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Welcome to our UK travel forum where you can get advice on everything from holidays to exotic destinations, to tips on London travel.

Original poster

youth hostelling

49 replies

misshardbroom · 20/02/2009 08:24

Apologies if this has all been done to death before, but does anybody have any experiences (good or bad) about using the private family rooms at youth hostels?

It's only just dawned on me that this could be an option for cheap short breaks in nice locations. Sick to death of never going anywhere because even the cheapest short break is £250+.

We have 3 children, 5, 4 & 3. All advice gratefully received!

OP posts:
LouIsAHappyLittleVegemite · 20/02/2009 20:24

I am the guru at hostels (if I say so myself). Where are you looking at going?
If you are looking for a fab place to go with nice family rooms then head to the Isle of Mull. Its where Balamory was filmed. Lots of wildlife to see, rocks to climb, fishing boats etc.. I went to see puffins myself. Would take kids anytime (plus there is an amazing deli and fish and chip place on the water).

winnie09 · 20/02/2009 20:29

no experience but will watch this thread with interest.

Simply · 20/02/2009 20:39

If you can list the places you're interested in, I'll add info if we've visited them. We have visited quite a few.

roisin · 20/02/2009 20:52

No, you're not the guru. I'm the YHA guru.
Tbh I don't think they are cheap, but they are cheap if you use Tesco vouchers, and they are cheap if you have more than two children (ie couldn't share a normal hotel room).

We've stayed in lots of the hostels in the Lake District, also Manchester and York. At Easter we're staying in Edinburgh (our first SYHA) and if that goes well then Aviemore in summer.

If you're planning to stay somewhere for a week it's generally better to hire a cottage, but for short stays YHAs are fab.

Ennerdale is my favourite so far, but Borrowdale is lovely too: fabulous location! We plan to do more Lake District YHAs this year.

In a medium-sized hostel I like the fact that the children have quite a bit of freedom to run around and make friends with other children there.

The rooms are basic, but generally OK. At Buttermere we had a very small room, but the location was fabulous.

LouIsAHappyLittleVegemite · 20/02/2009 21:42

roison - is it the new syha one not quite smack back in the centre? If it is it is FABULOUS!!!!!

nkf · 20/02/2009 21:45

I have stayed at a few. No bad experiences at all. I tend to go with a girlfriend and her kids. My husband is a bit snobby about hostels and you do need to be able to mingle and share. On the whole, I think they are great. Was there something specific you wanted to know?

Original poster
misshardbroom · 21/02/2009 09:00

Thanks for such positive, encouraging responses! I'm getting excited about this idea now, especially since roisin revealed you can pay with Tesco vouchers (seriously?? might be time to switch lifetime allegiance from Sainsbury's).

I suppose we're looking first and foremost at Lake District or Wales, although if someone was to recommend a fantastic one in the Yorkshire Dales or Peak District I wouldn't be averse to the idea. Primarily, it needs to have easy access to good, child friendly walks, especially if they're near a lake or safe coastal path. Other than that, I have no preconceptions.

A couple of specific questions:

  1. would you go for the evening meals provided at the hostel?
  2. where there is a self catering kitchen, is there potential to make up big packed lunches etc. for the day or is it more just for tea & coffee?
  3. do they still insist on the sheet sleeping bag thing??

And what would be your top tip about staying in one with young children?

Sorry to be a bit dim about it, feel free to direct me to an Amazon link for 'YHA for Dummies'

OP posts:
roisin · 21/02/2009 09:47

Lou, the Edinburgh one we're staying at is this one. It's not the new one - the Metro - as that has just single rooms apparently?

Misshardbroom:
Tescos - yes, seriously you can use Tesco Clubcard Deals: get saving.

  1. Meals - we often have meals at the hostels, as we're idle. We've generally found them to be good quality. It's worth booking though. Last summer we were at Buttermere and it was heaving. A family came in quite late in the evening, and were told there was no space left for dinner. Also at small hostels (like Ennerdale) you have to book meals in advance.
Breakfasts we've generally found to be fabulous, and more and more hostels are now including breakfast in the price. (Borrowdale do, so do York and Manchester).
  1. Self catering kitchen - these are usually a good size and plenty of cookers/kettles/big fridges etc. If you want to cook a proper meal you may need to work round other people, or wait a while until there is space, but generally it's quite friendly. Certainly no problem for making up big packed lunches.
  2. No you don't need to bring bed linen any more. They provide duvets, and you make up your own bed using the sheets provided; then strip them when you leave. You also don't have to do chores any more (which you did when I was a child!). But you do have to bring your own towels.
roisin · 21/02/2009 09:51

Top tips for surviving with young children.
If they are early risers, make sure they can find their own way to the lounge and you can have a lie-in
The main thing to master is the showers, flip-flops and a big plastic bag to put everything in to keep it dry is a good tip. My boys still manage to get things wet! But with your littlies you'll probably be accompanying them in the shower anyway to help get them sorted.

Other survival tips
Find one with a great location, get outdoors and plenty of fresh air and you'll all sleep well, I promise.

roisin · 21/02/2009 09:55

Borrowdale is a fabulous hostel: Great facilities and lovely friendly staff. There are plenty of easy valley walks direct from the hostel in both directions. We saw loads of birds in the woodland nearby.

It's also a short car trip from Derwentwater if you want to go on a boat or play by the lake.

On the way you could call in at Bassenthwaite to see the Ospreys if you're there in summer.

We live in Cumbria and Borrowdale is one of my favourite parts of the Lake District.

nkf · 21/02/2009 13:37

I've eaten evening meals there and they were fine. But I prefer to cook for myself. The kitchens tend to be big and pretty well equipped. Two cookers, two fridges etc. You can eat as well there as you can at home. You do have to negotiate kitchen usage as many people will be in there at the same time.

Has anyone stayed at the log cabins in the Lee Valley?

How do the TESCO vouchers work? I think we have some points somewhere.

roisin · 21/02/2009 14:14

Nkf you can enter your clubcard voucher codes here then they will send you YHA tokens that you can use. (Like normal Tesco deals they are worth 4x the value.)

You have to phone the hostels direct to book and say you're using Tesco vouchers, you can't book online. (But you can check the availability online iyswim!)

In Cumbria generally we've just paid with the vouchers when we arrive (they take a credit card number for security). But at other places (Manchester and Scotland) they wanted us to send the vouchers to them as soon as we'd booked.

nkf · 21/02/2009 17:58

Thank you Roisin. At four times the value that would be quite a saving.

nkf · 21/02/2009 17:58

Thank you Roisin. At four times the value that would be quite a saving.

roisin · 21/02/2009 19:08

Yes, it's fab. We get a night away in a fabulous location for all 4 of us for about £20
But actually it feels like it's free as it's all courtesy of Mr Tesco!

And as we're already on site, there's no excuse not to go for a nice walk in the morning

choosyfloosy · 21/02/2009 19:11

I've heard brilliant things about the Stow-in-the-Wold hostel - not this trip perhaps, maybe another day.

The Oxford hostel is in a deeply unattractive location (bounded by the railway line and the main road from the West) but there is no cheaper way for a family to stay in the city AFAIK and it's an easy walk to the centre. Haven't actually stayed there myself as it is a short sprint from my house

Original poster
misshardbroom · 22/02/2009 11:11

excellent. Stow is actually only an hour or so from us so might even give that one a whirl too!

roisin - have you ever stayed at the Derwentwater hostel? I went there with the school about 25 years ago but I expect it's a bit different now...

anyway, definitely going to book now. Thanks to everyone for your help.

OP posts:
PuddingChops · 22/02/2009 11:26

Another YHA guru here! For those of you who are thinking about using Tesco vouchers - there are new restrictions about when you can use them eg all weekends during the summer. Many independant hostels have restrictions too. When people pay with vouchers the YHA only gets 50% of the cost.

PuddingChops · 22/02/2009 11:29

Sorry meant to say 'enterprise' hostels not independant!

roisin · 22/02/2009 18:33

at the info about new restrictions PuddingChops. Can you link?
What classes as 'weekends'? Fri, Sat or Sun nights? or all 3?
What classes as 'summer'?
Is this in Scotland too?

roisin · 22/02/2009 18:41

Can I ask a question to other YHA gurus please?

We've always used family rooms, but in May we're taking a friend with us who is 14, so I will sleep in a 'female dorm'.

Now if we book a 'family room' for dh + 3 boys, it would cost £70 per room, but if I book them as individuals it will cost only £52 per room.

Am I right in presuming that the YHA will have to put them all in one room anyway, because dh is the 'accompanying adult' to the U16s? And as the YHA we are looking at has no rooms bigger than 4, then they will be in a 4-bedded room anyway?

Am I missing something, or does this make sense to you?

If you are in a 'dorm' rather than a 'family room', do you get a key to the door or not?

roisin · 22/02/2009 21:01

is there anyone there to answer my questions?
LouIsAHappyLittleVegemite or Puddingchops or nkf?

roisin · 22/02/2009 22:14

Misshardbroom - we haven't actually been to the Derwentwater YHA: I like the look of it, but the boys go there from school for their yr5 residential, and we didn't want to steal their thunder! ds1 says it's great with loads of grounds to explore.

ds2 is going in May this year and then I hope we'll be able to go as a family either later this year or 2010.

Where are you going to book?

PuddingChops · 22/02/2009 22:16

Tesco Clubcard PromotionUnfortunately YHA are unable to offer accommodation through the Tesco Clubcard promotion on certain dates in 2009.

New Year's Day 01.01.09
Easter 01.04.09 - 20.04.09
May Bank Holiday 01.05.09 - 04.05.09
Spring Bank Holiday 22.05.09 - 31.05.09
Summer Bank Holiday 28.08.09 - 30.08.09
Christmas period 21.12.09 - 01.01.10
Other dates Weekends (Fridays and Saturdays) from 06.06.09 - 30.08.09

Please note - the promotion is not available to group or package bookings.

PuddingChops · 22/02/2009 22:18

Roisin - sorry just got back from work hence delay in replying to you. I hope my last post gives you the info you need.