Alma House

Worst place I’ve stayed in. The room was disgusting, and the single-glazed window meant I couldn’t sleep all night. Even closed, it felt like sleeping on the road. There was barely any room to move in the tiny toilet, and the shower had no water at first, then took 10 minutes to come through. At £63 a day, it felt worthless. The government should close hotels like this.

For a night or two, this small hostel is conveniently placed, just two minutes from Dover Priory Station, and the rooms were neat and clean. There’s a little kitchen for cooking, though it isn’t very well equipped. Check-in was difficult, and the stairs are small and awkward. I don’t understand the negative reviews, since you get what you pay for, although compared with hostels in other countries it’s very expensive.

A nightmare. The rooms were cold, smelled strongly of mould, and the heating wasn’t working. We couldn’t even eat when we arrived because of the smell, and it was so cold we tried to sleep in our jackets. I contacted the owner, but got no response after an hour, so we had to find another hotel. There was still no reply the next day. Don’t stay here. You can get really nice hotels for this price.

The location made it easy to get around Dover, with the station, White cliffs, castle, and beach all at a good distance. We stayed one night, three of us, and at the price it was fine for that. Check-in meant calling a number written on a post-it note on the door. The hostel was under construction, so the kitchen wasn’t available, which we hadn’t been told beforehand. They did leave us three small bottles of water and brought a mirror for the morning. The bathroom was tiny, and the sink made a mess while I brushed my teeth. There was a hairdryer, a towel, and a small hand towel. One of us left hand luggage to pick up later, and collecting it was easy.