Pros:
Its a castle!
Cons:
The YHA need to spend money on it.
Moonface100
saw things this way
Maintenance
(2)
Cleanliness
(4)
Facilities
(3)
Atmosphere
(4)
This hostel is great! The area around it is beautiful.
Its a good job I didn't listen to the last reviewer! The village has two pubs, not one, and both are very different. Public transport is not great, but ask staff and they try to be helpful and are honest about the difficulties in getting to them via public transport. Although there are a few websites out there to check this out yourself!
The hostel staff are really friendly, but they do change every year. I had dinner on both nights of my stay and the food was ace, absolutely no complaints. Breakfast is now included in the price and they have a really nice buffet selection and you can eat as much or as little as you want. Some of the castle is looking tired and well used, but having spoken to staff , it is usually used by primary school children for 80% of the year, so this is not surprising. (The toilets and showers definitley require work).
I highly recommend this hostel as somewhere unusual and atmospheric, especially the reported ghosts. Harry Potter and Most Haunted fans will love it!
5 of
5 people found this review helpful
Was this review helpful to you?
(Review ID: 616)
Wonderful place to stay but ............., July 19, 2006
Pros:
Where else can you stay in a beautiful castle for under £20?
Cons:
Current YHA staff are incompetent. Needs a good clean.
citygirl1
saw things this way
Maintenance
(3)
Cleanliness
(1)
Facilities
(2)
Atmosphere
(5)
This is an amazing place to stay. It's also in a wonderful location, two miles from the main road and completely peaceful and quiet.It is fairly accessible by public transport from provided you are willing to walk a little.
The 69 bus runs regularly between Chepstow and Monmouth from Monday to Saturday and more infrequently on Sunday. You can get a timetable from the bus driver. Just ask the bus driver to drop you at Bigswear Bridge on the side that the youth hostel is located. You will then have to walk to the hostel 2 miles away. (and it is an uphill walk)
When I rang the hostel the current hostel assistant was not aware that buses ran frequently and told me that there was just one bus a day. The village is how you imagine a traditional English village should be. However please be aware that there are no shops and one pub.(I also noticed a tea room but this was closed when I was there.) The pub does really good food but this is only available at certain times of the day.The hostel also does food......theoretically. There is a menu posted by reception but when I asked whether I could have dinner, the hostel assistant launched in to a sorry tale about how isolated she was and how the village was so remote that she had problems getting supplies. (Sounded more like Alaska than 2 miles from the main road) She then advised me to go to the pub as it was "more sociable". I live in London and had come to the countryside to escape from "sociable" but felt sorry for her so agreed to go to the pub for dinner. Later I noticed that the hostel kitchen was working furiously to produce a variety of meals and when I looked in the dining room I found tables full of merrily eating guests. I was ever so slightly annoyed at this. The following morning, after a wonderful night's sleep I arrived in the dining room to find no milk left for my cereal. I was told that there was no milk left in the whole castle and the hostel assistant again launched into the "we are so remote" tale. I asked her whether she had planned sufficiently given that it was Saturday and the hostel was full (I counted at least 40 people in the dining room). She told me that she had used "at least 10 pints of milk this morning already". . . . for 40 people...all having cereal. Hmm! OK I know I've ranted a bit but it is beautiful and well worth a visit. Just don't listen to the current hostel assistant. And bring your own food and use the members kitchen.
0 of
4 people found this review helpful
Was this review helpful to you?
(Review ID: 8390)
Historic, Interesting, Pretty, Group Oriented, January 12, 2004
Reviewer:
vrrusa
Pros:
n/a
Cons:
n/a
Imported Review
saw things this way
Maintenance
(3)
Cleanliness
(3)
Facilities
(3)
Atmosphere
(3)
Fun place -- King John's (Pretty sure it was John) hunting cabin. Was used as a gaol. Has a covered pit in one bedroom floor (Called Obliette - sorry bad French - means "the Forgetting") and a gibbet out of one window. Decent food, Decent tea, Good service, Pretty area, not a party place BUT rooms have lots of beds so... privacy is at a minimum. Groups stay here, both young and old. I stayed with some seniors from the Lakes District and some mid-teens from London. Across the street from a pretty church and graveyard. Fun little place to stay!
The village is how you imagine a traditional English village should be. However please be aware that there are no shops and one pub.(I also noticed a tea room but this was closed when I was there.) The pub does really good food but this is only available at certain times of the day.The hostel also does food......theoretically. There is a menu posted by reception but when I asked whether I could have dinner, the hostel assistant launched in to a sorry tale about how isolated she was and how the village was so remote that she had problems getting supplies. (Sounded more like Alaska than 2 miles from the main road) She then advised me to go to the pub as it was "more sociable". I live in London and had come to the countryside to escape from "sociable" but felt sorry for her so agreed to go to the pub for dinner. Later I noticed that the hostel kitchen was working furiously to produce a variety of meals and when I looked in the dining room I found tables full of merrily eating guests. I was ever so slightly annoyed at this. 
The following morning, after a wonderful night's sleep I arrived in the dining room to find no milk left for my cereal. I was told that there was no milk left in the whole castle and the hostel assistant again launched into the "we are so remote" tale. I asked her whether she had planned sufficiently given that it was Saturday and the hostel was full (I counted at least 40 people in the dining room). She told me that she had used "at least 10 pints of milk this morning already". . . . for 40 people...all having cereal. Hmm! 
OK I know I've ranted a bit 
