Hello London: A Dorm Stay at YHA London Central

I thought a dorm stay would be an interesting experience for ZE. But it was difficult, as many (cool) hostels do not accept children. And even if they do, they do not accept children in a shared dorm facility. I had to either book a private room, or whole dormitory.

  F I N A L L Y. I almost wanted to call for a celebration. YHA. A hostel that allows children in dormitory, and also provide single sex dorm.

As expected, there were concerns about safety from some friends and also family members. But really, dormitories are safe. And it is more the ‘inconvenient‘ part that one needs to worry about. 

 Our 4-bed dorm includes en-suite bathroom, so that made things easier for us.

We shared our dorm with a South Korean lady. A polite, considerate and neat roomie. And with an elderly lady from Sweden. I enjoyed chatting with both of them. 

 Locker is provided inside our room, and we used our own padlocks.

 On a budget, we used quite a fair bit of kitchen facility. I was alarmed of the kitchen’s cleanliness. People should make sure that they leave the kitchen clean. Tsk.

There are only two kettles provided in the kitchen. So, if you boil water and leave it unattended, please do not glare when someone else used those waters .. Not much sense of community at this hostel. Probably because of its size, people were more concerns with their own needs.

Wifi is free, but only accessible at reception area .. and weak signal at kitchen.

Nearest underground station (Oxford Circus) to us took us about 10 minutes walk. I relied on ZE to lead us back to hostel everytime from underground station. Whilst I lead the way from hostel to station.

 Superb staff, some more experienced than others. They are friendly and chatty. They even helped me to print some documents and made a local call, free-of-charge. What is there not to like about this place?

 There is also an internet cafe nearby, for emergency usage.