Wild Atlantic Hostel

The view was really nice, but the stay was pretty bad. The kitchen felt too small for the number of guests. When we turned on the taps, water went all over the counter because they weren’t positioned above the sinks, and my brother’s phone got soaked. The shower was awful too. We had no hot water half the time, the drain was blocked, and the ventilation stayed on all night with no way to switch it off.

The mountain view was the one good part of this expensive, wasteful school trip. We were there for three days, and it was nowhere near the experience advertised to us at school. We were supposed to go bog hopping, kayaking, on a night walk, and have a campfire, but none of those happened. I wouldn’t recommend it. The food was a 2 out of 10. Lunch was okay, but breakfast and dinner were below standard, portions were much too small, and the food was burnt every morning and night. My friend and I got sick after eating it. The tuck shop was expensive, and the vending machines took our money. They also wouldn’t give schools the WiFi password, even though we needed to text our parents. The staff were rude and unhelpful, including the night guard. I felt there should have been a female guard at the girls’ dorms instead of a male one. The wake-up call was unpleasant too, with people banging loudly on our doors when they didn’t need to. The beds were extremely uncomfortable, and we were put in rooms with people we didn’t talk to, so I couldn’t enjoy the trip with my friends. Activity instructors gave out to you if you didn’t take part. I don’t like heights, and my instructor gave out to me for not doing the wooden sky walk.

I was there for a two-day school break. The hostel was lovely and clean, with clean floors and bathrooms, good storage, and a room with six bunks. But it got extremely hot at night, and the beds were really uncomfortable. The grub hub meals were okay, though the portions were very small and there was little to no choice of food.

Most of the staff were obnoxious. I heard one of them openly say, “we can make some money of these lot”. The group and I were constantly made to feel less than human. The food was awful and nowhere near enough for a group of adult men. When we went back for seconds, staff shamed us. The rooms were okay and modern. It could be a lovely place if it were run properly.