As a family, we just had our first hostel stay and was quite happy with the Blue Dolphin. We felt so safe there with the combination door lock at the front door. It was quieter than a lot of hotels we have stayed, and we had a great night's sleep. The kitchen was very clean and organized. Plus, the staff was so helpful and friendly. If you are looking for safety and a great night's sleep, it is definitely the place to stay! A+
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(Review ID: 8310)
A great alternative to YHA for location., September 27, 2003
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Anonymous
saw things this way
Maintenance
(4)
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(4)
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(4)
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(4)
we as a family stayed there as the YHA Penzance was full, we toured all Cornwall and Devon, and found the staff and hostel very helpful and clean, meeting german, Japanese and french Hikers whilst there, its a great way to meet others and find their cultural differences...oh! and when we found the YHA location we prefered the Blue Dolphin as it was nearer the sea and the Rugby club bar,mmmm.
3 of
4 people found this review helpful
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(Review ID: 8311)
Excellent place to stay, August 16, 2003
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Anonymous
saw things this way
Maintenance
(5)
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(5)
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(5)
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(5)
HI i stayed at the blue dolphine fore 3 months during the daffy season and they were great. the owner and everyone that worked there (peter and kiri) were great to us. i really enjoyed it and hope to make it back there
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(Review ID: 8312)
tres comfortable, August 14, 2003
Reviewer:
betsy
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n/a
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Imported Review
saw things this way
Maintenance
(4)
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(4)
Facilities
(4)
Atmosphere
(4)
Penzance Backpackers is in a good location - near the sea, near the town centre (if you come out of the hostel and turn LEFT, the right way adds 10-15 minutes) and buses stop extremely near it, that go to Land's End - make sure however, 1) You're on the right side of the road + 2) Check the timetable, they may only come once an hour!The hostel itself is secure (2 doors with code-locks) NO CURFEW, clean, well decorated, loads of information posted- from surf clubs to restaurants to cab numbers. The kitchen, although it lacks a toaster/microwave, is quite spacious, with 2 ovens/grills (fridge + table + the usual)+ plug e.g. for a mini stereo to help cooking time pass by. Your food is safe, provided you label it! Spices are available for use + people sometimes leave behind unwanted food.The staff are down to earth and have a good knowledge of the area and play cool music!(in my opinion...)Theres a nice lounge with magazines, TV + games. The rooms are spacious (no mirrors however!)with bunks + extra mattress, if you wanna take someone home....ahem. However, there is only 1 bathroom(and shower) and 1 toilet which did lead to queues in the morning, so wake up extra early if you want to have a shower!Otherwise, it's a lovely place to stay, so get yourself down there!
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2 people found this review helpful
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(Review ID: 8313)
Clean and friendly, July 28, 2003
Reviewer:
Helen
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n/a
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Imported Review
saw things this way
Maintenance
(5)
Cleanliness
(5)
Facilities
(5)
Atmosphere
(5)
My sister and I stayed here for 4 nights in late July. We stayed 2 nights in a twin/double (£12 pppn) and 1 night in each of two dorms (a 6 bed and 7 bed - £10 pppn).I found this hostel to be very homely - there was a nice lounge, with TV, books, magazines and games; a clean and well organized kitchen, with plenty of space for storing food; clean comfortable rooms - the dorms had en-suite, as well as separate lights for each bed (very useful!), and the twin/double (it was a double bed with a single bunk over, so could be used as twin or double) had a sink in the corner. There was also an additional bathroom and additional toilet, for those in non-en-suite rooms.The staff seemed friendly and helpful. There was at least one family staying there, and one or two couples in their 40s upwards too, suggesting its not just suitable for teens and twenty-somethings. There were quite a few longer term residents, who were working for the summer, who were a little cliquey, but we quickly made friends with some other holiday makers.Security was good, with a code operated front door and locks on all the bedroom doors. It was small enough that we recognized most of the other people staying there, which also helped with security.The hostel was well-located, being about 10 minutes walk from the bus and train stations, with a bus route to Lands End passing the door. Also about 2 minutes to the sea front. Overall, a very nice place to stay!
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1 people found this review helpful
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(Review ID: 8314)
hostel or home?, July 20, 2003
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Anonymous
saw things this way
Maintenance
(3)
Cleanliness
(3)
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(3)
Atmosphere
(3)
Okay the heading seems a little strong, but on arrival there...staying just one night, along with friend I'd met travelling, I found that although the man working there was helpful...it wasn't easy to ask for stuff, sort of like it was all an inconvenience for him. In ten minutes he had also told us that he didn't like the French - not a good tact for a hostel owner, I'd say. His presence was overbearing...seemed to always be in on any conversation going.The place itself was fairly clean, and for myself quiet, tho my freind (a girl) said her sleep was disturbed...tho' I think the hostel is generally quite.I did think it odd when the chap came up with a bed very last minute...for her and not for me, catching us as we strolled past his local on the way to collect our packs the next evening...headed for a b&b ,but totally ignoring me (she's not my girlfriend, but nevertheless I thought the vibe odd). I stayed in a b&b that night, she stayed at the hostel. Very convenient location for the peninsula's sites, but for me too small and homely...didn't feel like a traveller's place very much.
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(Review ID: 8315)
convenient location, June 13, 2003
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Anonymous
saw things this way
Maintenance
(4)
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(4)
Facilities
(4)
Atmosphere
(4)
the location is very convenitent to everywhere.geneally speaking, the place is clean and bright.the new boss is very nice and helpful.
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(Review ID: 8316)
Convenient compromise, March 5, 2003
Reviewer:
Madcat
Pros:
n/a
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n/a
Imported Review
saw things this way
Maintenance
(3)
Cleanliness
(3)
Facilities
(3)
Atmosphere
(3)
I went to the Blue Dolphin (now Backpackers) off-season, so it wasn't crowded.This hostel is the best located (of the three in Penzance) for doing anything in the town (if you don't have a car) or getting to other places, it's also the least 'rules'. It's easy to get to from the centre (10 minutes walk from the train station, 15 minutes if you're baggage laden), a minute from the seafront and the bus to Land's End.The hostel was generally quite clean, but the whole place was just a little worn and ramshackle; it felt like someone had decided to rent out all the rooms in their house to make some $$. Maybe they did. The kitchen was very well-equipped (100% self-catering) and has washing/drying machines, a PC etc but I suspect this was to cater for the daff/fruit pickers that stay for months at a time. This also meant that hostel didn't have much of a traveller's heart to it. Indeed, I didn't meet any other travellers, although I'm sure it's very much a different story in the summer.The staff are amiable, but you feel that serving you is a chore as it's taking time out of whatever they do behind the scenes (look after kids/sleep etc). The welcome could be worked on (what welcome?) - I think they had a lounge, but I never found it. They're not sure of local bus routes etc, even though they're right on one of them.No curfew - the front door has a combination to enter, each room has a key. I only found one shower - but maybe there were more?! I prefer the YHA, but if you're staying a couple of days the (easy) walk to Castle Horneck could get tiresome. I didn't stay but the YMCA is just around the corner; at a view it seemed quite soul-less and from what I could find out, has a lot of large groups staying. Very unremarkable but convenient and adequate.
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14 people found this review helpful
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(Review ID: 8317)
Penzance Backpackers, September 5, 2001
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Anonymous
saw things this way
Maintenance
(1)
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(1)
Facilities
(1)
Atmosphere
(1)
I thought it was too crowded, didn't have much atmosphere, very clean though. Didn't like the man working there.
