Belfast International Youth Hostel

I recently stayed at the Belfast International Youth Hostel in a private room during my trip to Belfast. While the location of the hostel was absolutely perfect — centrally located and within walking distance of most key attractions — and the view from the room was quite pleasant, unfortunately, the overall experience was disappointing. To begin with, the room itself was well below average. The cleanliness left much to be desired. The floor tiles were not properly fixed, which not only looked unkempt but also made walking around uncomfortable. The room felt very outdated, as though it hadn’t been refurbished or even properly maintained in the past 10 years. The bathroom, although technically clean, was extremely old and poorly maintained. Fixtures were worn out, the design felt decades behind, and the general atmosphere gave a sense of neglect. It was far from the standard one would expect, even from a budget accommodation. Now, coming to the bed — it was genuinely the worst I’ve ever encountered in any hotel or hostel. It was incredibly squeaky; even the slightest movement, like adjusting my leg, would result in loud creaking noises that disrupted my sleep. The bedsheets and duvet did not feel clean, and the bedding overall lacked the freshness and comfort expected from any kind of paid accommodation. In summary, while the location and view were the only redeeming aspects of the stay, the room condition, bathroom quality, and especially the bed comfort were far below acceptable standards. With some serious attention to maintenance and upgrades, the hostel could greatly improve the guest experience — but as it currently stands, I would not recommend staying here.

The neighbourhood is a bit scruffy, but I was pleasantly surprised by my stay here. The staff on the front desk are very friendly and helpful; there are several fast-food options at hand; it's right on a major bus line; the bed was comfortable; there's a TV lounge and a big kitchen, if you want to cook your own meals. There's a laundry service one street over, along with pubs, chain convenience stores and entertainment venues. Breakfast is available at the cafe next door (not included in the room price). It's a fairly easy walk into the centre of town, as is Queen's University in the other direction. The one 'surprise' is the bathroom/shower - if you like Navy showers, you're in luck here. You can shower and clean the toilet in one shot, so to speak.

So some of the reviews weren't great for this hostel but it is obvious they have addressed a lot of those issues and are working to modernize an old building.||We had a 2 person room (bunkbeds) with sink and shelf and rail for hanging clothes. Shared bathrooms directly across from us.||Some of the negative reviews addressed:||Heat -we found it very warm|Dated-downstairs and kitchen and gallery are modern and well equipped.|Could do with a pool table and board games downstairs to create a bit of an atmosphere.|Library could do with a shuffle round. Remove a bookcase. Upcycle the other with a bit of paint. Put in a corner couch 6 x9.. Move t.v to right of door. Remove huge desk and replace with small one or none.||The rooms in this youth hostel are rustic. If you are coming from European hostels that are brand new or purpose built then you may look for privacy beds and brand new everything. This is not that. It's old style, basic but spotlessly clean with free tea and coffee a great cafe accessed from left of reception (open 8am to 2pm accepts euro as well as stg)|| What is lacks in modern rooms it makes up for in location and price and free towels!. It is CENTRAL! You can walk everywhere. FANTASTIC LOCATION and for us to park the car in a safe place at the back was brilliant. Found staff to be very friendly and helpful. ||It is basic but it is working hard in other ways to give really good value for money which is appreciated. So so handy. We will be back again

Been coming here over 20 years . Changed alot . Best Youth Hostel in the World as far as I am concerned. Multi national and generational. Great kitchen set up. Great dorms and wet rooms. Great library and chill out areas. Launderette free coffee and tea

A copy of an email I sent following a two night stay at the end of May. Despite a number of attempts to try and get the hostel to recognise my complaints, including supposedly forwarded to the CEO, after nearly 3 weeks, I have been ignored:||We are hugely disappointed and angry by our stay over the weekend - Friday and Saturday night. Although one is obviously not paying for 5 star, basic standards would be expected.||At a bare minimum, the accommodation should be safe. One of the bunk bed's top bunk safety rail was broken and wouldn't stay in place, leaving the risk of our child falling from the top bunk. In addition, my wife cut herself on the broken bolt while we tried to fix it.||The accommodation was dirty, no toilet roll for one of the nights, no soap and bins including a sanitary bin was overflowing.||We tried to eat breakfast in the communal kitchen, however there was only one mug and two spoons available in the kitchen, which seems inexcusable given the kitchen is supposedly cleaned every day.

The room we stayed in was basic. The bunk beds were surprisingly comfortable. We had to use the share bathrooms, although there were ensuits for two people in the building. There was no breakfast but a nice cafe which sold great food right next door and there was a kitchen to cook your own food . The staff were all lovely and helpful. It was also quiet and warm.

This is not an ideal hostel to be honest. Only if you are in a tight budget and you are okay with bad showers, vomit filled toilets and broken kitchens with little to no resources. There are no mugs in the kitchen, the kettles are limescled to hell and back, stains everywhere, looks greasy and unclean in general, oven and hobs broken. The toilets were not cleaned for 2 days and had vomit in them, clearly could hear a lot of people enjoying each other in the showers. The showers themselves also were the wet room kind with no curtain so the toilet and sink got soaked as well. No good ventilation present. Plumbing makes a horrid sound anytime it's turned on throughout the night, like a screeching car. Barely any common area, in the 2 there are, the furniture is uncomfortable, looks unclean and is unwelcoming. Staff is not approachable, but helpful if asked. We checked in after 11pm then went out to a shop and came back 5 mins later. Front desk receptionist came to door and asked us for keys as if she didn't check us in 5 mins ago. Girl, it's literally us. We were the last people you saw. Relax, no one is ransacking this garbage hostel. My advice is to book Vagabinds hostel for an actual sense of community, clean standard of hygiene and care.

Room was not that great however the guest services was exceptional. Staffs so friendly and kind. Even tho rooms was not great bcos of customer service I given a 5 star rating

Fantastic! By far the best hostel I've been to! Staff are caring and helpful -we arrived an hour and a half before check-in and were exhausted after traveling 45 hours with only 5 hours of sleep. Shout out to Paul who, after seeing me sleeping in the waiting room, got us settled into a room quickly. Further, due to some health troubles, we had to extend our stay 2 days, which meant leaving on a very popular local holiday. Paul went out of his way to ensure our comfort and to help arrange transport to the airport. The hostel is in a wonderful location. The walls are not thin, the room was comfy with a bedroom and bathroom that were not cramped (unlike other hostels). There was a fantastic cafe downstairs with amazing food at good prices. Further, there is a coin laundry room, television room, library, and kitchen for guest use. Across the street is a lively bar that gets a little loud sometimes -but we personally felt it was charming. The hostel is about a 10 minute walk from the Europa bus station and was within walking distance to many of the sites. I'm so glad we chose this hostel and got to meet the amazing Paul! Thank you for an extraordinary stay -I cannot adequately convey my appreciation during what was a painful and stressful time for my husband and myself.

I stayed here a night since it was way cheaper to catch a flight to Iceland from Belfast than Dublin. The location is convenient, near a university, about a 15 minute walk from the bus station, about a 20 minute walk to City Hall. This is a big hostel with a library, TV lounge, several floors, a lift (elevator), and a lounge next to reception. The wi-fi only works on the ground floor. The kitchen is opened 6am-11pm, and no food is allowed after midnight. The adjoining Causeway Cafe is open 7:55am-12pm. Unfortunately the shared kitchen didn't have any common ingredients like oil during my stay. The 23-bed all female dorm had an ensuite bathroom. It wasn't even close to being full so it didn't feel cramped. And it was cheap by UK standards, only £12.50 for the night. Each bed has its own light with storage underneath. But there was no way to lock the bin. There are electrical outlets nearby if you're on the bottom bunk. The showers are push button which means you have to push the button to get water, but at least you can control the temperature. No hooks nor places to put your towel in the showers though! No hand soap nor towels next to the sink either! The luggage room is actually secured, something I find rare in hostels. Meaning they actually tag your luggage and give you a number to retrieve it. Most hostels just put your luggage in a room and let you retrieve your own luggage. Anyway, decent place to stay in Belfast with all the basics.

It is a youth hostel. So I shouldn't be expecting much in terms of creature comforts. There was a lot of irritating little bits but the breakfast on offer,which is great, pushes then from being 2 stars to 3. Let's get the irritating but a out if the way - the flush in the toilet made a horrific sound as it filled up. We got scared the first time round thinking the building was collapsing. The taps in the bathroom are weird - they need you to hold down the "button" for the water to flow. This of course means you can't wash your face with both hands. Also, the shower dosnt drain well. So beware of the flood if you think of having a long warm shower. Finally, there were some drunk hollering people in the corridor at 3am. I shouldn't hold that against the establishment and I don't. But. There is always a but! The breakfast is super reasonable and the staff is super friendly. Great start to the day if you are planning on walking around Belfast in the ahead. All in all - that breakfast means I forgive most of the faults but its still a so so place to stay.

Checked in here and was greeted by an incredibly friendly concierge. He was eager to give me a city guide and run me through what I "must see", after I told him I'd never been and I was excited to explore the city. It was really helpful and I was really pleasantly surprised by my room (4 bed female room). We had a private bathroom attached and it was fairly clean. The other 3 in the room and I had issues with the wifi but other than that, there were really no complaints. All the appliances worked, the amenities advertised were all at the ready, and it was a really convenient location! I'd happily stay here again and for less than $20 a night, it can't be beat!