YHA Swanage

YHA? More like B&B

This has to be one of the best hostels I have been to yet. It's situated at the top of a big hill in Cluny Crescent, but at the top you are rewarded with sweeping views across the bay & beyond. The hostel is looking into it’s history as it’s quite an old building, the residence next door used to be the old gatehouse for the hostel, they have two stone ornamental kangaroos on their gateposts. They have discovered that there used to be tennis courts behind the building and that the lounge was once two rooms. There’s a shed to lock your bike up, you have to get the key from reception then return it after you’ve finished.

The whole floor of the reception is mosaic and you can get a feel of how grand the house was once. All the walls are panelled and the original fittings are still there, I don’t know how the horses and carriage would of got up that hill though! All the dormitories are upstairs and have bunk beds and are usually eight to a room with a sink in the corner, you will be given a key to lock the door after you leave your stuff, Public loo’s & showers are just down the corridor. There’s a dining room & a breakfast room, you can see the kitchen from the dining room and how clean it is.

Unique Quality: Breakfast is 8am and if you are in room eleven (they have 100 beds), you can hear them banging about in the kitchen, the breakfasts consist of cooked, continental, healthy & vegetarian. Breakfast must be ordered the day before & is included in your price of your stay. The dinners are lovely & are about £7.50 & you must order in the morning, there will be a menu on reception telling you what it is. There’s a laundry and drying room, games room with Internet access (£1 for 12 mins). The lounge is like one of those old-fashioned drawing rooms (once 2 rooms) with a TV & lot’s of board games.

The doors are locked promptly at 11pm, but you can get a pin number from reception if you plan to stay out late.

It costs £12.50 a night.

• Opinion of Price: least expensive

YHA Swanage Photo: Swanage YHA

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