 2008