YHA St Pauls Hostel London - Reviews - London

I stayed in YHA St Paul's for 3 nights. St Paul's is located in the finanical district in the City of London. It is moderately convenient, in terms of transportation. The nearest Tube station is Blackfriar station, from there, a 5-10 minutes walk will get you to St Paul's YHA. Or, you can stop at St Paul's station if the Circle/ District line is under planned engineering works, and walk a longer distance to the YHA hostel. Since the hostel is conveniently located just one street behind St Paul's cathedral, it would be difficult to get lost while locating the hostel.

Security is good here, because one needs to ring a bell before entering the hostel, that way the doors will not be opened without the receptionist's knowledge. Also, a security guard will be on duty from 11pm to 7pm.

The staff are always smiling even though there can be many people queuing at the reception area. There is also a YHA travel shop so if you can purchase attraction tickets, travelcards, phonecards, sourvenirs, toiletries or drinks at the reception counter. There are also many brochures and books in the lobby area so if you need information about where to go after London, or UK, you can always do some browsing there.

The rooms usually have 6 beds or 4 beds, and are spacious. The best part about the rooms is that every bed has an assigned locker and the locker is huge, big enough to squeeze in a backpack with ease. Some beds have lockers located near them, but for all my 3 nights here, I was assigned bed with locker located at the other side of the room, which is inconvenient when I want to get my things out, I cant do it from my bed...Anyway, the locker is really a plus. The rooms and beds are clean.

The beds are actually 3 levels, so if you are sleeping at the top, you really need to be very careful in case you wake up the two people sleeping underneath you. All rooms have washing basin and mirrors. Toilets and shower rooms are located at the sides of the corridors. There are plentiful so there is no worries about queuing for showers.

Breakfast is complimentary and begin serving at 7.30am. If you need to leave before this time, you can arrange for a packed breakfast before 7.00pm at the reception counter the previous day. There are many variety of food available for breakfast, which should last you till late afternoon. The restaurant also serves lunch and dinner.

The hostel is located within walking distance of St Paul's cathedral and the Millenium bridge. The nearest bus-stop is behind at St PAul's cathedral, where Bus tours also stop. Take bus 15 will take you to Tower of London, and bus 11 to Victoria Station.

As the hostel is located in the financial region, many restaurants and shops only operate during the office working hours, so if you are looking for meals or shopping opportunities here after 7pm, it would be difficult to find a shop that is open.

The hostel is very quiet, but if you are a light sleeper, the chimes from the cathedral can be a nuisance at night. Also, the rooms are not very sound-proof, so if someone is walking along the corridor outside your room, you can hear the creaking of the floors quite clearly. Other then that, St Pauls is a quiet place for a good rest.

There is a laundry, a luggage room, internet, TV lounge, phones for local and international calls. The internet is very expensive, so do not use them unless it is necessary. It cost 1 pound for 15minute use.