Living in London I thought I would be as accessible as possible to the city. However, I have quickly realised living out in Richmond in zone 3/4 makes you not very accessible to the city. I found myself getting up at 5am the day I needed to be at the Eurostar for 7am, that really wasn’t ideal when I had a long day of traveling ahead of me. When I was invited at stay at the Clink 261 hostel, I jumped at the chance thinking it would be the perfect opportunity to test out accommodation. You know, just incase I need to be at the Eurostar at 7am again…
The Clink 261 hostel is perfectly located within an easy five minutes walk of Kings Cross and St Pancras stations. It is easy to find and conveniently located next to a Co-op supermarket for grabbing dinner resources. I arrived around 5pm on a Friday evening and was greeted by a very quiet hostel. After checking in with the friendly staff, I made the most of the quietness and checked out the whole hostel. First impression were good.
Facilities
I was impressed with the facilities and cleanness of everything here.
The basement was home to the kitchen and a large communal area. I used the kitchen to cook in the night of my stay and it was well equipped as well as being extremely tidy (which always please me). There seemed to be plenty of fridges and cupboards for food storage from past hostel experiences this is always key if you are planning on staying a while. There was plenty of seating space in the kitchen as well as next door in the communal area. Here there were not only benches but a large range of sofas around the TV too. It had a very modern design feel to it but at the same time felt like a place you could easily relax in. There was a huge abundance of plug sockets in this area. Also in the basement was the laundry facilities as well as two unisex toilets to save you running upstairs when you need to go.
Each floor of the hostel was equipped with a male and female toilet/shower, these were within close range of the rooms and had two toilets and showers which felt like plenty. Again they were extremely clean and the shower although not very powerful was nice and hot.
Lastly the reception area doubled up as another communal area with more sofas and benches. Again plenty of plug sockets and lockers for use of guests staying here – each one just required your own padlock to secure your belongings.
There is wifi available all over the hostel, although the connection isn’t fast I was always able to log on and use it either on my phone or laptop.
My Room
I had opted to stay in the private room at Clink 261 as JP was joining me and my last hostel dorm experience has really put me off dorm stays (more on that story another time). I was greeted by a bright and modern room when I opened the door. Although small and basic it suited our needs perfectly and felt quite cosy but not squished. There was a sink, wardrobe and tea/coffee making facilities also in the room. It felt like the paint of coat was still fresh on the walls and the bright red curtains were the perfect compliment to the room. This is one of two private rooms in the hostel, this room has a bunkbed with a double on the bottom and single on the town, where as the other room is just two single beds. It is also worth mentioning this room faced to the back of the hostel which would have been quieter than facing the main road. Throughout the night I also heard the echoing noises down the corridors and in the rooms around. However, I am used to a very quiet flat so the noises were probably not as loud or disturbing as I found them – especially if you are used to hostel living obviously not idea if you have an early start though.
With a room booking every person also receives a free breakfast which is available in the kitchen between 7 – 10 am. There was adequate food with toast and cereals on offer as well as tea and coffee. At 7am the breakfast room was very quiet however by 8ish it became very busy so you may end up queuing for a little.
The whole hostel felt like it was freshly painted, very well maintained and had that modern boutique feel to it despite the brand name. I say brand name but in actual fact there are only three hostels owned by this brand currently (two in London and one in Amsterdam). The other hostel in London is just a five minute walk away and is home to a backpacker bar with nightly events. Clink 261 doesn’t have a bar and alcohol is not allowed in the room. I wouldn’t describe it as a party hostel so if that is what you’re after look at Clink 78. However, Clink 261 is a great base for a night before a Eurostar adventure or if you are visiting London and don’t plan on partying all the time. They provide plenty of information on the tourist attractions in London.
Clink 261
Prices start at £13 a night for a dorm room and £50 a night for a private room. These prices jump over the weekend or during big events in London, so I would recommend this as a budget option sometimes.
Please note I received a complimentary stay here in exchange for writing a review. However, all opinions remain my own.
Tags: Accommodation Review Budget Europe Accommodation England Hostel London United Kingdom