Clink261

I rarely leave reviews, but this stay was unacceptable. The showers were absolutely disgusting, there was vomit, hair all over the floor and walls, and gunk on both mornings I tried to shower. It was clear they hadn’t been properly cleaned in who knows how long. It was genuinely unusable. The rooms were tiny and crammed, with barely any space to move, let alone store luggage. I had booked multiple nights but had to leave early and find another place to stay. I requested a refund for the last night and have yet to be contacted. I even returned twice to speak with the manager, both times I was told they were on shift, but they never showed up. Totally disappointed and still waiting for a response. Would not recommend

The men’s bathroom and the 18 bed dorm smelled funky and ripe. Location is a readable distance from places you might want to be but not too close to where you’ll want to avoid (the station area itself.) Staff was great, guests were quiet and courteous. Lockers didn’t include locks but those were available for purchase. Beds had power outlets and lights, and reasonable privacy as you slept. You do have to make them yourself though which can be awkward. Skylight in room was a nice touch.

I was booking with bunk bed and then I upgraded it to private pod which is 18 person in the room. In the room itself has a basin and a mirror, but it’s literally in front of other bed. I feel stress stepping in front of others’ area to use the basic, so mostly of the time I was going to share the bathroom. Its bathroom is separated female and male. Female has only 1 basin. Sometimes you have to wait – didn’t think it can be used with 2 people at the same time. It’s extremely small.My pod come with a curtain. It has 2 lights – you can adjust the light colour tone as warm or cold. The entrance of the pod has a little fan. It was summer, so it’s super hot. I ended up sleeping my head toward the entrance, and my legs are the most in in the pod... so the fans can directly blow on my face.

I have stayed in plenty of hostels and had very high hopes for this one after doing research on many hostels in London, and this is by far the worst hostel I have ever stayed in. The staff doesn’t communicate or look at emails. I emailed 3 months ago about me and my companions staying together in the same room. They never “received” the email so we weren’t placed in the same room. When we got there the first night the staff told us that they couldn’t place us in the same room the first night, but the last two nights they could. To be fair, we booked different rooms, but nevertheless, they told us they could accommodate us. We came down the next day because we had to check in and check out everyday due to them splitting our booking to accommodate their mistake, but when we mentioned our situation to the new staff, they had no idea. This happened again that night where the staff said it wasn’t possible to accommodate what they promised us the first night. The staff members were very hard to talk to and told us all different things. The rooms were very crammed and very hot. The bathroom has one very small sink that is almost impossible to use for hygiene purposes. We had to cancel the final night and asked for a refund due to all the confusion and complications that they caused, combined with the poor conditions, but they said their manager would come in and talk to us… funny enough the day we were supposed to check out. Don’t trust the pictures. To wrap this up, it was a very poor experience. Wouldn’t recommend to my friends.

I had an absolutely amazing stay at this hostel! The vibe was incredibly welcoming and social, making it easy to meet fellow travelers in the common areas. The staff went out of their way to help with everything from local recommendations to solving any issues that came up - they truly made me feel at home. The beds were exceptionally comfortable with quality mattresses and soft bedding, which provided a perfect night’s sleep after long days of exploring. I would definitely stay here again and highly recommend it to anyone looking for both comfort and a friendly atmosphere.

I love almost every single thing about this hostel. The price, location, staff, rooms and kitchen are all wonderful. There are only 3 minor things I'd improve. One is I wish the elevator wasn't broken as often, but most hostels don't even have elevators. Two, I wish the kitchen had ovens, but it overall an excellent kitchen. And, finally - but most important to me, I wish the desk chairs downstairs had good cushions so those of us who work remotely for a few hours at a time could do so in comfort. Still, highly recommend this hostel as an excellent value and experience.

Check in was swift, staff was friendly. Shower did not get super hot unfortunately and no way to adjust temperature. 4 bed dorm room has little to no floor space so it's a squeeze if you have a large suitcase with you. Lockers were also really small, cannot leave a suitcase in there. Booked it for the close proximity to St. Pancras as I had an early train to catch. Location is great.

Everything was perfect. The staff was very friendly and helpful. The pod really worth it, a good price and plenty of privacy. The location is great. The facilities are very good, the environment is cleaned frequently, the showers work well, the room has a sink and the kitchen is very well equipped. I recommend it.

I stayed here precovid, so not sure how things are now, but this was a run of the mill hostel. My friend and I am stayed in a mixed room and met some interesting people. My only real complaint was the bathroom was on a different floor, which wasn't ideal. Otherwise, it wasn't special, but it was fine.

Very cheap, but very very loud as well. Comforter was dirty, bed was tiny, and i was in a room with 8 other people. This hostel is definitely not geared towards young people. The bathrooms are also far from modern, they are not clean and are broken. Windows stayed open the whole night which meant hearing people and sirens into the late hours. Breakfast was nothing to be excited about, overall i wouldn't recommend.

The clink261 is very close to King's Cross Station and belongs to the clink78 which is much nicer. Things I liked: - location was close to King's Cross Station - low price for a stay - lockers were big enough to fit in a backpack - power socket with USB at the bedside Things that made the stay unpleasant: - During check-in and check-out the staff was ignoring guests to finish their chats. - The rooms (4 bed dorm) were so small that it was very difficult to open your luggage if there was another person in the room and the air was very stuffy. - Mattresses were outworn. - They don't give you a baggage tag for the luggage room so pretty much everybody who asks to get their baggage could freely walk in and grab what they want. Nobody is controlling it. - not enough bathrooms/restrooms on a floor. Things to notice: - complimentary Wi-Fi - community kitchen - laundry in the basement - in house breakfast possible - community program in cooperation with the clink78

A miserable three days and nights. Mold in the bathroom, which was constantly out of toilet paper, by the way, so I had to trek to different floors and check each ladies room one by one for supplies. Something burnt in the kitchen and the entire place smelled like a crematorium. Small, wobbly beds. Excruciatingly slow wifi. Convenient location, however. Trying to find a few pros to list out. Yeah, convenience is the only thing this wreck of a place has going for itself.

A good hostel overall, but lacking some of the amenities of more modern hostels, like power outlet and small light with every bunk. In fact the outlets were the most annoying part, with half of them behind bunks, etc. in my small room with 8 or 10 dorm beds. Bathrooms in the hallway. Small, but about average for a hostel, in my opinion. Clean. Hot water was fine. The breakfast in the morning was well done, with good options. The location is fantastic, just a couple hundred meters from Kings Cross St Pancras station, which is on the Piccadilly line (direct to/from London Heathrow Airport with no transfers) and is the terminal for Eurostar to/from Paris and Brussels. It's also a very convenient station to get to most tourist places in London, and (moderate) walking distance to Oxford St. Lastly, they offer tiny little lockers in the reception area for valuables, but none in the room I stayed in.

30 screaming children playing tag and body slamming each other into the walls at all hours of the night. I went down and told the front desk and he said their was nothing he could do. Didn't sleep the night before an 8 hour flight and 9 hour drive. In addition, the beds were small and uncomfortable and bathrooms were dingy. Would recommend paying more for a better place to stay during your time in London.

What's up with the bad reviews? Clink 261 was my 1st hostel and I thought it was great even after being spoiled by hotels all my life! Located near Kings Cross - the main crossroad of central London's transport, this hostel is an affordable living solution that has awesome amenities for young travelers. Perhaps it was recently updated, but each bed has its own USB charging port, UK power outlet, and light. The bed was a bit firm but even as a difficult sleeper, I thought the bed was pretty comfortable! The only gripes I have about the room are that the free Wi-Fi was not working (although the staff mentioned that it was temporarily down and in repair) and each bunk bed shared one locker basket (no problem for me but only because everyone in my room was trustworthy). Each floor has one toilet and two shower rooms. The toilet and the showers worked fine, so again, I think there was an update since the bad reviews about cold or un-pressurized shower. However, Clink 261's biggest draw is the common room that has free breakfast and a social atmosphere with fellow young travelers to meet! It's definitely a cool way to meet new people or simply have a conversation. Also, the free breakfast of toast and cereal with tea and coffee was an awesome amenity especially in an expensive city like London. Anyway, I thought I was going to hate it because I never stayed in a hostel before but because of Clink 261, I won't hesitate to stay in one again if everything else is too expensive. If you are a London traveler who doesn't require the hotel pamper, Clink 261 is an excellent choice! --- REMEMBER TO BRING: 1) UK plug adaptor 2) Toothbrush and toothpaste 3) Towel 4) Shampoo, conditioner, body wash 5) Combination lock If you forgot, you can buy them at the desk. Welcome to hostel life! --- tl;dr version: 1) Comfortable hostel with awesome updated amenities 2) Free breakfast and free wifi 3) Great place to meet fellow travelers

I stayed at this hostel during my 4 nights stay in London. I originally didn't like this place because it was rather boring. I was making the last leg of my trip alone and this place seemed rather blah. There didn't seem to be a social life to speak of and it wasn't a great way of meeting new people. It provided movie nights and breakfast (if you can call toast and cereal breakfast) but that was it. HOWEVER, it was clean, inexpensive, near the tube, the showers were hot and everyone seemed to go to bed at reasonable hours. I may not have liked this at first, but when I developed a terrible sinus infection/head cold on the last two days of my trip, I was very happy for this relaxed environment.

This is a great hostel. It's clean and inexpensive. Perfect for a foreign backpacker. Plus it's a convenient walking distance to the tube. This is important especially when you're carrying a 100lb backpack! cheers!

Very relaxed hostel great for a few nights sleep... showers were cold but it is a hostel so nothing new there clean, inexpensive and relaxed staff... close to the tube and safe

London is full inexpensive decent hostel type accomodation offering some great facilities without breaking the bank. Ashlee house is a stylish,modern,cheap accomodation with great facilities. There is a self-catering kitchen and relaxing lounge here .Ideally located being within easy access of British Museum,Covent Garden,Bloomsbury and Leicester Square.

This was one of the worst hostel experiences I have ever had. I am typing this review as I am laying in my bed having been woken up by screaming kids since 7 am. We are staying on an all girls floor but due to what we are understanding is a class trip of some sort there are 20-30 some students under the age of 18 staying here, so there are multiple boys on the floor we paid extra for all girls on. Both nights we stayed here we had trouble sleeping due to constant screaming, doors slamming, kids knocking on our door, and taking up space in the hallway making it difficult to use the restroom. We spoke to the man at the front desk after putting up with it for quite a while and he said he would speak to their teacher. Nothing changed after an hour so we went downstairs again and he basically said "what am I supposed to do I've spoken with their teacher already." Would not recommend this hostel if you like to sleep while on vacation. We tried to be understanding as it is a hostel and a cheap place to stay but would still like to be respected and able to go to bed during the "quiet hours" they enforce.

This was my first time in hostel and it really was a positive experience - the staff were helpful and chatty, the rooms and bathrooms clean and tidy. all you can eat breakfast was really good kick of the day. Awesome location too!

This hostel was good for what you pay for. It is in a great location-- a 5 minute walk to King's Cross and 10 minutes to Euston, which made it easy to catch the tube. The bedding we received was clean, and there were charging ports and lights on each bed (I was in one of the 18 bed mixed dorms). My charging port was not working, however I told the front desk and they had it fixed by the next night. Showers worked well-- I never had an issue with the hot water. There were a couple security issues while we stayed there: one guest was escorted from the hostel by police for fighting, while another had her phone and tablet stolen. The receptionist did her best to help the girl find out who stole her stuff, but we never found it. MAKE SURE YOU BRING A LOCK TO LOCK YOUR STUFF! They provide lockers, but I would not trust people not to take your stuff. The only cons of the room itself were that it was very dark, as there were almost no overhead lights, and that clearly no one had cleaned under or behind the beds, as there was a lot of dust and garbage under them.

I stayed here for around 5 nights and the place was okay, fairly run of the mill. The website and pictures on hostelworld.com made it look like one of the best hostels I was going to stay at on my trip which may have set my expectations too high, because it doesn't live up to the high standards set by its pictures. Pros: The bathrooms/showers were the best I experienced on my European trip. They gave sheets which was a plus, and they have a nice, large kitchen which I unfortunately didn't utilize the way I should have. They have a free breakfast every morning of the usual cereal, toast, etc. They also have a locked luggage room to keep bags in after check-out but before you leave the city which is great. It is also a short walk from St. Pancras and King's Cross stations which is convenient when getting to London from the airports. It's in a decently nice area of London; I never felt uncomfortable. Cons: The biggest for us was that there was no free internet. They have it, but it must be paid for, and it's not particularly cheap. It was the first leg of our journey, so not having it didn't bother me too much, but my brother who I traveled with needed it and ended up heading over to St. Pancras every night to utilize their free internet on his mobile device - a major inconvenience. One of my biggest concerns when searching for a hostel was safety and places to lock away my luggage. The website shows lockers, but there are a limited amount and none of them were open during my stay. On my bed there was a tiny box that I could lock away our passports and plane tickets, etc (lock not included), but my brother didn't have one on his lower bunk, so if there had just been one of us or if we both had bottom bunks, we would have had no place to lock anything away. Also, we're walkers (aka too poor to be taking public transit everywhere) and the hostel is a good hour walk from most attractions. Overall: I would stay here again, but only after looking more into other locations.

This is a true backpackers hostel. OK so its not the fanciest hostel you have ever stayed in, but the staff are cool and so are the other guests. Really enjoyed it and will definitely go back as the staff made this place.