London has its fair share of crap hostels, believe me, I have travelled the world for more than 30 years, and the standard of most hostels that exist for travellers in London is shocking.
But the Palmers Lodge Swiss Cottage Hostel is one of the best budget traveller hostels in London.
Keep on reading to find out why I recommend the Palmers Lodge in Swiss Cottage as one of the best backpacker hostels in London.
Convenient Location:
Palmers Lodge is located just off Finchley Road, between the Swiss Cottage and Finchley Road Underground Stations in north London. The National Express and Flixbus pickup point is very near too.
Palmers Lodge is a listed building that was once home to biscuit tycoon George Palmer, of the Huntley and Palmer biscuit company, with the world’s largest biscuit factory in Reading.
Quiet:
Unlike some of the hostels I have stayed at, there is no public bar downstairs with live music until 2 am. There is a bar, but it is for hostel guests and only until 11.30 pm.
And for a city, it’s pretty quiet at night.
Of course, you can’t control the snorers, the farters, the door slammers and those who think it’s ok to make calls at 3 am from their beds. Earplugs are essential, of course; if you don’t have your own, they are available at reception for free.
Clean Bathrooms
The bathrooms get cleaned regularly throughout the day. Nothing worse than grotty bathrooms from guests with long hair or the men who think their dicks are longer than they are and piss all over the floor.
Great hot water showers, but the shower heads are fixed, so if you don’t want to wash your hair every time you take a shower, get yourself a shower cap.
The Rooms
I stayed 12 nights in total, 6 nights in a 24-bed dorm and 6 nights in a 12-bed dorm.
The 24-bed dorm had 2-tier bunks and single beds and had lots of space.
The 12-bed had minimal space and 3-tier bunks.
And you get the bed the computer assigns you, so if you are only young at heart and/or not as agile as you thought you were, good luck. I had the top bunk.
Just take it slowly and don’t go on the piss so you won’t need to go to the bathroom 6 times a night.
Beds have their own light and power socket.
My bed in the 24-bed dorm at Palmers Lodge:
The 3-tier bunk beds are a bit scary:
Laundry
They have laundry, though I didn’t make use of it. It costs just £5 for the wash, soap included and £1.20 for the dryer.
Lockers
The rooms all have lockers, but they have great lockers downstairs for those who are taking the night train or bus and need to store their bags.
Here are the rates for locker rental at Palmers Hostel Swiss Cottage:
Breakfast
They serve breakfast from 7 am until 10 am.
Bread, ham, cheese, tomatoes, fruit, jams, yoghurt, cereals, milk, they even have soya milk, croissants and pain au chocolat.
Tea and coffee, of course.
The price is a little high at £7.50, so make sure you tuck in 😉
Wi-Fi for travel bloggers:
There is a good connection in all areas except, bizarrely, the common room. There seems to be a few ‘holes’ in the coverage.
The bar downstairs is a great place to get some blogging done:
Self-Catering
For those who prefer to cook rather than squander money out in the big bad world, there is a small kitchen. You can get plates and cutlery from the bar if needed.
There’s a Tesco Express very near and a little bit further, an M&S, Sainsbury and ALDI where you can pick up supplies.
Contact the Palmers Lodge Swiss Cottage
If you need to contact Palmers Lodge or make a booking, you can do that on the Palmers Lodge website, which gets you a better deal than going through booking.
Conclusion
I had a happy stay at the Palmers Lodge.
They have a ’14 nights in 6 months’ policy which stops people ‘living’ in the hostel as I have seen in Moscow but for travellers who need a place to hide for a while, it’s a little restrictive but many hostels are like that, just check the small print before you book (some hostels in London even have an age policy – but not at Palmers Lodge Swiss Cottage).
