Castle Horneck, Alverton, Penzance, Conwall TR20 8TF Bus 5, 6 Tel (01736) 362 666 Websitewww.yha.org.uk
BUG review
The Penzance YHA is in a lovely restored manor house that boasts a fine Georgian staircase and 1000-year-old basement floors (it was built on the site of a Norman keep). It is clean and well maintained and features a good kitchen, a TV lounge, Internet access and a games room with a pool table and table tennis.
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Price Dorm bed £17.50 (£15.50 HI/YHA) Prices are in British pounds and are inclusive of all taxes.
Pros:
Warm and dry whatever the weather. Walker friendly. Quiet.
Cons:
Lack of light in the dining-room (but I only spent 15 minutes there).
cristian44
saw things this way
Maintenance
(5)
Cleanliness
(5)
Facilities
(5)
Atmosphere
(5)
(Review ID: 14559)
Well, what can I say?
I arrived in this hostel dripping like a mermaid, after walking on the cold, windswept, rainy (on such days in Cornwall, the rain does not fall from the sky above, but comes flying at you from all directions) SWCP.
I received a warm welcome, changed into dry clothes in the very convenient and well heated laundry room (though the inside of my shoes hadn’t finished drying the next morning, that shows how dripping wet I was!), and spent the rest of the evening relishing how amazingly warm and dry and comfortable the place was, while outside the wind was howling and the rain falling without a break. It was also very quiet, and I was able to get a really good night’s sleep. The next day, I enjoyed a plentiful, piping hot English breakfast (very value for money) before setting off again.
The hostel was renovated recently so the facilities are brand new and in very good conditions. I was especially impressed with how clean the showers/toilets and the kitchen were. There are individual lockers in the rooms (you only need to bring your padlock), the rooms aren’t too crowded with beds, and each bed features its own individual reading lamp. There is a roomy lounge with a TV, games, jigsaw puzzles, books, and a couple of workstations with cheap internet, and a restaurant/bar which was desert during my stay (apparently, most of the guests were walkers or sightseers).
Only really negligible drawback was that there was not enough light for reading in the dining-room adjoining the kitchen (the kitchen, dining-room, laundry room and one of the family rooms are in the basement).
The hostel lies about 15 to 20 minutes of a level walk from the railway and bus stations (you just head for Jew’s Market Street, and then keep walking straight on), and 15 minutes from the SWCP. It is very easy to find, even after dark, and very convenient for walkers and people who use public transport. I didn’t have much time to explore the grounds, but it looks like a good place for bird-watching, lots of warbling in the morning when I left.
I really thought twice about leaving this lovely place, especially as one of thefriendly staff had kindly offered to impersonate a GP and call my employer and assure him that I was very, very sick and needed a couple of days’ rest !
As a group with school aged children who regularly visit this YHA we are always welcomed. The food is good, the facilities are excellent and the staff are always willing to help.It has been recently decorated and is clean and tidy throughout. The only niggle is that there are two bedrooms which are close to the TV room and the noise could be intrusive if you were in those two rooms.The grounds are excellent and it is only a 15 minutes walk to the town centre or leisure centre.Well recommended.
A good hostel but some will find it a bit of a trek from the station & town 16 May 2007
Pros:
Well run - good location for touring
Cons:
The uphill climb
zulu17
saw things this way
Maintenance
(4)
Cleanliness
(4)
Facilities
(3)
Atmosphere
(2)
(Review ID: 5082)
It is a good base for touring Lands End , St Ives , Mousehole etc. there is a very limited but welcoming bus service direct too & from the hostel with Sunset buses. If you are arriving by train/coach there is a bus from Stand A at the Penzance station at approx 6pm - very useful if you have a large pack. Other buses leave hostel in mornings for St Ives & Lands End. Good self catering kitchen and wholesome good quality meals available to buy if you don't fancy cooking yourself. Good grounds which also accomodate tent camping in summer. Hostel is up a hill although if you want to break your journey there is the Pirate pub at the bottom.
Pros:
A warm welcome from Friendly staff + a beautiful area
Cons:
Very dark at night, take a torch
kmckee
saw things this way
Maintenance
(4)
Cleanliness
(4)
Facilities
(3)
Atmosphere
(5)
(Review ID: 916)
We have just returned from our annual trip with 110 18yrs old students to Penzance and as usual we stayed at Castle Horneck. We were treated once again to a warm friendly welcome by Paul the manager and all of his staff. Clean warm accomadation and hearty food. There is an open lounge to sit in and a basement space to play pool in. Nearby a lovely small welcoming Inn to taste the local ale.
The rooms are clean/basic in a wonderful old building set within lovely grounds. At night you might want a torch to walk up the dark path to the building. Good supply of hot water and plenty of clean toilets and showers etc
Before we left we booked again for next year. We wouldnt consider any where else.
4 of
16 people found this review helpful
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Rienchen
Germany
Really nice and clean hostel 1 June 2004
Pros:
n/a
Cons:
n/a
Rienchen
saw things this way
Maintenance
(4)
Cleanliness
(4)
Facilities
(4)
Atmosphere
(4)
(Review ID: 8318)
I arrived at the Hostel around 2pm, just to realise, that I walked up there "for nothing", because the reception wasn´t open until 5pm!!(the guy at the tourist information told me, they open at 2pm!!)So I went back to the Town Centre, which is about 15 minutes away.Well I stayed there for two nights and the first night another girl and me had a 12dorm room just for ourselves.The second night there were 10 girls in the room(plus other guests in the other rooms) and only one shower was working, can you imagine the queue?Apart from that I really enjoyed my stay there, the staff was really nice and helpful, one girl recommended some amazing beaches.The breakfast is 3.60 and you have the choice of 4 different ones (english or 2 Croissants or 1 Croissant and one roll or fruitjoghurt).If you stay more than one night it´s definitely cheaper to buy some toast and prepare it in the members kitchen.I would definitely stay there again!Places not to miss:Lands End(take the bus, I know it takes about an hour, but already the way there is lovely), St.Ives, the most gorgeous little "postcard-Idyllic" town I´ve ever seen!, Marazion, but inform yourself about the tide beforehand, to make sure you´re able to walk to St. Michaels Mount.....
19 of
22 people found this review helpful
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Fred Martin
Winnipeg, Canada
A Good Campers Hostel 10 April 2004
Pros:
n/a
Cons:
n/a
Fred Martin
saw things this way
Maintenance
(4)
Cleanliness
(4)
Facilities
(4)
Atmosphere
(4)
(Review ID: 8319)
As a camper I appreciated being able to pitch my tent for half of the adult price. The house and grounds are attractive and the staff helpful in every way. This hostel proved to be an excellent base for exploring the Land's End peninsula.
6 of
27 people found this review helpful
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marjorie
Toulouse, France
ok for one night 16 May 2003
Pros:
n/a
Cons:
n/a
marjorie
saw things this way
Maintenance
(3)
Cleanliness
(3)
Facilities
(3)
Atmosphere
(3)
(Review ID: 8320)
good situation outside of town in a quiet place, people are really nice but the whole building looks a bit old, the kitchen is not so nice but I think it's alright if you just stay there for one or two nights...
16 of
20 people found this review helpful
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Madcat
Bristol, England
Home comforts on the longest footpath... 5 March 2003
Pros:
n/a
Cons:
n/a
Madcat
saw things this way
Maintenance
(4)
Cleanliness
(4)
Facilities
(4)
Atmosphere
(4)
(Review ID: 8321)
Yes, it's a YHA, but it ain't half bad. Don't be put off by the fact that it's out of town a little - in reality, it only takes about 5 minutes slow walk to reach the town (then it's 5 minutes to the centre, 10 to the train station - nothing's very far away!)Nuala runs a slick operation from this Georgian Mansion atop a slight hill, which has a self-catering kitchen, self-catering dining room, games room, lounge and canteen all for little more than £11 a night...You do feel a little like you're going through a tried and tested routine/machine at first, but after a hard days walking, it's soooo good to have the option to a) crash in your nice clean bunk b) hang out and chat with other travellers in the lounge c) hang out with the daffodil pickers in the dining room d) have a meal cooked for you at a reasonable price e) shoot some pool f) something else, but we didn't stay long enough to find out the possibilities!In the week, a bus will come right to the hostel and take you to Land's End - maybe other places too (I think there is a pick up/drop off at the train station). Breakfast is a good deal. I forget the exact price, but it's something like £2 or 2.50 for as much tea/coffee and toast as you can eat - far better deal is £3.50 for cereal, English breakfast, juice and as much tea/coffee and toast as you can eat! There are decent (importantly - clean) shower and toilet facilities although the heating might be erratic (swelteringly hot when we were there).The boys and girls are generally on different floors except for some of the private rooms. The rooms are very clean and spacious. There are nice touches such as board games in the lounge and tons of travel info in the canteen, but being spread over three floors it's quite difficult to 'bump' into other travellers, until everyone works gets fed up of wandering around and just congregates in the lounge. Not much or a party house, but as I said it's pretty much what you need when you've been trekking along the coastal footpath. BTW - despite claims, there aren't sweeping views of anything!
We have just returned from our annual trip with 110 18yrs old students to Penzance and as usual we stayed at Castle Horneck. We were treated once again to a warm friendly welcome by Paul the manager and all of his staff. Clean warm accomadation and hearty food. There is an open lounge to sit in and a basement space to play pool in. Nearby a lovely small welcoming Inn to taste the local ale.
The rooms are clean/basic in a wonderful old building set within lovely grounds. At night you might want a torch to walk up the dark path to the building. Good supply of hot water and plenty of clean toilets and showers etc
Before we left we booked again for next year. We wouldnt consider any where else.
