Kilkenny Tourist Hostel

The location is fantastic and the rooms were absolutely perfect. But the host accused us of leaving pizza in the room and losing a key. That accusation wasn’t true and cost us €40 of our hard-earned money. I won’t be coming back.

For the price and location, we couldn’t have asked for more. The hostel is right in the centre of town and very clean. The check-in staff were super friendly, and our room for four people was perfect. I’d definitely stay here again.

The staff were really friendly, and the dorm room was clean, though the bathroom was a bit dirty. As a woman, I wasn’t fully comfortable with the gender-neutral showers, but I could put that aside until the final night. At about 4am, I woke to a middle-aged man urinating in the corner of our room near what I thought was someone else’s bed. He then went back to his own bed, making very strange sounds. I was staying with a friend my age, 21, and there were two other young women in the room. We all felt unsafe and vulnerable, especially because of the noises. The room smelled awful the next morning, and one of the other girls had to ask my friend to open the window. I’ve backpacked around Europe recently and stayed in lots of hostels, and have never experienced anything like this or felt this unsafe, especially in my own country. I know this wasn’t the staff’s fault. When we told the receptionist in the morning, he was very apologetic. I don’t usually leave reviews, but I feel I need to share this so another young woman doesn’t have to feel the way I did.

I was there for just one night, but it already felt familiar. The people were nice, and the beds, bathrooms, kitchen and sitting room were all clean and tidy. It’s a great hostel, and I’d go back.