The Generator seemed to be the place with the most parties when I was last in London… and seemed cheap too. But I didn’t stay there cause I heard it was kinda sketch. Maybe someone who’s stayed there could fill in more.

Is the Picadilly Backpackers any good? they are so cheap and so central to everything..

hey guys..

i too am going to london in october. last time we went, 2 years ago, we stayed at generator and it wasn’t too bad at all.. very partyish with lots of travellers, so if you want something super quiet it isn’t for you (but i am guessing picadilly is like that too)..

we decided for generator over picadilly’s again for this trip, mostly because i have been there before so i know what to expect. it was also cheaper than picadilly’s, especially when booking through an online angent like studios92.com (they are cheaper than booking through generator itself). also, while picadilly is right next to picadilly circus, generator is still really close to everything and it has areas around it that are good for chillin out and stuff.. I would take a look at various sites online to see reviews and stuff (bugeurope, hostelz.com, even this site), there were a couple reviews about picadilly that were a bit iffy..

all in all tho, i am sure either one would be a good choice

I have been to all 3 so I would deffinatly say the Generator had the most wild party atmosphere! It was also the cheapest as I recall. The Picadilly had the best location by far because it is right in the center of the entertainment district but I can’t say much for the hostel its self. Christophers was the most comfortable and the bar was pretty fun. I would stay there again but would go to one of the others if my primary goal was to party down Have fun!

Thanks guys u were heaps of help. Unfortunately i’ll be travellin alone now but aleast i’ve got a great hostel to party at. Thanks again.

Jaz you’ll never be travelling alone unless you want to. If you are friendly and open-minded, you can meet lots of great people during your travels. You may even come to be glad that your friend bailed and you’re on your own, cause you can do what you want when you want. Staying in a social hostel will pretty much guarantee that you will meet people to hang out with (unless you’re a recluse who spends all the time in your room or something), and this way, if people start to get on your nerves you can ditch them.

Enjoy your trip!

Stay at Generator Hostel. Cheap and really fun. The bar is great and they have theme nights. Wasnt really sketchy kinda smelled weird though, definatly worth staying. Close to Underground. Would stay here again.

An alterative is Ashlee House, where I stayed. The others are fine, but they are the fast food of backpacker hostels, though if your into loads of teens, then i’d go for Generator anyday.

ashleehouse.co.uk

I agree with bobdalton5, if you are into teens then the generator is for you, but beware, they have coach loads of European teenagers often stay there, so it can get kinda noisy in a different way

Thanks guys for the advice. I have another friend comin with now she really likes the look of the Generator. So we are going to check it out. We will be stayin a the hostels for a few weeks so i think we might give Ashlees house a go for the week after. Thanks again

DOVER CASTLE 4 SURE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Great people…great bar….great rooms!!

Dover castle eh? Im looking for a hostel to stay in too, and I dont know which one to stay at, but dover castle looks interesting. Im flying into LHR, is it fairly accessible from there? Also, has anyone else stayed there? Thanks

I don’t know anything about it, but Dover Castle has had about the worst reviews here and on BugEurope.com . I’d be curious to hear why shorty liked it.

I noticed that too. But Smart Hyde park is looking allright, I just dont know much about the locations. It seems to be getting alright reviews at the least.

Dover Castle is laid back and casual, it seemed OK to me when I looked in 3 years ago. The main complaints seem to have been about the people who live there who may not be tolerant to newcomers. Smart Hyde Park is OK, the common areas are rather spartan and have 3 TVs in 2 rooms, and you have to HIRE DISHES if you want to use the kitchen. There’s a lot more opinions on London hostels on my site at
www.uktrail.com . If you find a hostel in London that is really good, please report back here or to my site!

I LOVED DOVER CASTLE!! The staff is very polite! People do live there so it is always very quiet, always a good nite rest! It may not be the cleanest hostel, but it has a warm and relaxing environment. The bar is attached to the hostel so you can chill some nites!!
I can’t wait 2 visit there again!!

i’m gonna try St. christophers inn village.. looks cool.

i was also considering the globetrotters inn in hammersmith.. it only opened in october, but the reviews on it are amazing.. plus if you book through ryanair hostels you can stay there for only 10 pounds a night

This may be getting redundant..but the Generator in London is the best hostel for meeting up with other backpackers. Just head down to the bar and you’ll instantly have tons of cool people to chat with. The only drawback to the Gen is that it accomodates lots of annoying school groups—but generally they are too young to hang in the bar, although they do litter the hallways late at night…but just try to ignore them and you’ll be fine. I stayed at the Gen for almost a month in October 2002.

Do NOT go to Christopher’s Inn at Camden! I thought it’d be cool as Camden is a hip area—but the hostel was disgusting. I walked in my room and there literally was garbage on the floors in the middle of the room. The bed that was assigned to me had unknown stains on the sheets. And I won’t even gross you out with how disgusting the bathrooms were. I immediately left and that’s how I ended up at the Gen.