Avalon House Hostel

First of all, the hostel is not the building you see on the pictures. Avalon House is nowhere near a hygienic, safe or decent place to stay. Very noisy, dirty rooms without any privacy: there is a window above your door. There's only 4 showers and toilets for a whole (or even two) floors, which are very dirty too. The smell sometimes was so horrible we had to breathe throughout our mouths. The people that stayed here were terrifying and the staff was very unkind and not helpful. For your own safety and dignity, do not stay in the avalon house!

My husband and I booked a total of three nights in this establishment in a 2 twin-bed room (the only option available for a private room at the time of our stay). On our very first morning around 9 or so, a woman startled us awake when she barged into our room. Even after she observed my husband sleeping in in his bed when she cracked the door, she continued in to the room where she stood and looked around for what felt like an eternity. She left with no explanation of why she came in to our room unexpectedly, so I can only imagine it was due to confusion and/or miscommunication amongst the staff, but I feel the we deserved some sort of explanation and apology that we never received. This violation of our privacy on our first morning left us feeling pretty insecure and uncomfortable for the rest of our stay. On the up side, the location is great, walking distance from great sightseeing and pubs. Our bedroom was clean and the bathrooms were also clean and functional, although the button press shower is a bit of a pain.

The staff here were lovely - so 10/10 there. Rooms were fine, but we (a couple) booked a double room with a double bed advertised, and instead got bunks. The internet was basically non existent on the 4th floor so wouldn't bank on that if its a necessity for you. On our last night, the fire alarm went off somehow (no fire) and it was left running for around 30mins-40 mins at 3.40am which wasn't ideal at all; especially as that was the dearest night to have booked. Showers were okay, and bathrooms were clean. Location was fantastic, so if you're up for fore-fitting a few basic conveniences to stay central then this place will suit just fine.