YHA Bath

I’m not even sure where to start with this place.
If you love old people, this is the place for you. While it was interesting to hear about the Cuban Missile Crisis from a gentleman who was actually in the middle of it, this is not what I expected in this hostel. After we finished talking about his blood pressure medications we decided to get a pint and enjoy the view. There were a few couples here in their mid 50’s who were also nice to talk to but once again not what I expected. The «bar» wasn’t open so you just kind of mill around the common areas and drink.
The negatives I have for this place are location, location, location, and they nickel and dime you for every thing. Wifi is £5 a day. Breakfast is £4. It was just frustrating being in the middle of no where Bath and not having Internet access. Location by the way, outside of central Bath with a 15 minute walk UPHILL. Bus comes every 20 minutes and costs £1.70, took a taxi home from the bars in downtown and it was £8.
The building itself and its grounds are great. This place literally is a mansion. I stayed in a 12 bed room and it was nice. The linens were surprisingly comfortable and new. I shit you not, I almost died laughing when I walked into my room and saw three rolling walkers though. Felt like I stepped into Bingo night some where.
Overall I would stay some place else in Bath with a younger crowd, better location and free amenities.

The first time I had to make the booking for our college trip, all I could remember was my nightmare hostel experience when I did an independent trip to Bath as a student… I am proud to say that 1) It is not the same hostel and 2) this hostel is much better than that experience. However, I was a bit scared because all I heard about was the hill… the dreaded hill!
The hostel isn’t very far from the city centre, it is on a hill overlooking the city. The hill… is a nice workout, but there is a bus that makes frequent trips between the city centre and the University at the top of the hill. However, I have also taken a taxi to the city centre for a night out and paid less than £5 from the door of the YHA and dropped off near Bath Abbey. The driveway is also uphill and at night is not lit. The YHA is quite pretty as it is an old mansion. There is an area outside for kids to play and also a table and bench. The lobby area is not very large, so when our group checks in, I ask them to wait outside. There is a nice lounge area as well as a bar and two dining areas and a common kitchen.
Staying in the main house is very nice. I stayed in one of the rooms at the top of the house and it was lovely. It was roomy, it was warm, there was a t.v., and there is a toilet that is shared between the two rooms at the very top of the mansion. The only downside is that the stairs are very narrow and steep. Getting luggage to and from the room was a bit of a concern for a clumsy person like myself, but I managed. The shower was also down the stairs, so I was also worried about falling with all of my toiletries and things.
However, my first stay here was in the ‘shed’ behind the main house. If you follow the door outside and up some steps, you end up in a building behind the mansion where there are a handful of rooms. I don’t know if all the rooms were as poor as mine, but had I not seen some of the rooms that my students were staying in, in the main house, I would have begun looking at new places to move our group to. I was in the room all the way at the back of the building. First of all, my door wouldn’t lock. Second it was very cold and damp. Third, there was mold around the room and of course you could smell it.
The breakfast is always nice and sitting in the dining room with the large window as the sun rises is always a good way to start the morning. I have to say that there have been a number of staff turnovers, but having worked with a number of different staff there are a couple of things I have noticed: they do not seem to keep records for very long and they seem to be more unorganized. When I first worked with the YHA, they were very understanding about how we organize our group and were very accommodating, but in recent semesters it has been frustrating because they have not been as accommodating, even though our group has been booking with them for many years. I’ve found myself referring to how other YHAs that we work with, have dealt with our group to maintain some kind of consistancy.
If they could just organize themselves a bit more and take more care of the rooms in the other building, I think this would be one of the nicer hostels we stay at!