When booking a hostel for Newcastle we left it pretty late but luckily this place still had space in their 6 bed dorm rooms. The leaflet made this place look good but did it live up to the pictures?
Upon arrival at 9.30 pm we were picked up from the greyhound station and given a quick rundown on Newcastle while we drove past places in the dark. I was so disorientated in the dark the guy could have been talking about anything! But he was friendly and helpful and that was what mattered. After checking us in and going through the map of Newcastle with us he showed us all the way to the room. The place was exactly as described: two separate buildings in a residential area with something to do every night.
Atmosphere
Everyone seemed friendly and spoke to you as you passed them in the corridor. There was a mix of people from those just wanting to chill out and watch tv to the lads playing poker and having a good time. There were a lot of people there who were working in Newcastle so the place tended to go quiet by 10 pm – this was also curfew time for drinking and noise.
Communal Areas
There were a lot of communal areas including a swimming pool and courtyard with overhead cover. It had a very rustic feel to the whole place which I really liked. The kitchen was part of the TV room so very sociable as well as being nice and clean. It seemed people washed up after they had used things. There were even hammocks in the back yard by the pool but these were only out in the day so we didn’t get to chill in them.
Staff
The staff were super friendly. Anna, the owner of the hostel for the last 23 years, was the most helpful, honest and friendly lady. It was clear she knew what she was doing and how to run her business. She even booked us a hostel for our forthcoming destination as we didn’t have internet. Any question we had she could answer with more information than we needed.
The only downside was there were no lockers in the rooms or anywhere in the hostel and the reception was only open from 8.30 am to 10 pm so if we wanted to go out for the night and have them look after our valuables you either had to be back by 10 pm or leave them in the office overnight.
Overall we were thoroughly happy with this hostel and wish we could have stayed a bit longer as they had much more to offer than what we used. It had a very friendly atmosphere and had a noticeboard advertising work. They offered a free pick up and drop off shuttle to the greyhound station which is thankful as it’s a bit of a hike otherwise. I would highly recommend this hostel to anyone – it’s okay to just chill out and watch TV, but if you want to get drunk and party it caters for that too.
