Castle View Accommodation

The bedroom smelled of cigarettes, and the shared bathroom was dirty and mouldy. The beds weren’t too bad, but by then that hardly mattered. We booked only because everywhere else was full, and honestly, staying outside the city would have been better. The walls were paper thin. A group of loud men, it sounded like several in one room, were banging around in the corridor and next door from 3 to 7am, until a couple of them left. Their TV sounded as if it was in our room. Don’t waste your time. It wasn’t even particularly cheap, and I’ve stayed in much cheaper, nicer hostels.

I’ve never stayed in a room this filthy or foul smelling. The house was in appalling condition, reeked of cigarettes, and felt cramped, with only a twin bed and a broken window. I didn’t dare use the shared bathroom. One look inside was enough. There were dodgy people in and around the place all night. I wish I’d read the reviews first. This place needs reporting. How is it allowed on booking platforms?

The room had bunk beds, and when I tried to climb the ladder, the whole bed tipped up. There was what we optimistically assumed was a lot of jam under it, a hole in the wall stuffed with tissue, and brown liquid on the wall above the bin. The bedding didn’t smell clean, there was no mirror so we had to get ready using our phone cameras, and the window wouldn’t shut. My friend and I are also covered in bites from who knows what. We weren’t told when booking that the toilet was communal. The bathroom walls were mouldy, it stank, there was brown stuff on the shower floor, and we ran out of toilet roll. I doubt it was checked daily. With the pandemic going on, the poor hygiene was especially disappointing. The door codes were very basic, and we’re pretty sure they were all the same. We overheard another guest walk into someone else’s room by mistake. The walls were so thin you could hear everything in other rooms. We didn’t find out there was a kitchen until our last day. The door said KEEP OUT PRIVATE STAFF ROOM and had a code we hadn’t been given. Given how little cleaning seemed to happen, the 5pm check in and 10am checkout felt extreme. I know it was cheap, but I’ve stayed in cheap hostels with better cleanliness and facilities. The only good thing I can say is there was a roof, so we didn’t get rained on while sleeping. I wouldn’t recommend staying here.

I only booked one night, and I wouldn’t recommend staying here if you can avoid it. Check in was really stressful: I hadn’t been given the door code, and the staff member wasn’t helpful, to put it politely. I’m not sure the bed linen had been washed, and we didn’t want to use the shower. Next time, I’ll gladly pay a few extra bucks for a nice room.