The worst of London 2 - hostelling

Usually we take advantage of the luxuries on offer at the St Pancras youth hostel, but for a change we decided once to stay in a more central and historic location. We thought where better than across the street from St Pauls Cathedral in what used to be a choir boys' school.


I'm sorry we bothered with the St Pauls YHA, as it was one of our worst hostelling experiences.

Private rooms are available but we opted for one of the marginally cheaper dormitories. Never again. Despite being in a small dorm with only six beds, we were situated almost at street level. Windows were wide open all night in the summer as there's no ventilation, allowing in all manner of street noise. This includes shouting and screeching from pubs up the road, followed by our bunkmates crawling in much later from those aforementioned pubs up the road.

There was a brief spell of relative quiet after 3am, punctuated by the extravagant snoring and the occasional bout of wind from our bunkmates. I had come prepared for this, but one of my earplugs fell out in the middle of the night and rolled under the bunk where it was eaten by dust bunnies.

Come 6am the construction work, street sweepers, bin emptying and traffic commuting began in earnest, all tolled off by persistent church bells. I crawled from my bunk at dawn quivering like someone from an Edgar Allan Poe tale: 'The bells...the bells...the BELLS!!!'.

The price included bed linen, showers and breakfast, but this was Continental style and not a cooked full English. The dining area only seats about 30 people (for a hostel that sleeps 190).

As well as the cramped restaurant there was a lounge, internet PCs and laundry. The building in general was a bit rickety and I don't think there's a kitchen.

We paid £50 for a night of no sleep and a rubbish breakfast. It's definitely worth paying the extra £15 to have a private en-suite with full English breakfast at the St Pancras YHA.

INFO It is easy find around the corner from St Pauls Cathedral. The nearest tube stops are St Pauls (Central Line) and Blackfrairs (District Line). Trains come into Blackfrairs station as well, plus the City Thameslink station is within walking distance. You must be a member of the International Youth Hostelling Association or the guest of a YHA member with a special pass, otherwise you pay a surcharge.