Ashlar Court, Ravenscourt Gardens, Hammersmith, London W6 0TU Bus 27, 190, 237, 267, 391, H91 Tube Stamford Brook Tel (020) 7833 3893 Websitewww.globetrotterinns.com
BUG Review
This big hostel near Hammersmith is one of London's better hostels. It has very good facilities that include Internet access, several TV lounges, a fully equipped kitchen, a big dining room with table tennis, a bar, a small shop, a gym and a big cinema-style DVD room. The rooms are the nicest of any London hostel with sturdy bunk beds, each with bed-side lights and curtains for a little privacy. However it's not all good as the big building lacks atmosphere, big groups sometimes stay here and you have to pay for things in the hostel using a smart card, which gives the impression that management don't trust their staff with cash and this can initially make one feel a little unwelcome. Security is excellent and it's one of the few London hostels with parking making it a top choice if you're driving.
Price Dorm bed £17-22 Double/twin room £48
Price includes breakfast Prices are in British pounds and are inclusive of all taxes.
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Reception Open 24 hours
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Pros:
You can sleep in relative privacy
Cons:
You would question whether you were in the UK
jj
saw things this way
Maintenance
(3)
Cleanliness
(3)
Facilities
(3)
Atmosphere
(2)
i would have to agree with the emails below about this hostel. the rooms are clean, particularly by london hostel standards but for a hostel that has the staff clean all of your dishes etc, the standard of washing is pretty poor. they dont have an industrial dishwasher, everything is cleaned by hand (its a large hostel, so many things to clean) and so it wasnt uncommon to find bowls with a lot of muck on them. the beds have their own little shelf, light and curtain which is a good idea. unfortunately the place is very cliquey, dominated by the long term residents who like to have loud conversations across the dining room, stare at people and take over the television. as an australian, its also quite shameful to go to somewhere full of fellow aussies who seem to drink starting at 9am and dont do a great deal else besides be a typical bogan australian. i was also there one night when a whole corridor stank of marijuana which didnt seem to have anything done about it, despite the strict no drugs policy. the building is also very institutional with lots of heavy doors. with the exception of one or two reception staff, the staff arent the friendliest. i have to say it was with great relief when i got out of this place
ok first- staff. rude, no personality, don't know what remarks they'd make about you behind your back and are more interested in listening to the reception music up loud. the only decent staff member was Kat but other than that they are slobby, lazy and i've never seen so much bum crack. Alex was rude, unhelpful and when asked to open the door for me as i had my luggage he said no, he was too busy checking his email. nice hey. anyway if you don't want to be surrounded by drunk, loud, bogan aussies don't come here. and the long term residents take over and are clicky with the staff so don't ever think you can watch tv. the doors are so heavy if there was a fire you'd be stuffed. the kitchen facilities are revolting. cutlery, utilities, and everything was dirty we refused to cook anything. the breakfast is poor- not everyone can eat white bread and the bathrooms need more hooks so you don't have to put your towel on the floor. do not stay here- don't give them your money! they have a "strict" no drugs policy and yet every night walking down the hall to our room we were overtaken by the strongest smell or marijuana and the guy in our room was so off his face we felt very unsafe. but of course the staff are not approachable. also the owner likes to sleaze onto girls- beware
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(Review ID: 542)
Why, oh Why did I ever think of staying here?, June 29, 2006
Pros:
Struggling to find some
Cons:
Dull, institutional bitchy character of the hostel
emergencypornshow
saw things this way
Maintenance
(3)
Cleanliness
(4)
Facilities
(2)
Atmosphere
(1)
The first impression of the hostel was not great as I turned up there and they had lost my reservation, I was then informed that I would have to change rooms three times to stay for a week. If I had an alternative I would have decided there and then to move on, I wish I had.The facilities are pretty good for a hostel, I was impressed by the fact that the hostel had it's own bar, shop and internet. The problem with these provisions is that they are priced to maximise the monopoly they have over the relatively captive market of backpackers that don't know any better, prices are generally 50% more expensive than the surrounding area. The bar lacks any kind of atmosphere and I resented being charged £2.60 for a beer in what was ostensively the hostel front room. To
add entertainment the Globetrotter have started an easy pool competition and rather lame quiz night, more entertainment can be had though winding up the sad old xenophobic drunk that sits at the bar every single night.The staff are generally pretty friendly to your face but led by self confessed uber bitch Nicki they start a culture of backstabbing that spreads throughout the whole hostel for anyone who has stayed there for more than a week. Combined with the steady supply of trust fund tossers that swings through from the states means that it is pretty hard to find a good conversation in the whole hostel.The beds are furnished to the maximum for impression but an absolute minimum of thought has gone into the actual working of the rooms. I was disturbed many times by people turning on the reading lights in the middle of the night or slamming the ridiculously noisy doors.The Globetrotter is probably an excellent hostel if you are used to the comfortable living of Daddy's credit card but this is not my idea of backpacking and the people I met there are not my idea of backpackers. I fear that I've seen the future of backpacking and at the moment it seems like an apolyptic nightmare
