Torquay House (Royal Oak), London

The Location

Torquay Hostel is not immediately located in the best area, but that's no problem because the nearest tube stop is only a minute's walk away and you can basically get anywhere you want with the tube. There are a couple of supermarkets and a gas station right across the street from the hostel as well as a soccer field and skate park. The hostel is very easy to find from the nearest tube stop, as long as you follow the directions that Torquay provides.

Rooms and Bathrooms

Torquay offers dorm rooms with two, four, or six beds. They offer all female, all male, or mixed dorms. They are single-sized bunk-style beds and pillow and blanket are included. Torquay does not offer private rooms. Upon arrival, you will get two keys -- one for the room, and one for a security locker located in the room (which is included in the price. Note that guests do have to leave some sort of security deposit such as a passport or drivers license in exchange for their keys. Dorm doors do not lock automatically so you must remember to always lock the door behind you, whether coming or going.

Rooms have a bathroom with a shower. It is an actual bathroom, so there is space to change. The showers, however, can take a long time to get warm enough and are often times just a trickle of water. The bathrooms are not generally very clean -- it is obvious that they are not cleaned very often. There is a soap dispenser in every bathroom.

Common Spaces

There is a kitchen on every floor, but these are very minimal and also poorly cleaned. Each kitchen has a mini fridge, two sinks, and two mini ovens with two burners on top. There are almost no utensils in the kitchen so it may be a good idea to bring your own silverware. And cooking tools such as pots and pans are minimal.

There is a TV room with two couches, which is also where breakfast is served. Breakfast by the way, is corn flakes and toast. Torquay also offers internet for a by-the-hour charge, which is pretty good compared to other hostels in London. The hostel also has a small patio. Torquay, however, is not the most social hostel. It's a bit quiet and there are some shady characters who stay there but the overall feeling is not unsafe. We would recommend however, that women travelers on their own reserve an all-female dorm.

Summary

Torquay hostel is located in an older, run-down building and we did notice some mold in the walls, so people with mold allergies might want to steer clear. Torquay is a cheap place to stay and you get what you pay for. If you're looking for a very upbeat, social place, then Torquay is probably not the best option. But it's a clean bed and a roof over your head and is just fine for a night or two.

This is basically a hostel, a so so hostel. I guess for the price I shouldn't complain. The bathrooms are fairly clean, there as a huge kitchen on every floor (so we were told), which is great. We did have a fridge in our room as well. The staff were fine. There is a common room but no one uses it. The bad sides include the area (its close to the tube but first stop of zone two) and the fact that the hostel sits on an unpleasant highway, next to a gas station. This makes it noisy and not pleasant out the door. The mattress was terrible, really terrible. Some sort of a worn away box spring - and really, I'm not fussy. The girl at the desk suggested I sleep on the floor instead. They did try and exchange the mattress when I complained, but I guess they didn't have anything better.

I've spent there 3 nights with my boyfriend and we really enjoyed being so close to the tube station. It was great to have a bathroom of our own and we saved a lot of money by cooking in "our" kitchen. Bring some stuff like washing-up liquid along...