Astor Hyde Park

This hostel is in a great area of London. That being said, that might be the only positive thing about this place. There is NO ELEVATOR so you’re forced to carry your luggage to the floor you’re staying at. My friends and i had the misfortune of being placed on the 5^th floor and it was tough getting our luggage upstairs. One really sketchy thing about this place that concerned me was that they said to specifically lock everything up in case of theft but when I came back some of my items were moved around along with the people I staying with which we found particularly alarming. Thankfully nothing was missing but still, rude. Staff is also not the greatest. I will not be staying here ever again. At a glance the room looked clean but I found some really gross areas. The room smells a little weird too. I wouldn’t stay here ever again.

If I could give ZERO stars I would. I had a horrible, horrible experience here. First off, no elevator. You have to lug your luggage up flights of stairs. The rooms are on the smaller side. I heard breakfast is just bread and cereal.
The worst part is that the hotel management and staff are shady as f**k! Someone went into my room and stole items from me. They did a mediocre job of trying to help which I think is because they probably had something to do with my items missing.
Compared to the other hostels I stayed at, this place is a shit show.
Boycott this place!

By far the best hostel I stayed in throughout my four months in Europe. I don’t have enough great things to say about the Astor Hyde Park and would definitely return.
Great location in Kensington and near Hyde Park, cool aesthetic inside, friendly employees, decent breakfast… what’s not to love?
I will say the Wifi wasn’t working the best when we were there, but that’s ok. The hostel was also cleaner than most, and although small, the bathrooms were fine as well.
I definitely don’t think you can go wrong with booking a room here — money well spent in London and I actually looked forward to coming back here at the end of every day in London, which is something I can’t say about every hostel I’ve ever stayed at.
Thanks Astor Hyde Park, for a fantastic experience!

Hmm, okay, so I’m not entirely sure how many stars I should give this place (I’ve only stayed in two hostels so far). Let me try breaking this down a bit (I was a solo traveler):
1) The employees are EXTREMELY friendly and welcoming. This one dude at the front desk was especially helpful and I wish I remembered his name to give him props on here! Just really cool and easygoing people.
2) The wifi was almost nonexistent in most areas except the common room. As an out-​of-​country traveler with no phone service, I was kinda bummed when I was unable to catch up with friends from back home.
3) The bed setups were quite terrible, at least for the four person rooms. Two bunk beds with one covering the only window to the room (the bathrooms are connected to the room so it would get quite stuffy/​humid inside every time someone took a shower. The shower also set off the fire alarm many times… but that made good memories with my roommates.).
4) The beds also covered the only electrical outlets in the room. Quite inconvenient for the people in the top bunks.
5) The showers were cold if you showered during the morning rush. I quickly learned to shower before 10 AM.
6) There’s a nice little closet that you can store your baggage in should you arrive before your check in time. There’s also a camera inside the closet, but make wise choices and don’t leave anything valuable there.
7) The fellow travelers I shared a room with WERE AMAZING! SO SO SO friendly! In fact I’ve become good friends with a few of them. I could not have been happier with my roommates!
8) GREAT LOCATION! It’s not too busy in Kensington, but it’s not completely dead at night. I felt safe whenever I was in the area (as I did in the entire City) and met a bunch of cheery people in the immediate area. VERY POSH! Nice cars everywhere! I found it so interesting seeing inside some of the gorgeous flats lining the street. Also right near Harrods, Hyde Park, Royal Albert Hall, and the museum consortium. I felt soooo happy every morning that I would walk out the front doors of the hostel.
Honestly, when you’re traveling in a city like London you don’t spend much time in your room anyway. So, I suppose 4 stars is pretty accurate. Let’s not forget the amazing prices, either! I would highly recommend this hostel to any traveler!

Amazing historical location, coolest staff ever. Decent kitchen, very relaxed common area with projection screen. Sturdy mattresses, helps one to get a good night’s rest.
The rooms are a bit hot in the summer, but otherwise no complaints. Other than the fact that you’ll be smelling cigarette smoke 85% of the time.

Let’s be honest, when you’re staying at a hostel, you really can’t expect much. I have heard some pretty awful hostel experiences, so I consider myself lucky to have found a decent one.
I think that the Astor Hyde Park gives you exactly what you need. A great location, a clean room, a reasonably comfortable bed, and a really good price. I stayed at this hostel for ten days while waiting to move into my flat in London, and it was definitely worth the money. Most hotels in decent areas charge ridiculous amounts for really crappy rooms, so in my opinion, the Astor is a really good deal.
I was in a nine person room and didn’t have any problems (besides the occasional, «oh no, I have to pee and someone is taking a shower!» dilemma).
The only thing I have to complain about it the staff. They’re all pretty young, which is good for the energy and vibe of the place, but bad for customer service in general. You can tell that the don’t really care about the guests. The staff is also very cliquey. When they’re off the clock, they pretty much ignore the guests altogether (this isn’t good when they eat and hang out in the common areas with everyone else all day long).
In the end, I would stay here again, so the Astor Hyde Park is doing something right.

I was put in the dingy, smelly 12-​person basement room. I wasn’t expecting anything glamorous, as this was the cheapest room they had available, but I still couldn’t help but feel mildly off-​put by how gloomy and smelly it was.
During my stay, my shower sandals, ugly yellow sweater, my towel and all of my socks were either stolen or cleaned away while I was out during the day. Given the personal/​unappealing nature of the items, I figured it might have been a cleaning mistake (really, who would want to steal my socks and underwear?). I asked the management if they could check their trash. They woke the cleaning staff and questioned them to no avail. They told me the staff hadn’t remembered cleaning that bed, and that my stuff wasn’t in the trash. I can’t blame the hostel for my stuff going missing, but I will say that this contributed to my negative experience here.
Otherwise, the hostel had very small lockers they charged for daily, which is somewhat ruthless, if you wanted to keep, say, a passport or a laptop locked away. The breakfast and wi-​fi, however, were complimentary, and the kitchen had the basics.
This hostel gets a star because of its location and price. It’s an OK place to spend the night if you just need a cheap bed and want to take a look around the city. I also see, from other photos, that the other rooms are probably much nicer.

great location. clean beds and social events to meet fellow travelers.

Location: Located near the Picadilly line, exit Gloucester and walk like half a mile to the hostel. It’s right across from Hyde Park, and a little further down is a big shopping area. Hyde Park is nice, you can see Kensington Palace as well. And even further walk, go to Nottinghill.
People: Younger crowd, very lively and nice! Lots of Australian travelers, and these people that stay at this hostel is in for the long run. I’ve met people that’s been traveling for 3 months to a year! I wish I can do that. It’s amazing how they do it and just live out of a luggage and day to day.
Also, they have drinking game nights on Friday and Saturday, which is super cool if you want to meet people (if you are going solo) The people are really nice.
Price: very reasonable!
Hostel itself: They give you sheets to sleep on, and the beds have a little compartment underneath that you can lock up your stuff. They have an insuite as well, and bathrooms in the hallway. The breakfast is from 8 – 10 and it’s your basic cereal and bread with spread (nutella, butter, jam or peanut butter). The hotel is nicely kept and everything seems to be working fine! The bathroom even have sprays so you dont stink it up. The kitchen is a massive kitchen with 2 sinks, and lotsa of stove tops, and 4 large frig and a huge dinning and lounging area. Internet works in the dinning area and the common area only. SOmetimes it doesnt work at all though. That was the only thing I wasn’t too fond of.
Other than that, this hostel is great compared to the one I’m staying at now in Paris. Totally a great choice for my first time at a hostel.

I only stayed here one night and even then I wasn’t around too much. They had plenty of availability so I managed to score the cheapest 9 bed room all to myself.
The common room is so dark, dingy, and depressing. Can’t say I really talked to anyone there — there wasn’t really anyone around.
It’s good though. The location is in a really beautiful part of London so grab a bike.
And free wifi. John loves free wifi.

Maybe one of the cheaper albeit nicer hostels to board at in all of london. No creeky doors here, but plush interiors as you walk through the corridors over to the reception. Located in South Kensington, it is a stone throw away from Hyde park and the posh Kensington areas. It is also pretty well connected to the bus, the Tube and even a convenient bike pick up and drop location, so getting around is a piece of cake.
The hostel staff is mostly comprised of fellow travelers filling in part time slots, so they are helpful and eager to help you out with ideas of things to do during your stay. The rec room and the basement kitchen spaces is well maintained and roomy so you don’t really have to fight for those comfy sofas right next to the TV’s.
The rooms usually house around 4 or 6 beds, which are most importantly clean and comfy, and also bathrooms are ensuite which is uhmmazing ! Also this hostel is pretty popular given that they have a bunch of fun activities lined up on most nights, so make sure you get your reservations done ahead of time.
Also an interesting tidbit about this place is that it is right opposite where Benny Hill used to stay, though don’t expect a lot of hot blondes running behind you as you enjoy a posh hostel stay.

I heard about this place from a friend who visited London previously and he said he had a great time here. Therefore, I took it upon to check it out on a one night stay in London before heading out to Paris.
The 3 of us got in on a 6 person bedroom which was fairly clean and well kept. The bathroom was nicely accessible and the staff was really friendly. All our needs were met and the other travelers were pretty cool. Seemed like some people were even staying there longer than a week or so which made it seem like a dorm life again. Movies playing on a big screen at night, and people lounging around chatting or updating their facebooks downstairs.
Plus, the awesome area around it in South Kensington was certainly a plus. The neighborhood is absolutely gorgeous and being near the museum, it reminded me of the area outside the MET in New York.
When we arrived early, they were also very accommodating and let us store our bags in the storage area and freshen up as needed. And with affordable prices, I definitely recommend this spot for what it is.

I had a great experience here this past summer during my backpacking trip through Europe. This is one of the highest rated affordable hostels in London. It’s centrally located near Hyde Park, which is like London’s version of NYC’s Central Park. The neighborhood is just so cute — I love the architecture of the buildings.
The hostel is clean and is within walking distance (about half a mile) to a lot of restaurants and the Gloucester Road tube station. The place provides free wifi, has a nice kitchen and dining area, and a roomy public lounge area. Most people who stay here are between their early 20s to mid 30s. For the location and amenities, the price just can’t be beat. I stayed in a 4-​bed room and paid about $ 35/​night. Prices vary slightly depending on the time of year and day you stay.