Safestay London Kensington Holland Park

The triple room we had was pretty nice, though there weren’t many outlets. Room quality seems to depend a lot on whether you get a dorm, single, double or triple, and I’d consider staying again. Breakfast was decent. The students, though, weren’t as happy: 13 of them shared a bunk room with very little space. In those rooms, towels cost 6 lb for a microfiber cloth, which seems ridiculous, and shower capacity per person was quite limited. Every move made noise. It was a good price, but not a great experience for them.

Do not recommend!! This place is awful!!! At 3:30am the fire alarm started going off when there was no fire, and kept going every 30mins for the next 12 hours. The rooms are falsely advertised as ensuite when the only thing in the room is a shower that staff don’t clean properly. The shared toilets are disgusting too, and aren’t cleaned properly or regularly. It’s advertised as a "youth hostel," but most of the guests seem to be over 35. Someone found bed bugs in their bed! Then a roommate explained that the beds no longer have curtains because bed bugs could hide in them too easily. My final straw was having personal belongings stollen. When I told reception, they said people had reported laptops, phones and other personal belongings stolen that week. They didn’t do anything beyond "making a report."

I knew Safestay from York but hadn’t stayed at the Holland Park one before. Since I was arriving late, I was concerned about finding the entrance and getting there safely. I reached Holland Park at 3am. Staff had already advised me to tell the taxi driver to drop me at the end of "Duchess of Bedford's Walk," and the hostel entrance was less than 100 meters from there. The locked door made coming and going feel pretty safe. I’d also read the bad reviews two days before arriving while looking on Google maps for the entrance, and several past guests mentioned bed bugs. I encountered NO SUCH THING. Our room was pretty clean, and the cleaning crew came through after a guest left. We probably had the best room: a female six-guest en-suite with a small private balcony /veranta, which was a nice surprise. I wish the beds had curtains around each frame for privacy and to block the morning light. Safestay in York has those, and they’re really helpful. If you’re in a lower bunk, mind your head when sitting up in the morning, there isn’t much room. I’ll pick a top bunk next time :). It’s a great location for a hostel, good for meeting people from around the world, and there are amazing gardens nearby to walk in. It’s not too far from Holland Park Station. Highly recommended!

It’s a lovely area, and everything was clean and nice. The park closes at night, but there’s another gate and you can use your keycard to get into the hostel. It was a little hard to find and a bit of a walk from the main streets, though there are good pubs nearby. The park itself is very nice. The walls are VERY thin. People were slamming doors, stomping, yelling and drinking all night, so bring good ear plugs. The beds weren’t very comfy, but fine for a night or two.