YHA London Central - Hostel

I can't imagine a better London base. We are a family of five - two adults and three children - and it can be challenging to find lodging for all of us. Our room at YHA Central London was ideal. We did book a private room with an en suite, which was lovely. Restrooms were so numerous that we would have been fine without the ensuite, but it was still nice to have. I was excited to see the facilities at YHA's flagship hostel, and I was not disappointed. The kitchen is so extensive that it's inspiring! Everything was immaculate. The lobby area is phenomenal, and breakfast was absolutely delicious. We ended up having dinner here two nights - it was the best opportunity my husband and I had to truly relax with a pint while shepherding our kids around London. The pizza and garlic bread were delicious. There were also plenty of restaurants nearby, though, at all price points. My family and I felt totally secure and comfortable here. Not only is it in a great part of town, but we had to swipe our key three times before getting into our room. Even the common areas required multiple room key swipes. I didn't see many people outside our hostel who weren't young professionals or school groups, but it was still nice to have that security. The hostel staff is absolutely terrific. Every person we met there was organized, considerate, friendly, and endlessly helpful. We traveled just before school summer holidays, and there were school groups staying there as well. But there was plenty of room for all of us! With corridors accessible only by key, we were totally isolated from the sound of all those teenagers, which is really saying something. We were very impressed. The hostel is in a great spot for transportation. It's not right next to any particular tourist attractions - the nearest would probably be Oxford Circus, and the British Library is about a mile away. But there are many transportation options very nearby. The nearest Underground is Great Portland Street, a quick walk. Oxford Circus is not much further. We caught a train from Euston, a 16-minute walk for us, and King's Cross is near the British Library. Our favorite transportation ended up being the Line 88 bus route, literally around the corner from the hostel at New Cavendish. On the 88 double-decker bus, it was a gorgeous 20-minute ride from our hostel to Westminster Abbey. Definitely consider trying the bus! I found the Citymapper app to be just brilliant in London, and totally in sync with trains and buses. One word of advice: Think about how you plan time for laundry here. For such a big hostel, we were surprised to find one washer and one dryer in the laundry area. The shortest cycle in the washer is 98 minutes. I'd planned to do all our laundry here at a midpoint in our trip, and we weren't able to get it done without sacrificing some of our London plans - I chose London over the laundry, so we were stinky for a few days. :D We traveled during the summer heat wave, so maybe this isn't an issue at other times of year. On the subject of the heat wave, our room was just fine. We were on the ground floor, but our windows had hardware that let us have them open a bit without compromising our security. Our room had a very large fan. We kept curtains closed during the day to keep out the sun. With our windows open a bit and the fan on, we were perfectly comfortable at night. I would recommend this hostel to anyone. If we are fortunate enough to return to London, this will be our first choice for lodging. Thank you for a great experience!